Joseph Lafayette Rawlins was born 28 March 1850 near Millcreek in Salt LakeCity. He was the son of Joseph Sharp Rawlins and Mary Frost Rawlins, who wereamong those following Brigham Young on the trek to Utah in 1849. Rawlins wasone of the early students to attend the University of Deseret and was anexcellent student. He also attended Indiana University, where he was a chartermember of Beta Theta Pi and president of the debating society. It was whilestudying law that Rawlins first had thoughts about drawing Utah into thenational mainstream. He knew that polygamy would need to be eliminated andpolitical parties drawn along national party lines rather than the religiouslines of the anti-Mormon Liberal party and the pro-Mormon Peoples party. Heorganized the Democratic Club of Utah in 1884, but its existence wasshort-lived.

The issuance of the Manifesto in 1890 discouraging future polygamy greatlyaffected Utah's party system. Leaders in the two opposing political campsrealized that local parties stood in the way of the territory's progress towardstatehood. In 1891 both the Democratic and Republican parties were organized inUtah; Rawlins was an active Democrat.

In 1892 Rawlins was elected as Utah's Delegate to Congress. He took his seaton 4 March 1893 and became actively involved almost immediately. His firstspeech dealt with the silver question--an important issue of the day and ofspecial interest to Utah, a silver-producing territory. He introduced a numberof bills: one granted the University of Utah sixty acres of the Fort Douglasmilitary reservation; another provided for the return to the Mormon Church ofits property seized under the Edmunds-Tucker Act.

The most important piece of legislation that Rawlins introduced was theEnabling Act ,which provided for Utah's admission into the Union. It wasintroduced on 6 September 1893 and, with able and hard work on Rawlins's part,the bill passed the House on 13 December with only two negative votes. On 10July the bill was passed by the Senate, and on 16 July 1894 President GroverCleveland signed the Enabling Act, providing for Utah's admission. This did notmake Utah a state, but it set in motion the process by which it became one.Rawlins was hailed for his efforts though even this achievement was not enoughto get him reelected in 1894--a Republican year.

In a bitterly fought election, Rawlins became Utah's first Democratic senatorand first senator to serve a full six-year term. He took his seat in the Senateon 4 March 1897 and was active in introducing legislation for Utah as well asthe nation. He introduced the first joint resolution declaring war on Spain.After the war, he argued against retention of the Philippines. He also made animportant speech on the Nicaragua Canal bill.

Rawlins ran for reelection in 1903 but lost to Reed Smoot; Republicans sweptthe state as they did the nation. For the remaining twenty-three years of hislife, he maintained his interest in politics, his legal practice, andinvolvement in civic affairs and affairs at the University of Utah. He servedas president of the alumni association and was awarded the first honoraryDoctor of Law degree ever conferred by the university. He died on 24 May 1926,leaving a wife, Julia Davis Rawlins, and five children--Leda, Alta, Athol,Lara, and Boyce. He was eulogized in theDeseret News, and aTribune editor called him the "father of Utah." That is perhaps givinghim too much credit; but to call him the father of Utah statehood is not, forhe did as much as any man to bring Utah into the Union.