The Oregon Country/Columbia District
"Disputed Area" is the main area of dispute, although the whole region was disputed

The Oregon boundary dispute (often called the Oregon question) arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Oregon Country, a region of northwestern North America known also from the British perspective as the Columbia District, a fur-trading division of the Hudson's Bay Company. The region at question lay west of the Continental Divide and between the 42nd Parallel of latitude on the south (the northward limit of New Spain and after 1821 of Mexico) and the 54 degrees, 40 minutes line of latitude (the southward limit of Russian America). Image File history File links Oregoncountry. ... Image File history File links Oregoncountry. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Columbia District was a regional department of the Hudsons Bay Company, and included all of the Columbia River basin, extending as far north as the Thompson River. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... After the discovery of northern Alaska by Ivan Fedorov in 1732, and the Aleutian Islands, southern Alaska, and north-western shores of North America in 1741 during the Russian exploration conducted by Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov, it took fifty years until the founding of the first Russian colony in...

Both the United Kingdom and the United States had territorial and commercial interests in the Oregon country as well as residual claims from treaties with Russia and Spain. By Article III of the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to what has since been described as "joint occupancy", demurring on any resolution of the territorial and treaty issues until a later time. Negotiations over the next few decades failed to settle upon a compromise boundary and the Oregon Dispute became important in geopolitical diplomacy between the British Empire and the new American Republic. The Convention of 1818 between the United States and Great Britian, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in United States and the United Kingdom. ...

American economic activity in the region until the 1840s consisted of a Boston-owned fur trading post staffed by French Canadians at Fort Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia River, the Whitman Mission east of the Cascades, the Methodist Mission in the Willamette Valley, Fort William on present day Sauvie Island,^[1] a saw mill in the valley partly owned by Ewing Young,^[2] a grist mill also in the valley built in 1834,^[3] the Willamette Cattle Company organized in 1837 to bring over 600 head of cattle to the Willamette Valley, as well as ongoing marine fur trade vessels. The British mandate was in the form of a licence held by the Hudson's Bay Company to trade with the populous aboriginal peoples of the region, and a network of trading posts and routes extended southward from New Caledonia, another HBC fur-trade district, into the Columbia basin. The HBC's headquarters for the entire region became established at Fort Vancouver (today's Vancouver, Washington), which became the centre of a thriving colony of mixed origin, including French Canadians, Hawaiians, Algonkians and Iroquois, as well as the offspring of company employees who had intermarried with various local native populations. Actual American settlers in the region were negligible^{[citation needed]} until the arrival of the Whitman Party in 1843; the Dispute over the region is usually attributed to increasing numbers of American settlers moving into the country, which did not actually take place until the 1840s. Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Companys primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. ... Whitman Mission National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located just west of Walla Walla, Washington, at the site of the massacre of the family of Dr. Marcus Whitman by the Cayuse on November 29, 1847. ... Oregon Mission (1831-1846) began as an effort by the Methodist Episcopal Church to convert the native Indians of the far west to Christianity. ... The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River. ... Fort William was a fur trading outpost built by American Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1834. ... Map of Sauvie Island, drawn in 1937, showing Multnomah Channel, Columbia River, Willamette River, Portland, Vancouver, and Columbia River Highway. ... Ewing Young expeditions to American West Ewing Young (1799 - February 9, 1841) was an American trapper from Tennessee who traveled the western United States before settling in Oregon Country. ... The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present day Oregon. ... Nickname: Vancouver USA, The Couve Motto: A colorful past, a bright future Location in Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County Clark County Founded 1825 Incorporated 1857 Government  - Mayor Royce Pollard Area  - City  46. ... French Canadian is a term that has several different connotations. ... Native Hawaiians (in Hawaiian, kānaka ʻōiwi or kānaka maoli) are the Polynesian peoples of the Hawaiian Islands who trace their ancestry back to Marquesan and possibly Tahitian settlers (starting circa AD 400), before the arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. ... Algonquian Indians are one of the most populous and widespread North American Native groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds, and hundreds of thousands who still identify with various Algonquian peoples. ... The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee, also known as the League of Peace and Power, Five Nations, or Six Nations) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. ... Marcus Whitman The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and the Whitman Incident) was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with twelve others, by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. ...

