Provisional Government of Oregon

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Provisional Government of Oregon
1841/1843–1849
Salmon Seal of the Provisional Government of Oregon Country
Salmon Seal of the Provisional Government
Original districts of the government with the eventual U.S. borders and states superimposed
Original districts of the government with the eventual U.S. borders and states superimposed
StatusPart of the United States (1846–1849)
CapitalOregon City
Common languages
  • English
  • French
GovernmentRepublic
Executive 
• 1841–1843
Supreme Judge Ira Babcock
• 1842–1843
Chairman of the Committee at Champoeg Meetings Ira Babcock
• 1843–1845
Executive Committee
• 1845–1849
Governor George Abernethy
LegislatureUnicameral
History 
• Appointment of constitutional committee and election of Supreme Judge at Champoeg
February 18, 1841
• First Wolf Meeting at Champoeg
February 1, 1843
• Second Wolf Meeting at Champoeg
March 6, 1843
• Creation of the Provisional Government at Champoeg
May 2, 1843
March 3, 1849
Currency
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Oregon Country
Oregon Territory

The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the

American pioneers settling an area then inhabited by the many Indigenous Nations. Much of the region's geography and many of the Natives were not known by people of European descent until several exploratory tours were authorized at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Organic Laws of Oregon were adopted in 1843 with its preamble stating that settlers only agreed to the laws "until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us".[3] According to a message from the government in 1844, the rising settler population was beginning to flourish among the "savages", who were "the chief obstruction to the entrance of civilization" in a land of "ignorance and idolatry".[3]

The government had

Executive Committee, consisting of three members, in effect from 1843 to 1845; in 1845, a governor replaced the committee. The judicial branch had a single Supreme Judge along with several lower courts, and a legislative committee of nine served as a legislature until 1845 when the Oregon House of Representatives
was established.

Background

Main article: Champoeg Meetings

A series of frontiersmen assemblies were held over several years across the

probate judge and a few other positions were appointed.[6]

Further attempts at a pioneer government floundered until travel over the

Ordinance of 1787, were adopted by colonists of the Willamette Valley, establishing the Provisional Government of Oregon.[6]

The government was, according to pioneers Overton Johnson and William H. Winter, intended from the start as an interim entity, until "whenever [the United States] extends her jurisdiction over the Territory".[9] (Johnson would go on to serve as Recorder for the provisional government for a few months in 1844.)

Structure

The Organic Laws were drafted by a legislative committee on May 16, 1843 and June 28, 1843, before being adopted on July 5.[10] Although not a formal constitution, the document outlined the laws of the government.[10] Two years later, on July 2, 1845, a new set of Organic Laws was drafted to revise and clarify the previous version; this newer version was adopted by a majority vote of the people on July 26, 1845.[10] This constitution-like document divided the government into three departments: a judiciary branch, an executive branch, and a legislature.[10] The definition of the executive branch had previously been modified, in late 1844, from a three-person committee to a single governor; this change took effect in 1845.[4]

When appealing for military aid from the American Government in the aftermath of the Whitman massacre, the settlers detailed the structural weaknesses of the Provisional Government:

The very nature of our compact formed between the citizens of a republic and the subjects and official representatives of a monarchy, is such that the ties of political union could not be drawn so closely as to produce that stability and strength sufficient to form an efficient government. This union between democrats of a republic and wealthy aristocratic subjects of a monarchy could not be formed without reserving to themselves the right of allegiance to their respective governments. Political jealousy and strong party feeling have tended to thwart and render impotent the acts of a government, from its very nature weak and insufficient.[11]

Executive branch

George Abernethy, Governor from 1845 to 1849

With the first set of laws, the people created a three-person

Executive Committee to act as an executive.[6] The Second Executive Committee was elected on May 14, 1844, and served until June 12, 1845.[4] A December 1844 amendment of the Organic Laws eliminated the Executive Committee in favor of a single governor, taking effect in June 1845.[4] At that time George Abernethy was elected as the first governor.[3] Abernethy would be the only governor under the Provisional Government. He was reelected in 1847, and served until 1849.[10]

Legislative branch

Main article: Provisional Legislature of Oregon
Morton M. McCarver, Speaker in 1844 and 1845

The Provisional Legislature held session mainly in

two house Oregon Territorial Legislature
.

