Early 1800's 4 countries claim it

• US claims after Lewis & Clark

• Britain claims as part of its Canada Territory

• Spain claims as part of its territory in the western area

• Russia claims as a part of its Alaskan territory

An agreement....sort of

• Spain agrees in 1819 to set new border of its territory , which is the current northern border of California

• 1824, Russia agrees to abandon claim south of Alaska

• Britain and US agree to have joint occupation of the area

• US tries to set boundary and split territory with Britain... they refuse

• They continue to have shared occupation for several more years

The First Americans to settle in Oregon

• They were fur traders, not farmers

• Looking for beaver pelt and other fur that was in great demand at the time

• Fur Trading Posts set up to trade with local natives

• "mountain men" were the main workers in the area

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Oregon Fever...

• in 1840's, the great migration towards the Pacific Ocean hits the US

• Thousands of migrants journey over 2000 miles across the US towards Oregon

• Americans outnumber British citizens 10 to 1

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"Forty Four or Fight"

• Slogan used during election of 1844

• US was willing to fight Britain once again, this time over the Oregon Territory

• President James Polk reaches deal with Britain to split territory to current day lines.

The Oregon Trail

• Between 1800 and 1860, it is estimated to have had up to 500,000 people travel it

• Started in Independence, MO and go through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon

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Rough conditions

• Settlers faced many obstacles...

• Native Indians, rough terrain, crossing rivers, wild animals, etc

• They could travel 15-20 miles per day

• Journey often would take 5-6 months

Problems encountered

• diseases and accidents

• poor sanitation, lack of clean drinking water,

• diseases spread due to close contacts

• many children hurt by falling out of wagons

• Estimated up to 20,000 people died