In 1844 the U.S. Democratic Party, appealing to expansionist sentiment, asserted that the U.S. had a valid claim to the entire Oregon Country. Democratic presidential candidate James K. Polk won the 1844 election, but then sought a compromise boundary along the 49th parallel, the same boundary proposed by previous U.S. administrations. Negotiations between the U.S. and the British broke down, however, and tensions grew as American expansionists like U.S. Senator Edward Allen Hannegan of Indiana urged Polk to annex the entire Oregon Country up to latitude 54°40'N, as the Democrats had called for in the election. The turmoil gave rise to slogans like "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", often mistakenly associated with the 1844 election, and the catchphrase "Manifest Destiny". The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... Expansionism is the doctrine of expanding the territorial base (or economic influence) of a country, usually by means of military aggression. ... James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795–June 15, 1849) was the eleventh President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side, or from the Lake of the Woods to the Strait of Georgia. ... Edward Allen Hannegan (June 25, 1807 - February 25, 1859) was a United States Representative and Senator from Indiana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. ... A political slogan is a slogan used in a political context. ... This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. ...

The expansionist agenda of Polk and the Democratic Party created the possibility of two different, simultaneous wars, because relations between the United States and Mexico were deteriorating following the annexation of Texas. Just before the outbreak of the war with Mexico, Polk returned to his earlier position on the Oregon boundary and accepted a compromise along the 49th parallel. This agreement was made official in the 1846 Oregon Treaty, and the 49th parallel remains the boundary between the United States and Canada. Republic of Texas The Texas Annexation of 1845 was the annexation of Texas by the United States of America as the 28th state. ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Mariano Arista Pedro de Ampudia José Mariá Flores Strength 78,790 soldiers 18,000–40,000 soldiers Casualties KIA: 1733 Total dead: 13,271 Wounded: 4,152 25,000 killed or wounded... Map of the lands in dispute The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed...

Joint occupation

The dispute arose as a result of competing claims between the United States and the United Kingdom to the Oregon Country, which consisted of what is now the Pacific Northwest of the United States and southern British Columbia, Canada. Both nations claimed the region based on earlier exploration and the "right of discovery"; following long European precedent, both sides recognized only limited sovereign rights of the indigenous population. The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the United States. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... A Hupa man. ...

In 1818, diplomats of the two countries attempted to negotiate a boundary between the rival claims. The Americans suggested dividing the Oregon Country along the 49th parallel, which was the border between the United States and British North America east of the Rocky Mountains. British diplomats wanted a border further south along the Columbia River, so as to maintain the Hudson's Bay Company's control of the lucrative fur trade along that river. As a compromise, the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 (or Treaty of 1818) called for the joint occupation of the region for ten years. As the expiration of the ten-year agreement approached, a second round of negotiations from 1825 to 1827 failed to resolve the issue, and so the joint occupation agreement was renewed, this time with the stipulation that a one-year notice had to be given when either party intended to abrogate the agreement. The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the International Boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. ... British North America was an informal term first used in 1783, but uncommon before the Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839), called the Durham Report. ... The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... An Alberta fur trader in the 1890s. ... The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between...

Early in the 1840s, negotiations that produced the 1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty (a border settlement in the east) addressed the Oregon question once again. British negotiators still pressed for the Columbia River boundary, which the Americans would not accept since it would deny the U.S. an easily accessible deep water port on the Pacific Ocean, and so no adjustment to the existing agreement was made. By this time, American settlers were steadily pouring into the region along the Oregon Trail, a development that some observers—both British and American—realized would eventually decide the issue. In 1843, John C. Calhoun famously declared that the U.S. government should pursue a policy of "wise and masterly inactivity" in Oregon, letting settlement determine the eventual boundary. Many of Calhoun's fellow Democrats, however, soon began to advocate a more direct approach.^[4] The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, settled the dispute over the location of the Maine-New Brunswick border between the United States and Great Britain and the shared use of the Great Lakes. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a leading United States Southern politician and political philosopher from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century, best known as a spokesman for slavery, nullification and the rights of electoral minorities, such as slave-holders. ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ...

