With considerable of the jingo spirit in the house, and with commendable moderation in the senate, a notice was finally prepared which would accomplish the result without giving offense. England, realizing that longer delay might only injure her cause, finally took the initiative and proposed the conference which met in 1846, and settled the boundary by a compromise at the forty-ninth degree of latitude.
The settlement of the boundary line was the result that had been looked for so many years, and it would seem that nothing longer stood in the way of a realization of the hopes of all who favored the extension of the national government as far as the Pacific Ocean. One after another the obstacles had been falling away. The knowledge and facilities of travel which enabled yearly trains of emigrants to cross the plains were eliminating the element of distance. The advance of a sturdy population carrying westward breadth of views and force of character was deciding the national policy, and the settlement of the boundary line removed a multitude of difficulties which filled the whole period of joint occupancy. Why then should there be longer delay? Action was expected by the people, the needs were growing greater every day.
It is easily explained. The very cause which had gained for the nation the territory, now operated to retard the passage of a bill which would make it a territory in government. The question in the last phase of its existence had gained entrance into the party politics of the country, which at that time were identified with the question of slavery and its extension into new territory. Though every barrier was removed, though Dr. Whitman with thirteen others had been murdered by Indians, though an urgent petition was received from the provisional government pleading for action, though two special messengers were sent to Washington to hasten legislation, though the democratic party was pledged to complete the work begun, though the President sent a special and urgent message to congress, though the territory in question was wholly outside of the belt where slavery might reasonably be expected to exist, yet an obstinate desire to maintain the abstract doctrine, and prevent any reflections upon the unholy institution of slavery, was responsible for this delay.
The President in his message of December, 1847, said: “Besides the want of legal authority for continuing their provisional government, it is wholly inadequate to protect them in their rights of person and property, or to secure to them the enjoyment of the privileges of other citizens to which they are entitled under the Constitution of the United States. They should have the right of suffrage, be represented in a territorial legislature by a delegate in congress, and possess all the rights and privileges which citizens of other portions of the United States have hitherto enjoyed, or may now enjoy.”
While the executive department was strongly urging the question, it was receiving attention likewise in congress. After the death of Senator Linn, new advocates of the subject came forward, both in the house and in the senate. Bills and resolutions were before the legislature continually. Memorials came in from bodies of prospective settlers, from city councils, and even from state legislatures. The provisional government sent petitions in behalf of the colonists, which were well worded statements of the situation. Atchison and Hughes, both of Missouri, introduced bills, in which the boundary line at fifty-four degrees, forty minutes, was asserted. The notice of the termination of the treaty of joint occupancy was given which led to the conference of 1846, and the settlement of the boundary. After the treaty, various bills were introduced for the establishment of a territorial government. For two years obstructions and delays prevented action, and the last session under Polk’s administration arrived. There were at this time two bills before congress, both practically framed by Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois. The interest manifested by Mr. Douglas in this matter again illustrates how much the development of civil government in Oregon is connected with other questions. He seems to have been largely interested in the creation of new territories out of the possessions west of the Mississippi. In a conversation before his death he stated to a friend, who has reported it in a treatise, that this interest was caused by a conviction that there was a settled policy in the east to prevent the westward growth of the nation by settling the Indian tribes, as they were gradually being moved upon the public lands west of the Mississippi. Not only would this prevent a large part of that valley from being settled and becoming a part of the nation, but would completely cut off the line of emigration to Oregon, retarding its growth, or destroying it altogether.[[17]]
An unfortunate amendment touching the question of slavery was made to Mr. Douglas’ bill, and from that time on the main issue was buried out of sight in the discussion of the slavery question. The representatives from the south would not sanction a denial of their right to take their slaves with them into any of the new territories. Various attempts were made to sidetrack the question by joining its destiny with that of California and New Mexico, and various efforts at compromise were made. As the last day of session came, the anxiety was intense. The bill was before the senate for decision. The subject occupied the greater part of the day, and was continued into the night. Many of the leading men took part in the discussion. It was the policy of the opposition to delay action until the expiration of congress. Mr. Benton called attention to the urgent need for immediate action in somewhat exaggerated language: “A few years ago we were ready to fight all the world to get possession; and now we are just as willing to throw her away as we were then to risk everything for her possession. She is left without a government, without laws, while at this moment she is engaged in a war with the Indians. There are twelve or fifteen thousand persons settled there who have claims on our protection. She is three thousand miles from the metropolitan seat of government. And yet, although she has set up a provisional government for herself, and that provisional government has taken on itself the enactment of laws, it is left to the will of every individual to determine for himself whether he will obey those laws or not. She has now reached a point beyond which she can exist no longer?”[[18]] The opposition spirit is illustrated in the equally exaggerated remarks of John C. Calhoun: “The separation of the north and south is now completed. The south has now a solemn obligation to perform to herself, to the Constitution, to the Union. She is bound to come to a decision not to permit this to go on any further, but to show that, dearly as she prizes the Union, there are questions which she regards as of greater importance. She is bound to fulfill her obligations as she may best understand them. This is not a question of territorial government, but a question involving the Union.” It is interesting to hear Mr. Webster’s views as summed up in the Congressional Globe: “His objection to slavery was irrespective of lines, and points of latitude. He was opposed to it in every shape, and in every qualification. He was against any compromise of the question.” At the close of the day a motion to lay the bill on the table was defeated. The evening was given to discussion, and a motion to adjourn was lost. As the night passed away, the friends of the bill reclined in the ante-rooms ready to vote if an opportunity came, while a few kept guard in the senate chamber. A motion at midnight to adjourn was lost. A senator from Mississippi arose for the purpose of killing time. Until 9 o’clock the following morning, which was Sunday, he gave a rambling history of the world, beginning with the story of the creation. Exhausted, either in strength, material, or obstinacy, he finally sat down. Senator Benton, ever on the alert, immediately moved the passage of the bill. It was carried in a short time, and taken to the President for his signature so that it might become a part of his administration. Thus Oregon became a territory August 14, 1848. It was a very fitting thing that Senator Benton, who had from the first championed the cause, should have the satisfaction of seeing it finished.