Judicial branch

James W. Nesmith
, Supreme Judge in 1844 and 1845

The Provisional Government also included a judiciary. The forerunner of the

James W. Nesmith.[15]

Districts

During its existence the Provisional Government's authority was restricted to the pioneer settlements, generally located in or around the Willamette Valley.[3][7][16] The entire Oregon Country was decreed to be covered by four administrative divisions.[6] Initially created on July 5, 1843, were the Twality, Yamhill, Clackamas and Champooick (later Champoeg) districts.[6] Yamhill district claimed the lands west of the Willamette River and a line extending from its course, and south of the Yamhill River.[6] Champooick District was adjacent to the east, its northern border the confluence of the Pudding and Molalla Rivers.[6] Twality District was directly north of Yamhill District, its eastern border extending from the mouth of the Willamette River.[6] Clackamas District was to contain "all the territory" that was not decreed a part of the other three districts, located east of Twality District and north of Champooick District.[6] The extent of land claimed north was vague, being "south of the northern boundary of the United States".[6] Despite this the government was defined to extend over all the lands east to the Rocky Mountains and north of the Mexican territory of Alta California.[6][16]

Throughout 1843 and 1844, no attempts were made at controlling lands north of the Columbia River, then under the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company through

Parallel 54°40′ north was adopted.[19] On December 22, 1845 districts were renamed to counties.[10] Additional districts were created over time from the original four, including the Clatsop, Vancouver, Linn, Clark, Polk, Benton counties.[6][19]

Other

Other government positions included Recorder,

Treasurer, Attorney, and Sheriff.[3] The recorder position would later become the position of Secretary of State
.

Laws

See also: Organic Laws of Oregon
Main settlements in the area

With the formation of the Provisional Government, a committee of nine individuals were elected to frame the laws of the government.

Ordinance of 1787, creating the de facto first Oregon constitution.[20] Scholars and historians have appraised the First Organic Laws as being "very crude and unsatisfactory",[17] not allowing for an effective government body to function.[21][16][22]

Over the course of nearly six years under the provisional government, the settlers passed numerous laws. One law allowed people to claim 640 acres (2.6 km2) if they improved the land, which would be solidified later by Congress' adoption of the Donation Land Claim Act.[12] Another law allowed the government to organize a militia and call them out by order of the Executive or Legislature.[3] Under the first Organic Laws of 1843 inhabitants were guaranteed due process of law and a right to a trial by jury.[6] Some other rights established were: no cruel and unusual punishment, no unreasonable bails for defendants, and no takings of property without compensation.[6]

Following the

African Americans could not reside in the Oregon Country, only David Hill and Asa Lovejoy voting against the bill.[4][6] The punishment for any freemen was to be administered every six months of their residency being "not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes".[3] The law was never actually enforced and was struck down in July 1845. However, in 1849 the legislature passed a new law once again prohibiting African Americans in the territory, but differed from the original 1844 law in that it applied to African Americans entering after it was passed, and it used different means to enforce it.[23][24] Despite facing legal discrimination that denied them suffrage and threatened violence, black pioneers remained in Oregon. While the USS Shark was in the region in 1846, its commanding officer estimated there were around 30 black settlers.[25]

In 1844, the legislature passed a law banning the sale of

ardent spirits, out of concern that the Native Americans
would become hostile if intoxicated.

Finances

Prior to the creation of the Provisional Government, the economic activities by in the Oregon European descendants Country were focused on the fur trade. A system called "wheat credit" was established in the 1830s for French-Canadian settlers on the French Prairie.[26] The farmers would take their harvests to a granary in Champoeg, where a receipt for its market value was given,[26] valid for use at HBC stores.[27] Another item used for transactions by French-Canadian and later American pioneers were beaver skins.[1]

The first Organic Laws only authorised voluntary donations, a measure deemed a "utopian scheme", and provided scant funds.

disenfranchisement.[10] Sheriffs acted as tax collectors,[19] but their position was made difficult due to the poverty or unwillingness of many colonists to pay what was owed.[10] Taxes were paid in wheat and gathered at appointed locations for the district, largely HBC warehouses.[19]

