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THE QUARTERLY

of the

Oregon Historical Society

VOLUME XVII SEPTEMBER, 1916 NUMBER 8

Copyright, 1916, by the Oregon Historical Society The Quarterly disavows responsibility for the positions taken by contributors to its pages.

THE MOVEMENT IN OREGON FOR THE

ESTABLISHMENT OF A PACIFIC

COAST REPUBLIC

By DOROTHY HULL.

To fully understand the political tendencies of the West it is necessary to understand the Western spirit, for political platforms are but a more or less clear reflection of the spirit which animates those who frame them.

The West has always been the home of democracy. The Western movement in the United States from its first incep- tion was a democratic movement. The fur traders who blazed the trail to the West, and the ranchers and farmers who fol- lowed in their wake forging the broader path for civilization were not aristocrats, but the common people rugged, self- reliant, and ambitious. They pushed to the West, drawn by the lure of adventure, seeking cheap lands, and a chance to work out their political and social ideas free from the aristo- cratic organization of the East. Hence in the West democracy, social and political, became the dominant force.

The life of the pioneer was rough; social amenities were few, but a man's valuation was based on his personal worth and ability, and not on his wealth or ancestry. The problems confronting the pioneer were new and difficult, and through the effort required for their solution the minds of even the