This thesis will review the political life of George H. Dern emphasizing the utah period. The last chapter will briefly describe Dern's activities after the completion of his second term as governor of Utah in 1932.

The 1900 elections have been little touched in historical studies of Utah. However 1900 was a year of special interest and deserves an examination. In that year a Special Election was held, all state offices were up for renewal and a Presidential Election took place. The special election was necessary because B. H. Roberts had been denied his seat in the United States Congress. Roberts was excluded because he was a polygamist. The Roberts case threatened to revive gentile versus Mormon antipathies in Utah. However, the most puzzling aspect of the 1900 elections is connected with the presidential vote. In 1896 Bryan, a Democrat, received 82.7% of the Utah vote for President. His Republican opponent, McKinley, polled only 17.2%. Yet nationally Bryan received 49.4% of the total vote while McKinley took 50.6%. In 1900 in Utah Bryan only received 48.1% and McKinley polled 50.7% of the vote. Their national percentages were little changed from 1896. Because there was a vote change of 34.6% men searched for some reason to explain such a dramatic shift of votes. Some people charged that the Mormon Church had entered politics and made a deal with the Democratic Party. People said this was done in return for assurances that the federal government would not press too hard on polygamy prosecutions and would stop the proposed anti-polygamy amendment to the Constitution. This thesis will attempt to determine what happened in the 1900 elections in Utah. The thesis will also search for reasons for the results of the elections.

William Jennings Bryan exercised great political power for thirty years in America. Through his efforts the Democratic Party power base was broadened to include Jews, Negroes businessmen, and farmers. Bryan's call for political and social reform found many supporters in the State of Utah.It is difficult to assess what actually caused William J. Bryan to lose the 1900 Presidential election in Utah. Yet, we must put to rest the conclusion that he lost solely because silver was an unimportant issue to the Utah electorate in 1900. The powerful influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Utah politics had much to do with Bryan's reversal.