A small amount of silver coins from Peru and Mexico freely circulated as legal tender.[1] Minor financial agreements were completed in lieu of currency with assorted agricultural products, such as "wheat, hides, tallow, beef, pork, butter, lard, peas, lumber and other articles of export of the territory" [2] One pioneer recalled the lack of currency, receiving at most 25¢ in transactions between 1844 and 1848.[29] To overcome the lack of circulating coins, Abernethy gathered scraps of flint left over from arrowhead production by local indigenous.[30] After attaching scraps of paper to them, the amount owed by Abernethy was written on one and given to customers, transferable for other supplies at his store.[30] Coins remained a prized item by settlers for example, during a sale of lots in Oregon City a property manager offered a discount of 50% if paid in specie.[31]

A traveler who visited Oregon before the arrival of American merchants reported that HBC stores sold goods at rates lower than in the United States.[32] As merchants from the United States became established in the region, they chaffed under the economic hegemony of the HBC. The vendors pressed for the HBC to charge more for sales to pioneers, which the company did for two years, only for American customers.[33] Joel Palmer reported that without the British company "the prices would be double what they are now".[33]

The small American merchant class and officers of the HBC loaned settlers more credit than most could refund.

scrips issued by the government declared valid currency in 1845.[34][35][36] The law decreeing wheat as currency was ridiculed for not establishing financial standards for the merchants, who were de facto bankers.[37] Between 1847 and 1848 the local market for wheat became flooded from overproduction, causing a decline in its value.[26] The legislature repealed previous regulations on December 20, 1847, making only gold, silver and treasury drafts on valid currency.[19] Thus, the creditors of the territory were able to protect their financial standing by removing wheat as tender.[26]

Around $8,000 from the poll and property taxes were collected over the course of the government, far short of the expenses amounting to $23,000.[10]

California

See also:
Beaver Coins

After the

Beaver Coins in early 1849,[39] though production began on March 10, a week after the dissolution of the Provisional Government.[2]

Settlement with the Hudson's Bay Company

The mounting debts of the government, though it could "scarcely hope" to force the HBC company posts to adhere to its authority, made establishing an agreement with the HBC a priority.[18] An employee of the company, Francis Ermatinger, was elected to the position of Treasurer in July after carrying the French-Canadian vote.[3] In August Applegate inquired to Chief Factor John McLoughlin if the HBC would pay taxes and join the Provisional Government.[40] At the same time a member of the legislature, David Hill, tabled a bill on August 15 that would deny any HBC employees citizenship or suffrage.[6] The measure failed to pass, but demonstrated the feelings of the "Ultra-Americans" towards the company.[40]

While Applegate and McLoughlin held a conference, plans for the administration of the territory above the Columbia River, to be named Vancouver, were begun.

James Douglas was appointed as a justice for Vancouver after the signing of the agreement and in 1846 he and fellow employee Henry Newsham Peers were elected to the legislature.[1][18] If there were any sessions of the Vancouver court, none of the records or correspondence remain.[1] Claims were filed by British subjects covering the HBC forts of Vancouver, Cowlitz, and Nisqually.[40] Vancouver in particular was covered by 18 claims.[25]

British reaction to the agreement was generally negative. It was seen as unneeded by William Peel, son of Prime Minister Peel, who arrived with small flotilla several days after its signing.[41] Mervin Vavasour was in the Oregon Country gathering intelligence about the defensive capabilities of the HBC posts and voiced the minority view that the compact was to the benefit of "peace and prosperity of the community at large".[42]

Militia

Main article: Oregon Rangers

The organic laws laid out plans for a militia of a battalion of mounted riflemen commanded by an officer with the rank of major, with annual inspections.[6] Every male settler between 16 and 60 who wanted to be "considered a citizen" had to be a part of the military; failure to do so would incur fines.[6] (This remains so under modern Oregon law, though now both sexes are included, and the age range is only 18 to 45.)[43] Under the first Organic Laws, power to call out the militia was vested in the Executive Committee, though any officer of the militia could also call them out in times of insurrection or invasion.[6]

Cayuse War

Main article: Cayuse War

In December 1847, after learning of the

James Douglas, Governor Abernethy and the legislature met to discuss the situation.[12] Major Henry A. G. Lee was placed in charge of a company called the Oregon Rifles on December 8 and was ordered to The Dalles. At that location the force established Fort Lee on December 21.[10][44] An additional force of 500 men was to meet in Oregon City by December 25.[12] This group prosecuted the war east of the Cascades under the command of Cornelius Gilliam.[4]

