Fifty-four Forty or Fight! was the Democratic slogan in the 1844 presidential campaign. The figure referred to 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude (54o 40 N.)--the proposed northern boundary of the lush Pacific Northwest, which had been coveted by Spain, Russia, Britain, and the United States.
By the time President James K. Polk took office in 1845, Spain and Russia had already surrendered their claims. In 1846 the Oregon Treaty drew the British-United States common boundary west of the Rockies at the 49th parallel. The destiny of Oregon Country was to become the states of Oregon and Washington and parts of the states of Idaho and Montana and the western Canadian province of British Columbia. In 1848 the United States Congress created the Territory of Oregon. The southwestern part of the territory was admitted to the Union in 1859 as the present state of Oregon, the 33rd state.
The name Oregon was probably Indian in origin, but many myths have obscured the actual source. The name originally applied to the river that English explorers were looking for when they first traveled to the area. In petitions to explore the land west of the Great Lakes an English army commandant used the spellings Ouragon (1765) and Ourigan (1772) as alternatives for the legendary River of the West. Jonathan Carver's 1778 travel book about the West contained the first use of the current spelling.
Oregon was nicknamed the Beaver State because its yield of beaver pelts was once so rich that they were used as money. Today the fur trade has been replaced by other trades. Oregon cuts more lumber than any other state. This product, plus the yield from the state's farms, mines, and fisheries, supplies raw materials for its most important industry, manufacturing. Much of the power for its industrial plants comes from huge hydroelectric developments such as the Bonneville and McNary dams. The scenic splendor makes Oregon a tourist attraction.
Oregon lies at the heart of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Along the West coast on the Pacific Ocean, California is directly south and Washington is to the north. The Columbia River forms most of Oregon's northern boundary, and its southern boundary is shared with Nevada. On the east, the Snake River forms part of the boundary with Idaho. From east to west Oregon extends 395 miles (636 kilometers), and from north to south, 295 miles (475 kilometers). The Pacific coastline is 296 miles (476 kilometers) long. Oregon's area is 97,073 square miles (251,418 square kilometers), including 889 square miles (2,303 square kilometers) of inland water.
