In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

48 Chapter 3 Early Statehood and the Civil War Era 1859. It seems like ancient history, doesn’t it? Considering that 32 states were already in the Union when Oregon was admitted on February 14, 1859 and only 17 states entered the Union after, Oregon is a relatively young state. Looking at it another way, the span of time between 1859 and the present is about equivalent to the lives, back to back, of two 75-year-old people. To many, early Oregon is a mythical place, a primitive colony of mountain men, wagon trains, and rugged pioneer families, with primitive farms and log cabins and huge forests, an Eden half a continent away from frontier states like Iowa and Minnesota and Texas. Yet there were plenty of signs in 1859 that America was pushing westward. California had been a state since 1850, and, next door, Nevada was about to become a territory (and, in 1864, a state). Still, ominous clouds hovered over the land. The Union was in danger. The issues of slavery , abolition, and states rights, along with the balance of power in Congress and the actions of a few fanatics, were deepening the divisions between America’s regions and her people. If there was war, where would Oregon’s loyalties be? Living in a new state, Oregonians would be sorely tested during a period of national crisis. Fortunately, Oregonians of 1859 had lived in relative harmony for two decades under a government and laws that they had created for themselves. When the Civil War started in April 1861, Oregon already had the necessary institutions in place to carry her through this awful American tragedy. Oregon celebrated its first birthday as a state on February 14, 1860, with citizens who were optimistic about the new decade. Thousands of emigrants entered the state every summer and fall. The white population of Oregon in 1860 was 52,465. Males outnumbered females about three to two. Just under 50% of the men were between ages 20 and 49. The economy was healthy and jobs were plentiful. Portland was Oregon’s largest town with 2,874 residents. Weekly stagecoach service linking Oregon City to Jacksonville began that spring. Portland had daily stagecoach service to Sacramento, via Roseburg and early statehood and the civil war era 49 Jacksonville, beginning in September. But it would be another four years before Oregon was linked by telegraph to California: Portland was connected to Yreka and from Yreka the telegraph linked to Marysville and transcontinental service. Slowly, Oregon was emerging from its extreme isolation. 1860: A Year of Decision Americans everywhere recognized the importance of the 1860 presidential campaign. Slavery—and the super-charged emotions it aroused—was the foremost political issue of the day. Senator Stephen Douglas, darling of Northern Democrats, was the leading presidential candidate. New York’s William Seward appearedheadedfortheRepublicannominationandAbrahamLincolnof Illinois was preparing to challenge him for it. Oregon’s delegates were committed to Joseph Lane, their popular U.S. senator, who had repeatedly surfaced as a prospective presidential candidate with a small but vocal following in Democratic ranks. Rumor had it that Joe Lane was President James Buchanan’s choice. Republicans met in Chicago. Abraham Lincoln’s managers packed the galleries with his fans and he was nominated on the fourth ballot. Republicans were confident that he would take them into the White House. A new party, the Constitutional Union Party, nominated John Bell of Kentucky. Pro-slavery Democrats chose John C. Breckinridge, Buchanan’s vice president, as their presidential candidate, and Joe Lane was picked to be his running mate.* The convention of Northern Democrats adopted a popular sovereignty plank in their platform and nominated Sen. Douglas for president. Badly broken, the Democratic Party seemed destined to defeat in November. Oregonians fell in behind Douglas, Breckinridge, or Lincoln; the Bell people had no state organization here. The June legislative election was fiercely contested. Douglas-Democrats realized that they had no chance of capturing enough seats to have a majority. Republicans knew they had the same problem . So, a marriage of necessity was made to assure that, together, they would control the next Oregon Legislature. This coalition of Northern Democrats and Republicans held together for seven years. Known as the “Union Party,” it controlled Oregon government through the Civil War and for two years after. Oregon was the only state to have such a coalition during the Civil War. The legislative campaign centered on the popular sovereignty issue. The coalition rested on it...

Share