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How Did the U.S Gain the Oregon Territory? 

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How Did the U.S Gain the Oregon Territory? 

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The Oregon territory was previously British territory, inhabited by many Native American tribes until 1846 when the Oregon dispute between Britain and the U.S. was settled by the Treaty of Oregon. This treaty gave the land in the Oregon territory to the U.S. while giving Britain all of the land on Vancouver Island and north of Vancouver. The apprehension of the Oregon Territory marked the start of the age of Western Exploration and eventually the Gold Rush.

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How did gaining the Oregon Territory benefit the U.S.?

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How did gaining the Oregon Territory benefit the U.S.?

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After the acquisition of the Oregon Territory, the population of the US was no longer confined to the East Coast for access to an ocean. The New Territory encouraged Western & Northern exploration, and gave the US new land on the Pacific coast. This increased trade and travel opportunities, as America now has a more direct route to Eastern Asia.

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What were the costs of gaining this territory for the U.S.?

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What were the costs of gaining this territory for the U.S.?

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Even though the apprehension of the Oregon Territory was quite uneventful and did not cause much of a dispute, there were still costs. Many of the travelers that had eyes on farming and settling this new land died along the Journey on what was to be named the Oregon Trail. And many of the settlers who eventually got to Oregon were attacked by native tribes that were angered by this expansion into their territories.

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How did U.S. acquisition of the Oregon Territory impact those who already lived there?

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How did U.S. acquisition of the Oregon Territory impact those who already lived there?

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Many Indian nations like the Cayuse & Nez Perce were often driven out of their land & homes as a result of incoming settlers. These travelers often brought deadly diseases with them, such as Small Pox. Because the Natives had little natural immunity to these European disease, many died from them.

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How did the original inhabitants resist American expansion? 

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How did the original inhabitants resist American expansion? 

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Many Indians, such as the Cayuse, were Angry at Americans for taking and destroying their territory. Because of this anger and resentment, they occasionally resorted to violence towards settlers travelling West. One one occasion, in 1847, a group of Cayuse Indians ambushed and killed 14 white settlers travelling into their land. They later attempted to defend themselves in court by stating that they overheard the settlers plotting to kill them.

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Our sources come from:

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U.S. Territorial Acquisitions, 1783 - 1853 by Tiferet Ani

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TOUCH this image to discover its story. Image tagging powered by ThingLink

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Was the U.S. justified in acquiring the Oregon Territory?

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Was the U.S. justified in acquiring the Oregon Territory?

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The Americans were not justified in acquiring the Oregon Territory because the peace treaty completely left out the indigenous tribes that lived there and when the explorers forced the natives to move, many died from European disease like smallpox or starvation.