The war continued until five Cayuse emissaries, which according to Archbishop François Norbert Blanchet, were sent to "have a talk with the whites and explain all about the murderers, ten in number, who were no more, and had been killed by the whites, the Cayuses and were all dead."[45] However, the Cayuse party was imprisoned and transported to Oregon City. When the group was asked why they offered themselves to the militia, Tiloukaikt stated "Did not your missionaries teach us that Christ died to save his people? So die we to save our people."[7] At a military court Tiloukait and the four other Cayuses, Tomahas, Klokamas, Isaiachalkis, and Kimasumpkinhese, were found guilty and hanged on June 3, 1850, at Oregon City.[4]

Subsequent history

Signed on June 15, 1846, the

Governor of the Oregon Territory by President Polk, Joseph Lane arrived at Oregon City on March 2, 1849.[12]

Governor Lane kept the legal code of the dissolved provisional government, apart from immediately repealing the law authorizing the minting of the

United States Constitution (Article I, Section 8).[7] The creation of the Washington Territory in 1854 removed the northern half of the Oregon Territory.[46] Established on February 14, 1859, the State of Oregon was composed of roughly the western half of the territory, the remaining eastern section being added to the Washington Territory.[46]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Scott, Leslie M. "Pioneer Gold Money, 1849". Oregon Historical Quarterly 33, No. 1 (1932), pp. 25-30
  2. ^ a b c Strevey, T. Elmer. "The Oregon Mint". The Washington Historical Quarterly 15, No. 4 (1924), pp. 276–284
  3. ^
    OCLC 422191413
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Horner, John B. Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. Portland: The J.K. Gill Co. 1919
  5. ^ Grover, La Fayette, The Oregon Archives Archived 2016-06-17 at the Wayback Machine, Salem: A. Bush, 1853
  6. ^
    Grover, Lafayette. The Oregon Archives. Archived 2016-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
    Salem: A. Bush. 1853, pp. 26-35
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Bancroft, Hubert and Frances Fuller Victor. History of Oregon. Archived 2015-01-31 at the Wayback Machine Vol. 1. San Francisco: History Co., 1890.
  8. ^ Loewenberg, Robert J. "Creating a Provisional Government in Oregon: A Revision". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 68, No. 1 (1977), pp. 20-22
  9. ^ Johnson, Overton; Winter, William H. (1846). Route across the Rocky Mountains with a Description of Oregon and California . as reproduced in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1906.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
  11. ^ Memorial of Legislative Assembly of Oregon Territory relative to their present situation and wants. Archived 2016-05-20 at the Wayback Machine in Miscellaneous Documents Printed by Order of the House of Representatives, during the First Session of the Thirtieth Congress... Vol. 1. Washington: Tippin & Streeper, 1848. p. 5.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Clarke, S. A. Pioneer Days of Oregon History, Volume 2. Portland, Oregon: J. K. Gill Co. 1905
  13. ^ a b "Beginnings of Self-Government". The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Gray, William H. (1870). A History of Oregon, 1792-1849, Drawn from personal observation and authentic information. Portland: Harris & Holman.Free access icon
  15. ^ a b "Oregon Supreme Court Justices". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
  16. ^ a b c Clark, Robert C. (June 1912). "How British and American Subjects Unite in a Common Government for Oregon Territory in 1844". The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society. 13 (2): 140–159.
    JSTOR 20609901.Free access icon
  17. ^ a b Holman, Frederick V. (1912). "A brief history of the Oregon Provisional Government and what caused its formation". The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society. 13 (2): 89–139.Free access icon
  18. ^ a b c d Clark, Robert C. "Last Step in Provisional Government". Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 16, No. 4 (1915), pp. 313–329
  19. ^ a b c d e Oregon Territorial Government. Laws of a General and Local Nature passed by the Legislative Committee and Legislative Assembly. Archived 2016-07-01 at the Wayback Machine Salem, Oregon: Asahel Bush. 1853.
