12-1 Oregon Country

1. 12-1 Oregon Country Pages 356-360 1819 1836 1846 1840 Adams-Onis Treaty is signed Marcus Whitman builds mission in Oregon “Oregon fever” sweeps through Miss. Valley US and Britain set the Oregon Boundary at 49 N Main Idea: Manifest Destiny is the idea that the United States was meant to extend its borders from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean

2. Vocabulary Joint Occupation- the possession an area shared by two or more countries. Mountain man- a frontiersman that is living in the wilderness Rendezvous- a meeting Emigrant- A person that leaves the a country (region) to live elsewhere. Manifest Destiny An idea during the 1800’s that the country must expand it’s boundaries to the Pacific Ocean

3. Oregon country was the huge area that was between the Pacific Ocean and Rocky Mountains (north of California). It was all of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, plus parts of Montana & Wyoming. 4 nations laid claim to the vast, rugged land. United States, Spain, Russia, & Great Britain In 1819, Spain gave up their claim to the land with the Adams-Onis Treaty. In 1824 Russia surrendered its claim to any land south of Alaska.

4. First Americans to reach the Oregon country were trappers & traders looking for beaver fur. They spent much of their time hunting and trapping in the Rocky Mountains. These folks were often called “Mountain Men”. These MM’s became familiar with the mountains, rivers, and trails of the West, even opening up new trails through the wilderness. Spain and Russia gave up claims to the Oregon Territory. Why do you think Britain didn't?

5. American setters began traveling to the Oregon country in the 1830’s, lured by reports of abundant, fertile land 1st large scale trip west took place in 1843 when more than 1,000 pioneers left Independence Missouri, for Oregon.

6. Narcissa and Marcus Whitman established their Christian mission at Waiilatpu amongst the Cayuse Indians in Oregon Country. Some settlers at the mission unknowingly infected the Cayuse with measles, which killed many of their children. Angered, the Cayuse attacked the mission in 1847, killing the Whitmans and other settlers Would you be upset with the Whitman's if they bought this disease to your tribe?

7. Pioneers traveled for 2,000 miles along the Oregon Trail. The trail crossed the Great Plain, Rocky Mountains, South Pass, Snake and Columbia Rivers into Oregon Country. You are living during the early 1840’s. You hear that there is cheap, fertile land for the taking in Oregon. Your family might prosper in Oregon. But you will have to travel more than 2,000 miles through the wilderness to get there – and you are not sure what you will find if you make it. Would you leave your home and family behind and take a chance?

8. Most Oregon settlers headed for the fertile Willamette Valley, south of the Columbia River. Between 1840 and 2956, the population of American settlers in the area rose from 500 to 5,000. The British population remained at about 700. While settlers were streaming into Oregon in the 1840’s, the idea of Manifest Destiny was taking hold in the United States. It held that the US was blessed by God and destined to overspread the North American continent and expand its boundaries to the Pacific. This idea made Americans, including those who emigrated to Oregon, more determined than ever to annex the Oregon country and remove Britain’s claim.

9. Oregon became an issue in the presidential election of 1844. James K Polk ran using the slogan “Fifty-four or Fight” (referring to the latitude 54o 40o N), which the British did not agree to. Finally Polk came to an agreement with Britain in June 1846 that split Oregon at 49o N, with an area south of that line becoming a territory of the United States.