Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 17.djvu/186

178 older men experienced rejuvenation. With all his faults the pioneer must be admired for his idealism and his optimism.

The early isolation of the West, and the completeness of its geographical separation from the political center of the nation fostered an intense feeling of local independence. It was not surprising then that in times of great public danger when vital sectional interests were believed to be at stake this spirit of local independence should find expression in the doctrines of popular sovereignty, states-rights, nullification, and even secession.

So it was that before 1795 the people of the Trans- Allegheny West threatened the establishment of an independent republic when it appeared that a selfish and short-sighted Congress was on the point of bartering away for ephemeral commercial advantages the right of a free navigation of the Mississippi River, on which the very existence of the western frontiersman depended. So it was that during the critical period of our history from 1850 to 1865 when the forces making for the destruction of the American Union were gathering impetus for their most dangerous attack on the integrity of the national government, and when the Pacific Railroad had not yet bound the West to the East with bands of shining steel there developed on the Pacific Coast a movement for the establishment of a Pacific Coast Republic. While it is true that the movement was supported by but a minority of the people of the Pacific Coast, the fact of its inception by political leaders of the West is significant.

While the first cause of the movement may be considered the spirit of the West, its immediate occasion was the conflict of local and national interests which became especially marked after 1855. To understand this it is necessary to present in greater detail the federal relations of the Western States and Territories.

The Movement in Oregon for the Establishment of a Pacific Coast Republic. (1855-1861.)