Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 17.djvu/201



ESTABLISHMENT OF PACIFIC COAST REPUBLIC 193

At first, as has been indicated, the regular Democratic or- ganization in Oregon had supported Buchanan, while the Nationals had appeared to veer toward Douglas. As time went on public sentiment began to change, and by the latter part of December many of those who had once been loudest in lauding Buchanan had become supporters of Douglas, and vice versa. Bush who had always secretly favored Douglas was by no means the last to openly shift his allegiance to that leader.

In the meantime, February 12, 1859, the Statehood Bill was passed by the House, and on February 14 it became law. The bill had been regarded in Congress as a party issue, and the debate over it had been long and acrimonious. The Republicans opposed the admission of Oregon ostensibly because the terri- tory lacked the necessary population, but really because, while Kansas with a greater population had been refused admission unless she would accept a pro-slavery constitution, Oregon with less population was to be admitted with a constitution prohibit- ing the entrance of free negroes into the state. They justly considered the distinction unfair. Then even more influential was the fact that a closely contested presidential election was at hand, and Oregon with her democratic delegation might cast the decisive vote. At any rate, her delegation would materially increase the strength of the Democratic Party in Congress.

The ultra-southern Democrats steadfastly opposed the bill because they feared the admission of any more northern states, whether Democratic or otherwise, or possibly because they, too, desired to see Oregon a state outside the Union. Today it is freely admitted that had Oregon failed of admission before the ejection of 1860 she could not have been received before 1864 or 1865, and with secession doctrines so rife in Oregon what the result might have been is difficult to tell. 1

The Statehood Bill would most certainly have failed of passage had it not been that fifteen republicans, inspired by Eli Thayer of Massachusetts, revolted against the party dictum

Conversation with Mr. George H. Hirae*.