Having grown up in Utah, and living there now, I agree with the assessment of self reliance being emphasized much more here than other places I've lived (Englan

Having grown up in Utah, and living there now, I agree with the assessment of self reliance being emphasized much more here than other places I've lived (England, California). When thinking about causality though, it seems to me like a mistake to leave out the Mormon influence. It's not just Utah, but Mormons founded many towns in Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, and Nevada as well. Distrust of the federal government was frequently and explicitly taught by church leaders into the early 1900s.