The provisions of the bill making Oregon a territory resembled those of other bills of a similar kind in most particulars. The special messengers, J. Quinn Thornton and Stephen L. Meek, had been able to make suggestions which fitted the bill to the peculiar needs of the new territory. It was notable in being the first bill to set aside two townships of land, instead of one, for the purpose of supporting schools. It recognized the machinery of government already in existence, and endorsed the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, which had already been adopted, in regard to slavery. The transition from the provisional government to the territorial was easily made, and Oregon started out on a new era of existence. The first Governor appointed, Gen. Joseph Lane, referring later in congress to the experience of this time said: “When I arrived there, in the winter of 1848, I found the provisional government working beautifully. Peace and plenty blessed the hills and vales, and harmony and quiet, under the benign influence of that government, reigned supreme throughout her borders. I thought it was almost a pity to disturb the existing relations, to put that government down and another up. Yet they came out to meet me, their first Governor, under the laws of the United States. They told me how proud they were to be under the laws of the United States, and how glad they were to welcome me as holding the commission of the general government.”
The period of territorial government was one of growth along all lines. Trouble with the Indians, increase of population, development of industrial life, and the various needs of a growing community, made many drafts upon the new government. It was not long before the largeness of the territory made a division desirable. The people north of the Columbia, separated from those to the south by geographical boundaries, and possessing interests of their own, voted to request the formation of the Washington Territory. This was granted by congress in 1853.
It was not long before forces began to bring about the last step in the development of civil government. There were many things which led to a desire for statehood. The people, in their provisional government, had become accustomed to the complete management of their local affairs, without the supervision of any power above them. While they valued the strength that was derived from connection with the United States, there were many restrictions which troubled them. Then, too, there were other delays incident to ratification of legislation, which was vexatious, particularly to a people who had hitherto enjoyed the quick application of their own laws. The difference between the local and national policy regarding the Indian problem was another influence at work. The people, annoyed by troubles with the Indians, which were breaking out at intervals, were inclined to a policy that would remove the Indians entirely, while the general government sought to pursue a policy that was more conservative. Nor was the local pride, which the rapid progress of California into statehood had aroused, entirely without its effect. A desire was likewise manifested for the advantage that was thought to lie in the larger representation that a state would have in congress, by the addition of two senators. Nor were ambitious politicians wanting to keep alive this belief and to accept the positions created. There were influences pulling toward the creation of a state government, with its senatorial representation, outside of the community most directly interested. There are always interests to be found in the general drift of political affairs that seek re-enforcement through the admission of new states.
So great, however, was the opposition among the people of the territory, that the calling of a constitutional convention was three times submitted to the people before it was sanctioned. There was opposition from the southern part of the territory where a plan was in contemplation for union with Northern California in the formation of a new state; there was opposition from the Whig party which was growing in power and had a vigorous organ to represent it in the Oregonian, and there was a feeling of conservatism which felt that things were not yet ripe for statehood, expressed later so well by Matthew P. Deady, the President of the Convention, in his closing address to that body: “I have not regretted the delay that has occurred, by the country refusing to authorize a convention before this time; but on the contrary, think it has been for the best. As to mere numbers and wealth, we have doubtless sufficient of both to maintain a state government; but a people in my opinion, require age and maturity, as well as wealth and numbers to make them competent to carry on a government successfully. As in the growth of the child and the oak so with a people. Thrown together as we have been, upon this coast, it requires time to knit together in one harmonious whole our diversified elements of population.”[[19]]