USA > Louisiana > Documentary history of the cession of Louisiana to the United States till it became an American province; with an appendix; > Part 4
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When the issue as to the ultimate ownership of Oregon became a matter of discussion between Great Britain and the United States, certain principles in our political and financial statecraft hinged upon these final negotiations.
The Hudson Bay Company had been chartered by King Charles II in 1669, whose limits on the south had never been defined; but whose ambitions in that direction were in rivalry not only with the American Fur Company, but with American settlements as they tended westwardly. This opulent company had a strong influence with the British Cabinet; on the other side, American emigrants to this country had an equally strong influence with the American Congress. Here was a collision of interests that must be settled by diplomacy to pre-
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vent violence between the emigrants of the two respective coun- tries. According to Gray's History of Oregon some emigrants from America had already been killed by agents from the Hud- son Bay Company. Under this strain the two Governments concluded a treaty October 20, 1818, agreeing that emigrants from each country should be allowed to settle in the disputed territory for the space of ten years. Pending this joint occu- pation, the Hudson Bay Company, through their advantages of wealth and a large force of fur hunters, gained almost com- plete possession of the disputed territory to the exclusion of the American fur hunters and trappers. The first object at which they aimed was to convince the outside world, and es- pecially the people of the United States, that this country was useless for agricultural purposes, a task which continued to grow more and more hopeless in proportion as American settlers emigrated to the country.
Mr. Rush, when Minister to England, in 1824, received a proposition from the British Government that the line of sepa- ration between the two Governments should be on the forty- ninth parallel, from the Lake of the Woods westward to the northeasternmost branch of the Columbia; thence down that river to the sea, substantially the same line as had been con- sidered by Mr. Rush and the British Commissioners in 1814. but not agreed to. In reply to this proposition the Americans demanded the line of the forty-ninth parallel through to the Pacific Coast .. Mr. Gallatin, Plenipotentiary to the British Court, under instructions from his Government, did not accept this proposition, although the British declared they would not settle the boundary on any other line. Under these circum- stances, after much diplomatic caviling on the part of the British, both nations, by convention, August 6, 1827. agreed to extend the terms of the joint occupation indefinitely, with a proviso that either nation should be at liberty to abrogate the
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agreement by giving one year's notice. As there was at this time an increasing disposition on the part of the American people to emigrate to Oregon for the purpose of permanent settlement, this temporary compromise of the issue was con- sidered to be prudential and wise, as the sequel proved. The Americans, through their Minister, Mr. Rush, had made no claim north of the parallel 49°, which line had already been conceded by the British. The Plenipotentiary from the United States, Mr. Gallatin, had substantially acceded to this line, but denied the claim of the British of the Columbia River as the boundary from its termination to the sea.
And now came the real tug of war, the issue being divided in responsibility between the people and the Government on the American side, while on the British side the responsibility was shared practically between the Court of St. James and the Hudson Bay Company. These conditions augmented the in- terest felt by each nation, and from this time onward the Americans had the advantage, inasmuch as the strong hoid they had on the territorial question grew out of the desire of the American pioneer to advance into the western wilds for the purpose of farming. while the Hudson Bay Company's strongest incentive was to reap a harvest of furs, with but a remote prospect tending toward agricultural development. Political conditions. the missionary spirit in harmony with the pioneer spirit, had deep root in the destiny of Oregon. Greenhow, in his "History of Oregon," page 361, says: "In 1835 Mr. Parker, a Presbyterian minister frem Ithaca, N. Y .. proceeded by way of the Platte and the South Pass to the mouth of the Columbia, and thence returned to the United States ; and from his reports Messrs. Spalding, Gray and Whitman were sent by the American Board of Foreign Missions to prosecute the objects of that society in the Oregon regions. Other missionaries, with their families and friends, soon followed
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them and formed settlements at various points, in all of which schools for the education of the natives were opened; and a printing press was erected at Walla Walla, on which were struck off the first sheets ever printed west of the Upper Mis- souri north of Mexico. Meantime Congress continued to dis- cuss the Oregon question, especially as to the necessity of abro- gating the treaty of joint occupation. From this discussion those wishing to emigrate to Oregon felt confident of the pro- tection of their Government; and under this assurance nearly 1,000 men, women and children formed a caravan, consisting of about 200 wagons and a large number of horses and cattle, at Westport, Mo., June, 1843. From this point they started up the Platte River, thence through the South Pass across the Rocky Mountains, their destination being the Willamet Valley, where they arrived with slight loss the following October."
