Nevada's Statehood
How I added political history into an already written manuscript.
Imagine working on a project for 10+ years, avoiding details XYZ because you think, “That’s simple enough, I’ll add those later.” Nevada’s statehood was that detail for me.
Like a college student hoping my printer still has ink at 7:49am when my paper is due in-hand at 8:00am (yes, that was my college experience), I left this massive detail of Nevada’s statehood to the end. Even though nobody is technically asking for this 100k-word novel (yet!), I’ve waited till the eleventh hour, thinking I’ll just slip in turning 70 million acres into a state, as if 70 million acres were Cinderella’s foot and my novel is the glass slipper. Wrong.
Establishing Statehood Is a Long, Messy, Political Process
Eventually I did my research and learned that, of course, meetings, discussions, votes, lobbyists, a lot of preliminary constitutions and formative documents were all happening in Western Utah Territory exactly when my novel takes place: 1859. Great! I’ve already established an entire fictional world in this exact timeline so I’ll just slip these details in. Easy peasy. Except, unless I want my novel to be a massive info dump, I’ve needed to figure out ways to tuck politics into an already existing plot with already developed characters.
The Briefest Version of What Happened Leading Up To Nevada’s Statehood (1864)
When silver was uncovered in Western Utah Territory (1857) near present day Virginia City, smack in the middle of Wá∙šiw territory, miners from California’s Gold Rush, plus the associated industries of logging, (over)fishing, ice-making, merchants, saloons, etc. swarmed the area like locusts.
To set the mood, here’s a video of Mormon Crickets (not really crickets) descending on Elko, Nevada, in June 2023. According to University Nevada Reno, these outbreaks are encouraged by drought and can last 5 to 21 years.
Within months of the 1859 announcement that silver was uncovered near the Sierra Nevada, Virginia City became a bustling hub shoved precariously between ragged cracks of sandy high desert mountains, and the population boomed from zero to thousands (25,000 residents recorded at its peak). Suddenly, everyone wanted ownership of Nevada’s lands.
California miners brought their miners code that basically said, “If you work it, you claim it.” The federal government wanted to secure the land’s resources for the Union. The Mormons had already established Mormon Station 6 years prior, claiming “Doctrine of Discovery” (a deeply flawed notion dating back to 1493 that colonial parties use to justify their forceful claiming of lands they “discover” on behalf of Christendom).
Brigham Young’s political followers worked hard to secure Western Utah Territory and the votes. Meetings occurred. Voters were lobbied. Votes were cast. Mormon rule was strong. They often jailed or ran out non-Mormons, whom they called gentiles, while letting Mormons off scot-free for the same offense.
Meanwhile, the multitude of Indigenous Nations who already lived throughout the Great Basin, such as the Shoshone, Shoshone-Bannock, Ute, Goshute, Timpanogos, and Northern Paiute Nations were fighting to maintain their lands, livelihoods, and lifestyles.
Who Benefited from Nevada’s Statehood?
President James Buchannon and the feds who needed Nevada’s rich resources to support and fund Union efforts heading into the Civil War.
Miners, loggers, and industry men, who’d been abused by Mormon rule and whose landholdings, businesses, and townships sought protection from federal and/or state laws and regulations.
Mormons, but only if Nevada remained part of Utah as the greater State of Deseret, which was then governed by Brigham Young who sought legal admission into the Union for years, but the U.S. government was reluctant to grant him that much power.
Who Did Not Benefit from Nevada’s Statehood?
The Wá∙šiw People of the greater Lake Tahoe region who, within months, were exposed to U.S. foreign politics and the inconceivable, irrevocable idea of land ownership. They were given no vote regarding statehood, no say or sway in discussions regarding the future of their homelands. Many foreign officials appointed by the Church of Latter Day Saints and the U.S. government falsely suggested that the Wá∙šiw People were so few that they should either share reservations occupied by the Northern Paiutes at Pyramid Lake and on the Walker River, or they would simply disappear because of displacement and natural resources attrition caused by colonial land occupation. Naturally, the Wá∙šiw People refused to leave their homelands and their story of resilience is a powerful one.
I highly recommend reading The Small Shall Be Strong to learn about Lake Tahoe and Wá∙šiw history.
Today, the Wá∙šiw Nation continues to manage sections of their original homelands, which is unique amongst American Indigenous populations; however, they do not own any land within the Tahoe Basin, and the few areas they manage, like Meeks Bay and Skunk Harbor, are still owned by the federal government as National Forest Lands.
Reusing Existing Characters
So how did I add Nevada’s statehood story into a novel that is already nearly finished? I found existing characters and ramped up their political will. For example
I turned Mr. Marshall, the overbearing Morman rancher with natural leadership charisma, into my mouthpiece for demonstrating how the Church of Latter-Day Saints sought to secure all of Utah Territory as a self-directed nation state led by Brigham Young.
I gave Stanley Shipp, the older brother of my main character whose greed far outweigh his actual skills, a newfound political ambition that represents most get-rich-quick miners, loggers, and other colonial industries.
I bolstered Arthur Hackett, the U.S. government Indian Agent who grapples with, and thus reveals, political will from President Buchanon, by making him more of a main character and creating conflict within his interactions between Mormons, loggers, Wá∙šiw characters, and his own moral code.
Historical Fiction Cannot Pick & Choose
Perhaps starting my writing career with historical fiction was an ambitious choice. I did not anticipate the amount of research I would want, need, and feel obligated to do. But now I know that historical fiction cannot pick and choose which parts of history to include. I can no more avoid discussing Nevada’s statehood as I could exclude the Wá∙šiw People’s part of Lake Tahoe’s story.
After a decade of writing this book, I firmly believe that any novel set in the American West, whether historical or contemporary, should always acknowledge the very recent, very chaotic, and very devastating truths about land use, land grabbing, and which powers are still vying for legal ownership.
Create a Character Census Form
Next time I write a book, I’ll fill out a character census form first: a checkbox with age, income, religion, race, gender, political standing, family background, cultural and historical upbringing. Once I have my census sheet, a lot of character building will be done for me, and their decisions will be made more clear from the get go. Even more simply, I should ask: How does my character(s) vote? And let the writing go from there.
Because I was so busy early in the process trying to capture the feel of pre-colonial Tahoe, the logistics of logging, the effects of mercury poisoning, and how to respectfully portray the environmental devastation of colonial industry, I wasn’t prepared to dive into Lake Tahoe’s political history as well.
Now, as I read through my manuscript and continue to do research, I am able to identify pockets and moments—sometimes just half sentences—within my existing narrative where I’m adding political nods, little comments, and snippets of history that both reveals character and history. Which is, after all, what I’m really going for.
What’s Next?
This February 2024, I’ll be spending another 2-week stint at a self-directed artist residency. This time at the Art & Science Residency PLAYA, located at Summer Lake, Oregon. When I applied, I did not know where I’d be with my project, but I intend to finally be putting the finishing touches on my manuscript this February. After that, perhaps I can finally try to sell this book to agents and publishers.
If you’re working on a project or wanting some dedicated time to focus, my advice is just apply! Find an artist residency or create your own and gift yourself a chunk of focused time. You and your project deserve it!
Additional reading
P.S. We went to the Netherlands
Last month to bike around towns and understand that the Dutch really do value bikability through protected bike lanes. The paved path through the woods is an ancient Roman road now connecting multiple small towns via paved bike lanes. It’s amazing!
Ditto Michael's observation. Keep it up!
Great content 👌 👏
You continue to write amazing stories...
Very nice to see your talent grow....