Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/63

 CHAPTER

VIII.

GIVING NOTICE.

Annual Message of 1845 with its accompanying from the diplomatic correspondence of Buchanan and Calhoun was the spark which set off the powder-magazine in Congress. Although there were some Folk's

carefully edited excerpts

genuine munitions of war there a great deal of the noise resulted from the detonation of political fireworks, both spectacular and deafening but not intended to be harmful. If

Oregon had hitherto been overshadowed by other neglect was now fully atoned for by the attention

issues that it

received

from the Twenty-ninth Congress, where, until the resurgence of the Texas-Mexico question and the opening of hostilities on the southern border, it succeeding in ousting from serious consideration

The

all

other matters.

alignment on the topic cannot be separated from the question itself: although there was much talk about political

taking up the issue on

its

framed their speeches or their

merits few

members of Congress

laid their plans without

in

the

coming

an eye to

congresparty had been bitterly disappointed by the results of the election of 1844; its high expectations, held in check by the recalcitrant Tyler, were sional

political

and

prospects

presidential.

elections,

The Whig

again put to one side, for there was to be no protective tariff, no revision of the government's fiscal methods, despite Folk's ambiguous stand after his nomination. Hence it was the purpose of this party to discredit the Administration and its course on Oregon seemed to offer a point of attack. The Democrats were seriously split. For the most part the southern wing followed Calhoun and were for a course of moderation; there was fear of the consequences of a rupture with Great Britain and its possible effect upon the Texas It was well known that Mexico had not acquiesced situation. in the loss of that province, and should hostilities willingly