About Oregon:
The Oregon Territory was established by U.S. Congress on August 14, 1848, following the 1846 Oregon Treaty, which settled boundary disputes with Great Britain and extended U.S. control over the Pacific Northwest. This vast territory initially included present-day Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming, with its first capital at Oregon City.
In the 1850’s, population surged (becoming over 50,000 by 1860), fueled by migration and the California Gold Rush’s indirect benefits. Debates over statehood began in 1856. Voters approved a constitutional convention in 1857; the constitution banned slavery but included Black exclusion clauses (prohibiting free Black people from owning property—the only state admitted with such provisions).
Southern lawmakers opposed adding another free state under any conditions.
Compromise allowed Oregon’s entry as a free state in 1859, shortly before the Civil War. Oregon’s statehood symbolized westward expansion but also highlighted divisions over slavery and racial exclusion, with lasting impacts on Indigenous displacement and civil rights.
February 14 is celebrated as Oregon Statehood Day.