Election of 1844

At the Democratic National Convention before the 1844 U.S. presidential election, the party platform called for the annexation of Texas and asserted that the United States had a "clear and unquestionable" claim to "the whole" of Oregon and "that no portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any other power." By informally tying the Oregon dispute to the more controversial Texas debate, the Democrats appealed to both Northern expansionists (who were more adamant about the Oregon boundary) and Southern expansionists (who were more focused on annexing Texas). Democratic candidate James K. Polk went on to win a narrow victory over Whig candidate Henry Clay, in part because Clay had taken a stand against expansion. "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" was not yet coined during this election; one actual Democratic campaign slogan from this election (used in Pennsylvania) was the more mundane "Polk, Dallas, and the Tariff of '42".^[5] James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795–June 15, 1849) was the eleventh President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. ... The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. ... Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from December 10, 1834 to April 8, 1835, and again from August 30, 1841 to June 29, 1846. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861). ... Seal of the United States Department of State. ... The Right Honourable George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, PC (January 28, 1784–December 14, 1860) was a Tory/Peelite politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855. ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... Louis McLane Louis McLane (May 28, 1786–October 7, 1857) represented the state of Delaware in both the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and served as the Secretary of the Treasury and later the Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson. ... The office of United States Ambassador (or Minister) to the United Kingdom (also known as Ambassador to the Court of St. ... Sir Richard Pakenham (1797 – 1868) was a British diplomat. ... The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of Britains diplomatic mission to the USA. His official title is Her Majestys Ambassador to the United States of America. ... Featured at the Democratic National Convention are speeches by prominent party figures. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... A party platform, also known as an manifesto is a list of the principles which a political party supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said partys candidates voted into office. ... Republic of Texas The Texas Annexation of 1845 was the annexation of Texas by the United States of America as the 28th state. ... James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795–June 15, 1849) was the eleventh President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. ... The United States Whig Party was a political party of the United States. ... Henry Clay, Sr. ... Official language(s) English, Pennsylvania Dutch Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and the eleventh Vice President, serving under James K. Polk. ... The Tariff of 1842, or Black Tariff as it became known, was a protectionist tariff schedule adopted in the United States to reverse the effects of the Compromise Tariff of 1833. ...

In his March 1845 inaugural address, President Polk quoted from the party platform, saying that the U.S. title to Oregon was "clear and unquestionable". Tensions grew, with both sides moving to strengthen border fortifications in anticipation of war. Despite Polk's bold language, he was actually prepared to compromise, and had no real desire to go to war over Oregon. He believed that a firm stance would compel the British accept a resolution agreeable to the United States, writing that "the only way to treat John Bull was to look him straight in the eye". But Polk's position on Oregon was not mere posturing: he genuinely believed that the U.S. had a legitimate claim to the entire region. He rejected British offers to settle the dispute through arbitration, fearing that no impartial third party could be found.^[6] Inauguration Day is the day on which the President of the United States is sworn in and takes office. ... World War I recruiting poster John Bull is a national personification of the Kingdom of Great Britain created by Dr. John Arbuthnot in 1712, and popularized first by British print makers and then overseas by illustrators and writers such as American cartoonist Thomas Nast and Irish writer George Bernard Shaw...

Prime Minister Robert Peel's Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Aberdeen, also had no intention of going to war over a region that was of diminishing economic value to the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the United States was an important trading partner. With the onset of famine in Ireland, the United Kingdom faced a food crisis, and had an increasing need for American wheat. Aberdeen had already decided to accept the U.S. proposal for a boundary along the 49th parallel, and he instructed Richard Pakenham, his minister in the U.S., to keep negotiations open. Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from December 10, 1834 to April 8, 1835, and again from August 30, 1841 to June 29, 1846. ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... The Right Honourable George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, PC (January 28, 1784–December 14, 1860) was a Tory/Peelite politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855. ... For other uses, please see Great Famine. ... Sir Richard Pakenham (1797 – 1868) was a British diplomat. ...