  20. ^ Dobbs, Caroline C. (1932). Men of Champoeg: A Record of the Lives of the Pioneers Who Founded the Oregon Government. Metropolitan Press.
  21. ^ Bancroft, Hubert Howe; Victor, Frances Fuller (1886). History of Oregon Vols.1-2. San Francisco, California: History Company. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)Free access icon
  22. ^ Bradley, Mari M. (1908). "Political Beginnings in Oregon. The Period of the Provisional Government, 1839–1849". The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society. 9 (1): 42–72.
    JSTOR 20609761.Free access icon
  23. JSTOR 40491550
    .
  24. ^ Mcclintock, Thomas C. "James Saules, Peter Burnett, and the Oregon Black Exclusion Law of June 1844". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 86, No. 3 (1995), pp. 121–130
  25. ^ a b Neil M. Howison. Oregon: Report of Lieut. Neil M. Howison, United States Navy, to the Commander of the Pacific Squadron. Archived 2016-05-28 at the Wayback Machine Washington D.C.: Tippin & Streppen. 1848
  26. ^ a b c d e f Gilbert, James Henry. Trade and Currency in Early Oregon. New York City: MacMillan Co. 1907
  27. ^ Lyman, H. S. "Reminiscences of F. X. Matthieu". Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 1, No. 1 (1900), p. 102
  28. ^ Shippee, Lester B. "The Federal Relations of Oregon—VII". The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 20, No. 4 (1919), pp. 345-395
  29. ^ Oregon Pioneer Association. Transactions of the Twenty-Third Annual Reunion. Archived 2016-05-21 at the Wayback Machine Portland: George H. Himes and Co. 1895, p. 109
  30. ^ a b Oregon Native Son and Historical Magazine, Vol. 1. Archived 2016-04-28 at the Wayback Machine Portland: Native Son Publishing Co. 1899, p. 90
  31. ^ "Farm for sale". Oregon Spectator.Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, January 21, 1847, p. 3
  32. ^ Sage, Rufus B. Scenes in the Rocky Mountains. Archived 2016-06-09 at the Wayback Machine Philadelphia: Carey & Hart. 1846, p. 223
  33. ^ a b Palmer, Joel and Reuben Gold Thwaites. Palmer's Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains, 1845-1846. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark Co. 1906, pp. 217–218
  34. ^ a b "The Currency". Oregon Spectator. Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, May 14, 1846, p. 2
  35. ^ Oregon Acts and Laws. Archived 2016-04-29 at the Wayback Machine New York City: N. A. Phemister Co.
  36. ^ Gray, William H. A History of Oregon, 1972–1849. Portland: Harris & Holman. 1870, p. 437
  37. ^ "Repeal the Currency Law". Oregon Spectator. Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, November 25, 1847, p. 2
  38. ^ "Letter from C. E. Picket of California..." Oregon Spectator. Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, June 10, 1847, p. 2
  39. ^ Carey, Charles H. History of Oregon. Portland: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. 1922. p. 407
  40. ^ a b c d e f g Judson, Katharine B. "Dr. John McLoughlin's Last Letter to the Hudson's Bay Company, as Chief Factor, in charge at Fort Vancouver, 1845". Archived 2017-01-04 at the Wayback Machine The American Historical Review 21, No. 1 (1915), pp. 104–134
  41. ^ Scott, Leslie M. "Report of Lieutenant Peel on Oregon in 1845–46". Oregon Historical Quarterly 29, No. 1 (1928), pp. 51–76
  42. ^ Schafer, Joseph. "Documents Relative to Warre and Vavasour's Military Reconnoissance in Oregon, 1845-6". The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 10, No. 1 (1909), pp. 1-99
  43. ^ Oregon Revised Statutes 10§396 Archived 2016-03-26 at the Wayback Machine. Published by the Legislative Counsel Committee of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. 2005. Retrieved on July 20, 2007.
  44. ^ Fagan, David D. 1885. History of Benton County, Oregon: including its geology, topography, Oregon: D. D. Fagan.
  45. Blanchet, François N. Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in Oregon
    . Portland: 1878. pp. 182–184
  46. ^ a b Evans, Elwood. Washington Territory: Her Past, Her Present, and the Elements of Wealth which Ensure Her Future. Archived 2016-05-02 at the Wayback Machine Olympia, Washington: C. B. Bagley. 1877. pp. 15–17

Further reading

External links

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