Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/396

 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER

378

boundary

line, for

the Committee on Territories

amended

that

clause to accord with the desires of Lane, and fixed the line as it exists today for the State of Oregon. Another amend-

ment by the Committee put the region south of 46 N. Lat. and east of the Oregon line under the territorial jurisdiction of Washington. The Senate, however, went no farther, and the Thirty-fourth Congress, like its predecessor, came to an end with Oregon still a territory. 8 Dissatisfaction over the delay of Congress resulted in inde9 Since 1854 the statehood pendent action by the Oregohians. sentiment had been growing although it had been opposed at

the beginning by the

expense which would

Whigs who

pointed out the additional

But the Whigs were few in number and not politically influential so their opposition had little significance. The dominant party had, by legislative resolutions, directed Lane to work for the enabling act, and at the same time had made provision (1856-7) for taking the sense of the people as to whether a convention should be held and for electing delegates to it. Meanwhile a little of the white-hot conflict over slavery extension had crossed over the mountains so that anti- and pro-slavery movements had gained enough headway to make this question the dominant one before the people during the months preceding the election of result.

delegates to the convention. were descendants of those

many

of

A

large majority of the people lived in slave States;

who had

them had themselves been slave-owners.

Their four-

times elected Delegate to Congress, Joseph Lane, was not opposed to slavery as he demonstrated, in 1860, by accepting

candidate for vice-president from the of the Democratic party. Newspapers and Breckinridge wing took the men up question and advanced arguments as to public

the

nomination

as

why Oregon would benefit or receive injury from the presThe anti-slavery agitation found a rallying in little a group of men who organized as Free-State point who gained sufficient strength to have repand Republicans, ence of slaves.

8 Ibid., 821, 878. 9 Bancroft, History of Oregon, II, chapter 17.