A complicating factor in the negotiations was the issue of navigation on the Columbia River. Polk's predecessor, John Tyler, had offered the British unrestricted navigation on the river if they would accept a boundary along the 49th parallel. In the summer of 1845, the Polk administration renewed the proposal to divide Oregon along the 49th parallel, but this time without conceding navigation rights. Because this proposal fell short of the Tyler administration's earlier offer, Pakenham rejected the offer without first contacting London. Offended, Polk officially withdrew the proposal on 30 August 1845 and broke off negotiations. Aberdeen censured Pakenham for this diplomatic blunder, and attempted to renew the dialogue. By then, however, Polk was suspicious of British intentions, and under increasing political pressure not to compromise. He declined to reopen negotiations.^[7] John Tyler, Jr. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Slogans and war crisis

Senator Lewis Cass was a leading advocate of 54° 40', but backed away from the claim when it became untenable. Like James Buchanan, Cass had presidential ambitions and did not want to alienate Americans on either side of the Oregon question.

Meanwhile, many newspaper editors in the United States clamored for Polk to claim the entire region as the Democrats had proposed in the 1844 campaign. Headlines like "The Whole of Oregon or None" appeared in the press by November 1845. In a column in the New York Morning News on December 27, 1845, editor John L. O'Sullivan argued that the United States should claim all of Oregon "by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent". Soon afterwards, the term "Manifest Destiny" became a standard phrase for expansionists, and a permanent part of the American lexicon. O'Sullivan's version of "Manifest Destiny" was not a call for war, but such calls were soon forthcoming. http://bioguide. ... http://bioguide. ... Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866) was an American military officer and politician. ... James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861). ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... John L. OSullivan as he appeared on the cover of Harpers Weekly in November 1874. ... This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. ...

In his annual address to Congress on December 2, 1845, Polk recommended giving the British the required one-year notice of the termination of the joint occupation agreement. In Congress, Democratic expansionists from the Midwest, led by Senators Lewis Cass of Michigan, Edward A. Hannegan of Indiana, and William Allen of Ohio, called for war with the United Kingdom rather than accepting anything short of all of Oregon up to 54°40'N. (54°40' was then the southern boundary of the Russian claim to Alaska.) The slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" appeared by January 1846, driven in part by the Democratic press. The phrase is frequently misidentified as a campaign slogan from the election of 1844, even in many textbooks. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations attributes the slogan to William Allen.^[8] 2003 State of the Union address given by U.S. President George W. Bush The State of the Union Address is an annual event in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of the U.S. Congress (the... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866) was an American military officer and politician. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,990 sq mi (253,793 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 491 miles (790 km)  - % water 41. ... Edward Allen Hannegan (June 25, 1807 - February 25, 1859) was a United States Representative and Senator from Indiana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... William Allen ( December 27, 1803 - July 11, 1879) was a Democratic Representative and Senator from Ohio and Governor of Ohio. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... As seen in this photo of the Bering Strait, Alaskas West coast and Russias East coast are not far apart. ... Bartletts Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartletts, is an American reference work that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotations. ...

The calls to war were fueled by a number of factors, including traditional distrust of the British and a belief that the U.S. had the better claim and would make better use of the land. Moderates warned that the U.S. could not win a war against the world's greatest power, and that negotiation could still achieve U.S. territorial goals. Although the debate in the U.S. was not strictly divided along party or sectional lines, many who clamored for the 54°40' border were Northerners upset that Polk (a Southern slave owner) had been uncompromising in his pursuit of Texas (a cause deemed favorable to Southern slave owners), but willing to compromise on Oregon. As historian David M. Pletcher noted, "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" seemed to be directed at the southern aristocracy in the U.S. as much as at the United Kingdom.^[9] This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

Resolution and treaty

The Oregon Territory, established by the Oregon Treaty.

