Joint Occupation and Settlement.—­Both England and the United States had long laid claim to Oregon and in 1818 they had agreed to occupy the territory jointly—­a contract which was renewed ten years later for an indefinite period.  Under this plan, citizens of both countries were free to hunt and settle anywhere in the region.  The vanguard of British fur traders and Canadian priests was enlarged by many new recruits, with Americans not far behind them.  John Jacob Astor, the resourceful New York merchant, sent out trappers and hunters who established a trading post at Astoria in 1811.  Some twenty years later, American missionaries—­among them two very remarkable men, Jason Lee and Marcus Whitman—­were preaching the gospel to the Indians.

Through news from the fur traders and missionaries, Eastern farmers heard of the fertile lands awaiting their plows on the Pacific slope; those with the pioneering spirit made ready to take possession of the new country.  In 1839 a band went around by Cape Horn.  Four years later a great expedition went overland.  The way once broken, others followed rapidly.  As soon as a few settlements were well established, the pioneers held a mass meeting and agreed upon a plan of government.  “We, the people of Oregon territory,” runs the preamble to their compact, “for the purposes of mutual protection and to secure peace and prosperity among ourselves, agree to adopt the following laws and regulations until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us.”  Thus self-government made its way across the Rocky Mountains.

[Illustration:  THE OREGON COUNTRY AND THE DISPUTED BOUNDARY]

The Boundary Dispute with England Adjusted.—­By this time it was evident that the boundaries of Oregon must be fixed.  Having made the question an issue in his campaign, Polk, after his election in 1844, pressed it upon the attention of the country.  In his inaugural address and his first message to Congress he reiterated the claim of the Democratic platform that “our title to the whole territory of Oregon is clear and unquestionable.”  This pretension Great Britain firmly rejected, leaving the President a choice between war and compromise.

Polk, already having the contest with Mexico on his hands, sought and obtained a compromise.  The British government, moved by a hint from the American minister, offered a settlement which would fix the boundary at the forty-ninth parallel instead of “fifty-four forty,” and give it Vancouver Island.  Polk speedily chose this way out of the dilemma.  Instead of making the decision himself, however, and drawing up a treaty, he turned to the Senate for “counsel.”  As prearranged with party leaders, the advice was favorable to the plan.  The treaty, duly drawn in 1846, was ratified by the Senate after an acrimonious debate.  “Oh! mountain that was delivered of a mouse,” exclaimed Senator Benton, “thy name shall be fifty-four forty!” Thirteen years later, the southern part of the territory was admitted to the union as the state of Oregon, leaving the northern and eastern sections in the status of a territory.