April 3, 1842, Lord Ashburton arrived at Washington as Plenipotentiary from Great Britain to settle the boundary line between British America and the United States. Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, acted in behalf of the United States on this question. Although it was generally expected by the people of the United States that they were to define the boundary westward to the Pacific, they did nothing more than to establish a boundary between the two countries, start- ing from where the forty-ninth parallel intersected the Lake of the Woods, thence southeastwardly by the waters connect- ing this lake with Lake Superior, thence eastwardly through the center of the entire chain of lakes and their connections till the source of the St. Lawrence River was reached, thence down that stream to where it intersects the northern line of the State of New York. From this point the present northern boundaries of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire had already been established; but the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, in Canada, which had remained in doubt ever
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since the treaty of 1783, was now defined by the Ashburton- Webster treaty, made at Washington August 9, 1842, and rati- fied by Great Britain October 13, and proclaimed at Washing- ton by the President of the United States, November IO, same year.
Congress now no longer hesitated to give the required year's notice of abrogation of the treaty of 1827, which was done April 27, 1846, as a necessary link in the chain of ne- gotiations. The American people were always sensitive on great national issues. The purchase of Louisiana had whetted their appetite for more territory to the West,* and it cannot be said that this appetite was morbid, as it had international law as well as justice back of it. The time had now come when the arts of diplomacy were exhausted. No more evidence could be brought to bear upon the question, and it must be apparent to every judicial mind that the British had none on which to base a claim for territory south of the forty-ninth parallel. Mr. Polk, then President of the United States, had demanded 54° 40' as the line. The English had never de- manded anything south of the Columbia River. Negotiations had progressed by piecemeal, and now seemed to culminate on the forty-ninth parallel. On the part of America the line of 54° 40' was relinquished by the advice of Mr. Benton, Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Webster, each of whom took strong ground in favor of negotiation to prevent war. Although Mr. Polk agreed' to this concession, it was done with apparent reluctance. It was an abandonment of the ground on which , the presidential canvass that had elected him had been con
*To Show the English opinion at that time on the Oregon question. it is pertinent to quote from the Edinburgh Review of July, 18443, which says: "However the political questions between England and America as to the ownership of Oregon may be decided, Oregon will never be colonized overland from the United States. * *
* The world must assume a new face, before the American wagons make plain the road to the Columbi ... as they have done to the Ohio. * * * Whoever, therefore, is to be the future owner of Oregon, its people will come from Europe."
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ducted. It was a proof that partisan ties must give way to patriotism; for, when we examine the evidence on both sides, it must be confessed that the claims of America north of the forty-ninth parallel were not superior to those of Great Britain, and perhaps not equal. In the settlement of this question, England having yielded up her claim of the Columbia River, the issue between the two nations had been honorably negoti- ated to the satisfaction of the representative men of cach nation. The final treaty was executed at Washington, June 15, 1846. No former treaty, between the United States and any foreign power had ever been negotiated under such a crucial test as to international rights as this, and none since the days of the American Revolution, in which the people had taken so much interest.
James Buchanan acted on the part of the United States and Richard Pakenham on the part of England. It was rati- fied at London, July 17, 1846, and officially proclaimed at Washington, August 5, 1846.
THE TREATY.
· "The United States of America and Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. deeming it to be desirable for the future welfare of both coun- tries, that the state of doubt and uncertainty which has hither- to prevailed respecting the sovereignty and government of the territory on the northwest coast of America lying westward of the Rocky or Stony Mountains, should be finally terminated by an amicable compromise of the rights mutually asserted by the two parties over said territory, have respectively named plenipotentiaries to treat and agree concerning the terms of such settlement; that is to say, the President of the United States of America has, on his part, furnished with full powers James Buchanan. Secretary of State of the United States, and
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Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Brit- ain and Ireland has, on her part, appointed Right Honorable Richard Pakenham, a member of Her Majesty's most honer- able Privy Council, and Her Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States, who after having communicated to each other their respective full powers. framed in good and due form, have agreed upon and con- cluded the following articles :
ARTICLE I.
"From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north lati- tude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and conventions between Great Britain and the United States ter- minates, the line of boundary between the territories of Her Britannic Majesty and those of the United States shall be con- tinued westward along the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the middle of said channel and of Fuca Straits to the Pacific Ocean; provided, however, that the navigation of the said channel and straits south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude remain free and open to both parties.
ARTICLE II.
"From the point at which the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be found to intersect the Great Northern branch of the Columbia River the navigation of the said branch shall be free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company. and to all British subjects trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets the main stream of the Columbia. and thence down the said main stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river or rivers ; it being under- stood that all the usual portages along the line thus described shall in like manner be free and open. In navigating the said river or rivers British subjects, with their goods and produce.
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shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United States; it being, however, always understood that nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing, or intended to prevent, the Government of the United States from making any regulations respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers not inconsistent with the present treaty.
ARTICLE III.
"In the future appropriations of the territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of this treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected.
ARTICLE IV.
