Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 1.djvu/269

Rh tained 274,356 square miles, and which was annexed to the United States previous to the war. Louisiana contained 1,182,752 square miles, and cost, exclusive of interest, $18,738,268.98. Those who accuse the United States of rapacity and robbery may find it difficult to explain, in accordance with their theories, why the United States paid prostrate Mexico at the rate of $49.29 per square mile for land not so valuable as that for which she paid the great Napoleon at the rate of $15.85 per square mile.

The same political party which had successfully advocated territorial extension in a southern direction, now manifested an equal zeal in the extension of territory toward the north. Heretofore, expansion had been possible only to the west and south. Of the acquired territory the larger part was north of the line 36 30. Even if this line should be extended to the Pacific, it would avail the South nothing. She was not in condition to compete with the North in territorial settlement. The acquisitions from Mexico, except Texas, were really injurious to her sectional interests. Yet, during the campaign of 1844, one of the party cries had been &quot;Fifty-four forty or fight.&quot;

Previous to this political campaign very little popular interest had been manifested in the affairs of Oregon. were allowed to sleep. Yet, even before Captain Gray’s discovery, the Columbia river had appeared to the mental vision of Thomas Jefferson. When minister to France, being convinced by the profound reasoning of his own mind that there must be a great river to convey the waters from the western slope of the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean, he persuaded Mr. Ledyard, the famous traveler, to undertake an expedition to cross the ocean from Russia, and to locate the great western river. A comic play represents the Spanish Queen as ordering Columbus to cross the Atlantic and discover America,