Although Polk had called on Congress in December 1845 to pass a resolution notifying the British of the termination of joint occupancy agreement, it was not until 23 April 1846 that both houses complied. The passage was delayed (especially in the Senate) by contentious debate, and ultimately a mild resolution was approved, the text of which called on both governments to settle the matter amicably. By a large margin, moderation had won out over calls for war. Unlike Western Democrats, most Congressmen—like Polk—did not want to fight for 54° 40'. ^[10] The Oregon Territory in 1848. ... The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain, as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859. ... Map of the lands in dispute The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (114th in leap years). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The Polk administration then made it known that the British government should offer terms to settle the issue. Time was of the essence, because it was well known that the Peel government would fall with the impending repeal of the corn laws in the United Kingdom, and then negotiations would have to begin again with a new ministry. Aberdeen and Louis McLane, the American minister in the United Kingdom, quickly worked out a compromise and sent it to the United States. There, Pakenham and U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan drew up a formal treaty, known as the Oregon Treaty, which was ratified by the Senate on 18 June 1846 by a vote of 41–14. The border was set at the 49th parallel, the original U.S. proposal, with navigation rights on the Columbia River granted to British subjects living in the area. Senator William Allen, one of the most outspoken advocates of the 54° 40' claim, felt betrayed by Polk and resigned his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee. Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from December 10, 1834 to April 8, 1835, and again from August 30, 1841 to June 29, 1846. ... The Corn Laws, in force between 1815 and 1846, were import tariffs ostensibly designed to protect British farmers and landowners against competition from cheap foreign grain imports. ... Louis McLane Louis McLane (May 28, 1786–October 7, 1857) represented the state of Delaware in both the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and served as the Secretary of the Treasury and later the Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson. ... James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861). ... Map of the lands in dispute The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. ...

The terms of the Oregon Treaty were essentially the same ones that had been rejected by the British two and a half years earlier, and thus represented a diplomatic victory for Polk. However, Polk has often been criticized for his handling of the Oregon question. Historian Sam W. Haynes characterizes Polk's policy as "brinkmanship" which "brought the United States perilously close to a needless and potentially disastrous conflict". David M. Pletcher notes that while Polk's bellicose stance was the by-product of internal American politics, the war crisis was "largely of his own creation" and might have been avoided "with more sophisticated diplomacy".^[11] This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Pig War — ambiguities in the wording of the Oregon Treaty regarding the route of the boundary, which was to follow "the deepest channel" out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and beyond to the open ocean resulted in another boundary dispute in 1859 over the San Juan Islands. The dispute was also peacefully resolved after a decade of confrontation and military bluster during which the local British authorities consistently lobbied London to seize back the Puget Sound region entirely, as the United States were busy elsewhere with the Civil War. The San Juans dispute was not resolved until 1870, when the American-preferred marine boundary via Haro Strait, to the west of the islands, rather than the British preference for Rosario Strait which lay to their east, was chosen by the arbitrator (the German Emperor).
• Alaska Boundary Dispute

The Pig War (also called the Pig Episode, the San Juan Boundary Dispute or the Northwestern Boundary Dispute) was a confrontation in 1859 between American and British authorities, resulting from a dispute over the boundary between the United States and Great Britain. ... One of the San Juan islands The San Juan Islands are a part of the San Juan Archipelago in the northwest corner of the continental United States. ... Haro Strait, often referred to as the Haro Straits because it is really a series of straits, is one of the main channels connecting the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca separating Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada from the San Juan... The Rosario Strait is a strait in northern Washington state, separating Island and San Juan Counties. ... The Alaska Boundary Dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States of America and Canada (then a British Dominion with its foreign affairs controlled from London), and at a subnational level between the territory of Alaska on the U.S. side and British Columbia and the Yukon on the...

In popular culture

• 54-40, a Canadian rock band, takes its name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight".
• 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough was a 1909 bestselling American novel about the Oregon crisis
• 54-40 is a song by Portland, Oregon rock band Dead Moon
• In the Twilight Zone episode "A Kind of Stopwatch" the man in the bar who gives the main character a stop watch that can freeze time is first asked "What do you say, old man?" and replies with "What do I say, well I say fifty-four forty or fight"

54-40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Vancouver, British Columbia, whose literate and melodic music is frequently compared to that of R.E.M. The band takes their name from the slogan Fifty-Four Forty or Fight, coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K. Polks... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Emerson Hough (1857-1923) was an American author, best known for writing western stories. ... This is a list of bestselling novels in the United States, as determined by Publishers Weekly. ... Nickname: Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter Area  - City  145. ... Dead Moon is a Portland, Oregon band fronted by longtime singer/guitarist/songwriter Fred Cole. ... Note, this page is about the television series and its two revivals. ...

Historical maps

The boundary between British and American territory was shown differently in maps at the time:

An 1841 American map showing the 54°40' line near Fort Simpson as the boundary Image File history File links 1841_map_of_the_Oregon_Territory. ...