"The farms, lands and other property of every description belonging to the Puget's Sound Agricultural Co., on the north side of the Columbia River, shall be confirmed to the said com- pany. In case, however, the situation of those farms and lands should be considered by the United States to be of public and political importance, and the United States Government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole, or any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the said Government at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties.
ARTICLE V.
"The present treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her Britannic Majesty; and the ratifi- cations shall be exchanged at London at the expiration of six months from the date hereof, or sooner if possible.
"In witness thereof. the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms.
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"Done at Washington, the fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
"JAMES BUCHANAN. "RICHARD PAKENHAM."
The peaceful settlement of the Oregon question was a grand example of the candor which marked the diplomacy of both the nations interested from 1818 to 1846. Much animadversion had been ventilated through the newspapers of both countries; but the spirit of justice shown by the diplomats of cach was equal to the occasion. Had either nation been aware of the immense value of the country in dispute, the issue might have had a different termination. It was fortunate they were not, otherwise blood and carnage might have tarnished the pages of Anglo-American history for the third time. The conclusion of the Oregon treaty was the last link in the chain that had, step by step, brought under the Stars and Stripes the fairest portions of North America. The power of Spain had vanished as America had advanced westward, the reason fr. which was that her political tyranny, as well as religious intol- erance, were not suited to the wants of the pioneer spirit, so jealous of liberty and so able to maintain it as were the Amer- ican people.
ACCESSIONS OF TERRITORY TO THE UNITED STATES.
At the Treaty of Peace that closed the American Revo- lution Great Britain was not without a lingering hope that by the subtle logic of diplomacy she could arrange terms with her rebellious colonies without granting them absolute inde- pendence; but the American Commissioners proved their abil- ity to cope with their English fathers without any letting down of their purposes. Accordingly, the first point they made was that they should be received as the representatives of a nation "de facto"; but, said the British Commissioners,
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this is conceding the point at issue in advance. To which the Americans replied : We do not ask independence ; we have won it already. This assertion surprised the English, and they took time to consider it.
After laying this issue before the throne the King, George III, reluctantly consented. The all-important question now to be considered was the boundary of the new nation; and in this issue the ambitious spirit of Young America was manifest at his birth by his determination to demand the Mississippi as its western limits. This was really an accession of terri- tory to the original thirteen colonies, inasmuch as their limits did not extend thus far to the West. Spain protested against this demand of the colonies, but England had little friendship for that power, and after considerable hesitation granted the demands of the American Commissioners, and the treaty was signed at Paris, September 5, 1783, by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay on the part of the United States, and by David Hartley on the part of Great Britain.
FLORIDA AND PART OF PACIFIC COAST CEDED TO THE UNITED STATES.
By a joint resolution in Congress, January 15, 1811, and by acts of the same date and of March 5 same year, passed in secret session, the United States claimed the right to take pos- session of territory in dispute with Spain as to the limits of Florida. This resolution was not published till 1818, at which time it produced a belligerent feeling between the two coun- tries. The controversy was settled by the treaty of February 22, 1819, wherein Spain ceded Florida to the United States for the consideration of $5.000,000. By the same treaty she conceded to the United States any territory she might claim through priority of discovery or otherwise along the Pacific Coast north of the forty-second parallel.
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RUSSIAN CONCESSION SOUTH OF 54° 40".
On April 5, 1824, Russia conceded to the United States any territorial claim she might hold south of 54° 40". The treaty conveyed no definite territorial title, but was given in a spirit of international courtesy to provide against future dis- putes.
ANNEXATION OF TEXAS.
By joint resolution of Congress, March 3, 1837, the United States acknowledged the independence of Texas, al- though Texas was then at war with Mexico as a revolted province. December 29, 1845, this province, still at war with Mexico, was admitted into the Union as one of its States.
TERRITORY PURCHASED OF MEXICO.
War with Mexico ensued, but peace was restored between the two Governments by the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. It stipulated that $3,000,000, cash down, should be paid to Mexico, and $12,000,000 more in four an- nual installments ; and, in addition, to assume debts due certain citizens of the United States to the amount of $3,500,000; the Mexicans, on their part, ceding to the United States all territory to which they had laid claim from the Gila River northward to the forty-second parallel, which territory em- braced our present States of California, Nevada, Utah, Ari- zona and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. The eastern portion of New Mexico not being included in the original claim of Texas became, by a special clause in the treaty, a part of the territory purchased by the United States. No in- demnity was given to Mexico for the entire Province of Texas.
GADSDEN PURCHASE.
Independent of this treaty, the Mexican Government ceded to the United States a tract of land south of the Gila River, as shown on the map accompanying this work, called
4
+
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the Gadsden purchase of 1853, for a consideration of $6,000,000.
ALASKA PURCHASED FROM RUSSIA.
By the treaty of March 30, 1867, negotiated by William H. Seward, Russia, for a consideration of $7,200,000, ceded Alaska to the United States, including the Pribyloff Islands, with their valuable seal fisheries.
