History of the cooperative movement cartoon [Click image to enlarge.]

(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Gary B. Hansen Papers, 1911–2005, COLL MSS 319 Series 1 Bx. 3 Fd. 3.)

History of Cooperatives

The earliest cooperatives began in early modern Europe during the second half of the 18th century. Craftsmen came together desiring both purer products and the ability to benefit from the fruits of their labor without becoming the middleman. Having done their best in their trade, craftsmen and workers wanted their families to benefit from their work.

The modern cooperative movement began in 1844 in the town of Rochdale in northern England. A group of twenty-four cotton mill workers came together to form a group. “The [Rochdale] Pioneers decided it was time shoppers were treated with honesty, openness and respect, that they should be able to share in the profits that their custom contributed to and that they should have a democratic right to have a say in the business. Every customer of the shop became a member and so had a true stake in the business.”[3] On their own, each worker—facing poor working conditions and poorer wages—came together to buy goods and then sell them to those in their community. Thus the modern cooperative movement was born.[4]

The Latter-day Saint pioneers in Utah took these same principles, plus ideas they had already learned of in their community experiences, and created cooperatives of their own in Utah.