An 1844 British map showing the Columbia River as the boundary Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2552x2926, 1694 KB) A crop of a map of British North America (Canada) drawn in 1844 by John Arrowsmith, showing the Oregon Territory. ... The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. ...

An 1846 map showing the 49th parallel as the boundary through Vancouver Island Image File history File links 1846_Oregon_territory. ... Vancouver Island is separated from mainland British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Strait, and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca Strait. ...

An undated map showing the detached territory option proposed by the British Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2324x2201, 2342 KB) From: Political History of Oregon by James Henry Brown (1837-1898), copyright W.B. Allen 1892. ...

Notes

1. ^ Oregon History: Land-based Fur Trade and Exploration
2. ^ Ewing Young Route. compiled by Karen Bassett, Jim Renner, and Joyce White.
3. ^ Salem Online History: Salem's Historic Figures
4. ^ Pletcher, pp. 109–110. The phrase "wise and masterly inactivity", which Calhoun used more than once, originated with Sir James Mackintosh. (source)
5. ^ Rosenboom, p. 132.
6. ^ Polk did not desire war, believed the Oregon claim: Haynes, p. 118. John Bull quote: Pletcher, p. 328. Rejects arbitration: Pletcher, p. 322.
7. ^ Pletcher, pp. 237–249, 296–300; Haynes, pp. 118–120.
8. ^ Both Pletcher (p. 223) and Rosenboom (p. 132) note that the slogan was not used in the election. Pletcher also notes that many textbooks get this wrong. See also E.A. Miles, "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight": an American Political Legend, Mississippi Valley Historical Review 44(2), September 1957, pp. 291–309, and Hans Sperber, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight": Facts and Fictions, American Speech 32(1), February 1957, pp. 5–11.
9. ^ Pletcher, pp. 335–37.
10. ^ Pletcher, pp. 351.
11. ^ Diplomatic victory for Polk, Haynes p. 136; brinkmanship, Haynes p. 194; Pletcher quote, p. 592.

Sir James Mackintosh (October 24, 1765 - May 30, 1832), Scottish publicist, was undoubtedly one of the most cultured and catholic-minded men of his time. ...

References

• Haynes, Sam W. James K. Polk and the Expansionist Impulse. Arlington: University of Texas, 1997.
• Pletcher, David M. The Diplomacy of Annexation: Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican War. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1973.
• Rosenboom, Eugene H. A History of Presidential Elections: From George Washington to Richard M. Nixon. Third edition. New York: Macmillan, 1970.

External links

Party platform and speeches

• 1844 Democratic platform, which asserted that the U.S. "title to the whole of the Territory of Oregon is clear and unquestionable"
• Polk's March 1845 inaugural address, in which he reasserted the "clear and unquestionable" claim
• Polk's December 1845 message to Congress, in which he called for the end of the joint occupation of Oregon

Political cartoons from Harper's Weekly, 1846 Teresa Bagioli Sickles confession, 1859 Harpers Weekly (A Journal of Civilization) was an American political magazine based in New York City. ...

• "Polk's Dream", in which the Devil, disguised as Andrew Jackson, advises Polk to fight for the 54°40' line
• "Present Presidential Position", in which the Democratic Party's "jackass" is standing on the 54°40' line
• "Ultimatum on the Oregon Question", Polk talks with Queen Victoria, while others make comments
• "War! or No War!", two Irish immigrants face off over the boundary question

Other

• Fifty-Four Forty or Fight at About.com, an example of a reference that mistakenly describes the phrase as an 1844 campaign slogan
• Another reference work that mistakenly ascribes the slogan Fifty-Four Forty or Fight to Polk is the Encyclopædia Britannica. URL last accessed December 16, 2005.
• 54-40 or Fight shows the quilt block named after the slogan. In this time period, women frequently used quilts to express their political views.

