e
into contact with the Indians who inhabited those lands. In order for
the U.S. to expand as settlers wished, the issue of the Indians had to
be addressed. To address the "Indian problem," Congress on May 26,
1830, passed the Indian Removal Act and President Andrew Jackson (D,
1829-37), who had gained prominence fighting against the Indians in
several skirmishes, signed it into law two days later. Under the act,
the government would negotiate with Indians to relocate from their
eastern lands to land reserved as "Indian territory" in the west. [See Indian Removal Act]
However, while the removal was intended to be voluntary, when many
Indians refused to leave they were forcibly removed by U.S. troops.
Thousands of Indians died during the long westward journey, including
an estimated 4,000 who died along what came to be known as the "Trail
With a policy in place for Indian removal, more lands now became
available for white settlement. Several factors converged to make
moving south or west appealing to many Americans. A key factor was
rapid population growth, fueled by immigration and a high birthrate.
Large families were considered beneficial for working farms. By the
late 1830s, the U.S. population grew to more than 23 million, from some
five million in 1800. It was estimated that nearly four million
Americans moved to western territories between 1820 and 1850.
The government also made much of the land in the Western territories
cheap or even free. By moving to frontier areas, many people in the
East were able to leave an economic depression of 1839 behind them. To
many of those people, frontier living was synonymous with
self-sufficiency, an integral American trait. In addition, merchant
marines saw an opportunity to take advantage of new commerce by
building West Coast ports that they expected would lead to increased
trade with Pacific countries.
There was perhaps no stauncher believer in the ideal of Manifest Destiny
than Polk. During his campaign and after he took office, he made it
known that his goal was to expand the country's territory. In his
inaugural address, Polk declared: "The world beholds the peaceful
triumphs of the industry of our emigrants [pioneers]....The
jurisdiction of our laws and the benefits of our republican
institutions should be extended over them in the distant regions which
they have selected for their homes."
One of the first
areas Polk set his sights on was Oregon. The vast Oregon Territory
stretched between the 42nd parallel, just above Spain's Mexican lands,
and the 54th parallel, just below Russia's Alaskan territory. It
consisted of the areas that are now Oregon, Washington, parts of Idaho
and Wyoming, as well as parts of what is now Canada. The U.S., Britain,
Russia and Spain had all laid claim to parts of the territory, although
Russia and Spain eventually abandoned their claims.
In 1818, the U.S. and Britain reached an agreement setting the 49th
parallel as the boundary between U.S. and British territory up to the
Rocky Mountains. However, when they could not agree on a border west of
the Rockies, they agreed to jointly occupy the disputed territory for
10 years. When that term expired, they agreed to extend joint
Most of those who initially traveled to Oregon were fur trappers and
traders, but by the 1840s, more and more Americans were traveling there
to set up homesteads. Marcus Whitman, a young doctor, and his wife,
Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, had traveled to the Oregon territory in 1836
as part of a Methodist missionary movement. A few years later, Whitman
returned to Boston to promote the attractions of life in the Pacific
Northwest. Whitman's message reverberated all over the East Coast, and
in 1843 he led nearly a thousand migrants out west along the Oregon
Trail, a 2,000-mile trail that stretched from Independence, Missouri,
across Oregon to Oregon City.[See Account of One Traveler's Journey Along the Oregon Trail (Excerpts) (primary document)]
As the settler population in Oregon grew, debate intensified over
control of the disputed portion. Polk called on Congress to pass
leg