. Our country's story; an elementary history of the United States . , one of the political par-ties took for a campaign cry, Fifty-four forty or candidate of this party, James K. Polk, was chosenpresident. When he was elected, he declared, One thingthat must be done while I am in office is to settle theOregon boundary. In his inaugural address he said thatthe title of the United States to Oregon was clear, that emi-I grants were going from the east to the extreme west, andthat the government ought to protect them and theirinterests. A little later he urged that an overland mailshould
. Our country's story; an elementary history of the United States . , one of the political par-ties took for a campaign cry, Fifty-four forty or candidate of this party, James K. Polk, was chosenpresident. When he was elected, he declared, One thingthat must be done while I am in office is to settle theOregon boundary. In his inaugural address he said thatthe title of the United States to Oregon was clear, that emi-I grants were going from the east to the extreme west, andthat the government ought to protect them and theirinterests. A little later he urged that an overland mailshould be established to go to Oregon at least once a month.^ Only a few years earlier it had been a disputedquestion whether it was possible to cross the moun-tains in wagons, and whether the Oregon countrywas worth the effort. Few had thought that muchof it was of any value. In Congress a senator haddeclared, For agricultural purposes I would notgive a pinch of snuff for the whole Oregon Territory. The pre-sidents address did much to increase the number of -MONUWICNT AT CHAMPOEG,OREUOls (To coinnieiiiorate the orKaniza-tion tliere on Jlay L, IM., ofthe first Ameiican Koverniiienton the Pacific coast) TROUBLE ARISES OVER SLAVERY 201 The trains of cattle drawing wagons loaded with furniture, tools,food, and clothing grew longer and more frequent. Many of thesetrains went to Oregon. It was a long journey; it took six monthsto go from the Missouri to the Willamette, but the very fact thatit was farther from the east than any other part of the country towhich emigrants had begun to go was one reason why so manywent, for some people had the feeling that the farther they trav-eled, the more successful they would be. The number of emigrants increased so that it grew moreand more important to both England and the United Statesthat the boundary line should be settled. Both countries werefinding out that a part, at least, of the Territory was a rich,fertile land; but after all, th
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