	Pioneer History of Oregon (1806–1890)
Topics	Oregon Country · Oregon Treaty · Oregon missionaries · Executive Committee · Oregon Trail · Oregon boundary dispute · Pacific Fur Company · Provisional Government · Ferries · Hudson's Bay Company The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general encyclopedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Map of the lands in dispute The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed... Jason Lee The Oregon missionaries were collectively the religious-minded pioneers who settled in the Oregon Country of North America starting in the 1830s with the intent of coverting local Native Americans to Christianity. ... An Executive Committee was the title of a three-person committee which served as the executive Branch of the Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. ... The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country that was in effect from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. ... Historic ferries in Oregon are water transport ferries that operated in Oregon Country, Oregon Territory, and the state of Oregon, United States. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ...
Events	Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Champoeg Meetings · Whitman massacre · Donation Land Claim Act The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by United States European-American pioneers. ... Marcus Whitman The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and the Whitman Incident) was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with twelve others, by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. ... The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known just as the Donation Land Act, was a historic law passed by the Congress of the United States intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest (comprising the present-day states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho). ...
Places	Fort Astoria · Oregon Mission · Fort Vancouver · Champoeg, Oregon · Fort William · Barlow Road · Whitman Mission Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Companys primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. ... Oregon Mission (1831-1846) began as an effort by the Methodist Episcopal Church to convert the native Indians of the far west to Christianity. ... Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudsons Bay Company in the companys Columbia District (known to Americans as the Oregon Country). ... Champoeg, Oregon Champoeg, pronounced sham_POO_ee (SAMPA /ʃæm. ... Fort William was a fur trading outpost built by American Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1834. ... The Barlow Road was the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail before reaching the Willamette Valley. ... Whitman Mission National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located just west of Walla Walla, Washington, at the site of the massacre of the family of Dr. Marcus Whitman by the Cayuse on November 29, 1847. ...
People	George Abernethy · Sam Barlow · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Philip Foster · Peter French · Joseph Gale · William Gilpin · David Hill · Jason Lee · Asa Lovejoy · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · John Minto · Joel Palmer · Sager orphans · Henry H. Spalding · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman · Ewing Young George Abernethy (1807 - 1877) was a U.S. businessman. ... Samuel Kimbrough Barlow (b. ... Tabitha Moffatt Brown (May 1, 1780 – May 4, 1858) was a pioneer emigrant that traveled the Oregon Trail, and assisted in the founding of Tualatin Academy that would grow to become Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. ... Abigail Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 _ October 11, 1915) was born Abigail Jane Scott near Groveland, Illinois, to John Tucker Scott and Anne Roelofson. ... Philip Foster (January 29, 1805–March 17, 1884) was one of the first settlers in Oregon, United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Joseph Gale (1807-1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, and politican who contributed to the early settlment of the Oregon Country. ... William Gilpin William Gilpin (October 4, 1813–1894) was a 19th century U.S. explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. ... David Hill (1809–1850), was a pioneer and settler of what became Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. ... Jason Lee (NSHC statue) Jason Lee (June 28, 1803 – March 12, 1845) an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. ... Asa Lawrence Lovejoy (born 1808 in Massachusetts, died 1882) was an Oregon pioneer and one of the founders of the city of Portland, Oregon. ... John McLoughlin (NSHC statue) Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the Father of Oregon, was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. ... Joseph Lafayette Meek (1810–1875) was born in Washington County, Virginia, near the Cumberland Gap. ... Meeker in Kearney, Nebraska, ca. ... John Minto IV (October 10, 1822 - February 25, 1915) was an American pioneer born in Wylam, England. ... General Joel Palmer, October 4, 1810 (Ontario, Canada) – June 9, 1881 (Dayton, Oregon), was an Oregon pioneer, author of a popular immigrant guidebook, co-founder of Dayton, Oregon, a controversial Indian Affairs administrator, and a popular Oregon politician. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Henry Harmon Spalding (1803 - 1874), and his wife Eliza Hart Spalding were prominent Presbyterian missionaries and educators working primarily with the Nez Perce in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. ... Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802–November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. ... Narcissa Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847), born Narcissa Prentiss in Prattsburgh, New York in the Genesee Valley. ... Ewing Young expeditions to American West Ewing Young (1799 - February 9, 1841) was an American trapper from Tennessee who traveled the western United States before settling in Oregon Country. ...
Oregon History	Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Oregon Pioneer History (1806 to 1890) is the time in the European History of Oregon when pioneers and mountain men traveled west to explore and settle the lands west of the Rocky Mountains and north of California. ...