Arizona and New Mexico were excluded from the new States of 1889 and 1890 because a Republican Congress expected them to be Democratic, and both remained Territories for more than twenty succeeding years. Utah, with ample population, was kept where the Federal Government could control it because of the practices taught by its Church. The Mormons had made a prosperous Territory in Utah by 1850. They had flourished ever since, but their institution of polygamy frightened the United States and created permanent hostility to their admission. In 1882 the Territory was placed under a commission, and thereafter polygamous citizens were brought to punishment. In 1890 the Church gave up the fight and formally abandoned the obnoxious doctrine, but the surrender came too late to accomplish admission at this time. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, 1789-1904 The large rectangle represents the total land area of the United States, excluding Alaska and the Islands 1,902,000,000 Acres +-----------------------------------------------------------+-------------+ | |Land area of | | |the thirteen | | |original | | |states | | |and Maine, | | |Vermont, West| | Public lands remaining in the possession |Virginia, | | of the United States in 1904 |Kentucky, | | about 700,000,000 Acres |Tennessee, | | |and Texas, | | |in none | | |of which | | |has the | | |public domain| | |ever existed | +-----------+------------+------------+---------------------+ | |Area |Land grants |Donations |Sales to companies |460,000,000 | |given to | for | to the | or individuals | Acres | |individuals| internal | states for | under preemption | | |in the |improvements| education | and general laws, | (Diagram | |form of | and | and | and private land | based upon | |homesteads |railroads | other | claims allowed | the Report | |or | | local | | of the | |allotments | | purposes | | Public Lands | | | | | | Commission |