The Oregon Territory was the located in the region west of the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains. It lay between the 42nd parallel, the northern boundary of California, and the 54°-40' line, the southern boundary of Alaska, including all or parts of future states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Both sides had long-standing claims, the claims of the United States having originated with the Lewis and Clark expedition.
In 1841 Congress considered a bill for construction of forts along the Oregon Trail, and for generous land grants. British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston declared in Parliament that passage of the bill "would be a declaration of war." Secretary of State John Calhoun urged restraint, arguing that the settlers moving into the territory of their own free will would solve the problem.61 The bill did not pass. Webster and Ashburton avoided issue while arriving at their treaty in 1842, feeling that other issues were more pressing. About that time "Oregon fever" set in, a result of the panic of 1837 and the attractiveness of rich farmland that could be cultivated year-round. Slavery had not penetrated the Oregon area, which Northeasterners also found appealing. As California still belonged to Mexico, the only outlet for Americans on the west coast was Oregon, which had
Been occupied jointly with the British since 1818. The area in dispute in the early 1840s lay between the Columbia River and the 49th parallel.
Most Easterners didn't care about the land west of the Rockies, at least until the 1849 gold rush, but some saw it as a gateway to the Orient and trade. One campaign slogan among expansionists in 1844 election had been "54-40 or fight," meaning that America wanted the entire Oregon territory for itself. The coming of the Mexican War made it clear that President Polk was in no position to fight Great Britain. At the same time Great Britain did not
Want war with the United States over a remote area with little British population.
In 1845 the Oregon issue was also tied to Texas as part of the regional balance over slavery. Then President Polk asserted the U. S. claim in his inaugural address, irritating the British further. Polk offered to settle the dispute along the 49th parallel, but the British refused. Polk thereupon reverted to demanding the 54°-40' line, but he was probably bluffing. Meanwhile, internal British political upheavals caused a reevaluation, and the 49th parallel was again offered and agreed upon. President Polk referred the matter to the Senate, which recommended acceptance. The treaty passed 41-14, a reasonable solution—with no bloodshed.
James Polk's Legacy. James K. Polk had emerged as a dark horse for the nomination of the Democratic Party for President in 1844. Although he had been Speaker of the House and governor of Tennessee, he was relatively unknown. He had four major goals for his administration to accomplish: to lower the protective tariff; to resolve the Oregon boundary dispute; to restore the independent treasury; and to acquire New Mexico and California. He achieved all those goals, thus becoming a very successful president in terms of his own intentions. He also prosecuted the Mexican War successfully, despite considerable domestic opposition, setting aside political considerations regarding his military commanders. Yet the Whig party was still strong, and there was much discontent in parts of the country over Texas, the Mexican Cession, and other issues. Polk had promised to serve only one term, and he was exhausted after his four years in office. His retirement lasted only three months; he died in June 1849.
The 1848 Election. As the slavery issue still rankled, the Democratic Party threatened to split apart along North-South lines. The North rejected the extension of the Missouri Compromise line as too beneficial to Southern interests. President Polk kept his promise not to run for an additional term, even though his record was solid. (His turbulent four years in the White House had exhausted "Young Hickory"; he died three months after leaving office.)
The Democrats sought a new candidate and finally nominated Lewis Cass of Michigan, who had coined the phrase "squatter sovereignty" or "popular sovereignty," an idea that avoided a direct confrontation over the issue of slavery in the territories by leaving it up to the settlers themselves to decide. For all but the abolitionists, there was considerable support for popular sovereignty.
The Barnbumers—Democrats discontented over the slavery issue-walked out and formed the Free-Soil Party, which nominated Martin Van Buren, who favored the Wilmot Proviso, and Charles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy Adams. The old Liberty Party of 1844 joined
The Free-Soilers. Popular sovereignty found support among anti-slavery forces, who assumed that the territorial settlers would have a chance to prohibit slavery before it could get established. It was unacceptable, however, to those who wanted definite limits placed on the expansion of slavery.
Daniel Webster was the natural choice of the Whigs, but a military hero was too appealing—it had worked for the Whigs in 1840 with Benjamin Harrison. The Whigs, who had no platform, nominated "Old Rough and Ready," General Zachary Taylor, who had no discernible political positions on almost any public issue. He had never held elective office. Born in Virginia and raised in Kentucky, Taylor was a relative of both James Madison and Robert E. Lee.
His running mate was Millard Fillmore of New York, selected to balance the ticket since he came from a non-slave state. Taylor promised that there would be no executive interference with any proposed congressional legislation. With the discontented Democrats, now Free-Soilers, again taking votes in key states, General Taylor won the election, thus realizing President Polk's fears of a Whig general winning the White House with a minority of the popular vote.
World History
