facade. 1  Architecture. the front of a building, especially an imposing or decorative one. 2  a superficial appearance or illusion of something: They managed somehow to maintain a facade of wealth.
The Oregon Territory stretched from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains, encompassing the area including present-day Oregon, Washington, and most of British Columbia. Originally Spain, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States claimed the territory. In 1819, under terms of the Transcontinental Treaty, Spain ceded its claims to the territory to the United States. Shortly thereafter the United States contested a unilateral Russian move to grant its citizens a fishing, whaling, and commercial monopoly from the Bering Straits to the 51st parallel.
Britain did not want to go to war over the issue either, and in 1846, the two countries reached an agreement to divide the territory at the 49th parallel. Oregon Country would later become the modern-day states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as portions of Montana and Wyoming.n 1818, the United States and Britain agreed to a joint occupation of Oregon, allowing citizens of both countries to settle there. Over the next several decades, American and British settlers came to Oregon for different reasons.