HAWAII TRANSFER.
At Honolulu, August 12, 1898, the formal transfer of the Hawaiian Islands was made to the United States by San- ford B. Dole, President of the Provisional Government of Hawaii. Mr. Sewell, United States Minister, accepted the cession of the islands in behalf of the United States with sol- emn formality. There are eight principal islands in the group; area, 6,740 square miles; 109,020 population of mixed races. The group is in midocean, between the western coast of the United States and the eastern coast of Asia, 2,089 nautical miles from San Francisco.
SPANISH CESSIONS TO THE UNITED STATES.
At the treaty of peace that closed the Spanish War of 1898, held at Paris, Spain on her part ceded to the United States the Island of Porto Rico in the West Indies, the Island of Guam of the Ladrone group in the Pacific Ocean, and the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands. The treaty was signed by the Commissioners of their respective coun- tries December 10, 1898, and ratified at Washington, January 4, 1899, the United States on her part agreeing to pay to Spain $20,000,000 within three months after the ratification of the treaty.
MERIWETHER LEWIS.
Captain Meriwether Lewis was murdered and robbed while on his way to Washington, D. C., by Joshua Grinder, October 11, 1809, in what is now the county of Lewis, Tenn.
It was rumored at this time that he committed suicide, but doubtless this originated in the east, where he was known to be of a hypochondriac disposition, but which affliction had entirely disappeared with his active, out-of-door life in the
west. It was a theory, groundless and cruel, that even the perpetrators of the crime did not stay to urge in their own defense. In erecting the only monument* in this broad land that stands to the memory of the great explorer, the state of Tennessee recognized the value of local evidence over ground- less theory.
*Since the above was written news has come to the writer that the people of Portland, Ore, are about to erect a memorial monument to Lewis and Clarke, Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States, assisting it. la; ing the corner stone.
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Meriwether Lewis
The monument was built at the cost of $500, appropri- ated by the general assembly of Tennessee in 1848. Its base is of uncut sandstone, surmounted by a plinth of Tennessee marble, on which were cut the inscriptions. Above this rises the marble shaft, about twelve feet in height, roughly broken at the top, emblematic of the violent and untimely end of a glorious career. Five years before erecting the monument the general assembly passed an act creating the county of Lewis. The introductory clause of the act read as follows : "In honor of Captain Meriwether Lewis, who has rendered distinguished services to his country, and whose remains lie buried and neglected within its limits." The new county was carved out of four others cornering near the grave, in nearly a circle with it as a pivotal point.
Of him Thomas Jefferson said: "His courage was un- daunted ; his firmness and perseverance yielded to nothing but impossibilities. A rigid disciplinarian, yet tender as a father to those committed to his charge. Honest, disinterested, lib- eral, with a sound understanding and a scrupulous fidelity to truth."-VERNE S. PEASE, in The Southern Magasine, Feb- ruary, 1894.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
RUFUS BLANCHARD 2
MEDAL TO COMMEMORATE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 6 THOMAS JEFFERSON 14 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 20
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON
23
JAMES MONROE 26
BARBE MARBOIS 28
MERIWETHER LEWIS 50
WILLIAM CLARK.
50
MONUMENT TO MERIWETHER LEWIS.
67
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INDEX.
LOUISIANA.
American Revolution-How It was Conceived 12
Amiens, Treaty of. 13
European Nations Involved in American Affairs. II
France --- The Extent of Her Territory in North America.
9
French and Indian War-Its Issue IO
French Revolution-What It Came from
12
George JI, King of England-His Fears
II
Jefferson's Confidential Letter to Monroe
18
King Rufus-London-Receives Proposition from British Government. . 29 24
Livingston Happily Surprised at This Offer
Livingston's Letter to Monroe. 24
Lord Hawkesbury-His Opinion of Treaty of Amiens. 15
Louisiana Explored by La Salle. 0
Louisiana Formally Transferred from Spain to France. 32
Louisiana Formally Transferred to United States. 33
Louisiana Limited on North and West and South. I3
M. de Marbois Makes a Defined Proposition to the American Nego- tiators 2.4
Mississippi River, Navigation of. 16
Monroe, James 17
Monroe Arrives in France. 24
Napoleon Bonaparte 12
Napoleon-His Rising Power
13
Napoleon Bonaparte-Ready to Negotiate for Sale of Louisiana to United States 19
Napoleon's Remarkable Colloquy with the English Minister at the Tuileries 19
Napoleon Offers to Sell the Whole of Louisiana to the United States. 22
Oglethorpe, Governor 9
Pathetic Scene when the United States Flag is Raised and the French
Lowered at New Orleans 34
Pitt, William-His Courage.
San Ildefonso, Treaty of.
13
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