Monticello Convention

Last updated

The Monticello Convention refers to several meetings held in 1851 and 1852 to petition Congress to split the Oregon Territory into two separate territories; one north of the Columbia River and one south.

Contents

Background

The influx of people settling on the north side of the Columbia River in the 1840s, then under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Territory, caused political conflicts over the lack of basic needs addressed by the territorial government. Several major issues and events were the main causes to this dissatisfaction including that basic needs, such as mail, roads, military protection and law enforcement were increasingly required. The Oregon Territory government would not increase spending to satisfy these needs. Additional concerns were cited over the Hudson's Bay Company, which held the most valuable agricultural land and the company's livestock would trespass on settler's lands. [1] Settlements north of the Columbia River were increasingly being cut off as the government services; Oregon City, Oregon and Salem, Oregon, required traveling for several days. [2] [3]

On July 4, 1851, complaints were brought by citizens to Olympia which were holding Independence Day celebrations. One settler, Hugh Goldsborough, read the Declaration of Independence and a lawyer, John Chapman, gave an inspirational address referred to as the future state of Columbia. Chapman's speech instigated an election of delegates to attend a convention at Cowlitz Landing, near present-day Toledo, Lewis County to be held the following month. [1]

Cowlitz Convention

The first meeting of settlers began on August 29, 1851 at Cowlitz Landing. They met to draft a petition to Congress to create a new territory north of the Columbia River. Seth Catlin, a former Illinois legislator was elected president of the convention. Taking two days, documents were prepared explaining their demands from Congress and why they needed Congress' support. The document was a 1,500-word "Memorial to Congress" listing the problems and issues facing those living north of the Columbia River. The petition included a recommendation for universal manhood suffrage beginning at the age of 18, which came about 120 year later. [1] Territory and county borders were also approved as well as other elements of local governing. These documents were published in The Oregonian and the Oregon Spectator , which eventually made their way to Joseph Lane, Governor of the Oregon Territory. [1] [2] [3]

The determination of a formal territory convention and a selection of delegates was held at the Jackson Courthouse, the first recognized courthouse in what would become the Washington Territory, on October 27, 1852. The meeting also chose the town of Monticello, Oregon, later destroyed by flooding in 1867 and was located within present-day Longview, Washington. [4] [5]

Monticello Convention

The convention and petition, taking its name from the town of Monticello, was held on November 25, 1852. Still feeling ignored by the Oregon Territory government, 44 delegates met to develop, complete and sign another petition to have Columbia Territory established. Although the petition, known as the Monticello Convention Memorial, [4] was a shorter than the earlier Cowlitz Memorial, it was considered better written and quickly adopted. [6] After signing the petition, it was again forwarded on to Joseph Lane, who supported the petition and had it sent on to Congress. [2] [7]

Notable signees include William Nathaniel Bell, Arthur A. Denny, and Doc Maynard, early founders and settlers of Seattle. Additional signers of the Monticello petition were Peter Crawford, a noted land surveyor, and public servants, Calvin Henry Hale and John R. Jackson. [8] [4]

Outcome

Bill H.R. 348, "to establish the territorial government of Columbia," was introduced in the House of Representatives from the Committee on Territories. It was introduced by Charles E. Stuart on January 25, 1853. Debates arose, not about whether the bill would pass, but on the name of the new territory. Richard H. Stanton, a representative from Kentucky, proposed the name Washington after George Washington to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia. The title of the bill was changed to "an act to establish the Territorial government of Washington" in the House and passed on February 10, 1853. It then passed the Senate on March 2, 1853 without any need for discussion. [6] [9] [10] After 21 months of campaigning, the bill was signed by President Millard Fillmore on March 2, 1853. [2] [1] The Organic act bill also served as the basis for law in Washington until it gained statehood in 1889. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William R. King</span> Vice President of the United States in 1853

William Rufus DeVane King was an American politician and diplomat. He was the 13th vice president of the United States from March 4 until his death in April 1853. Earlier he had served as a U.S. representative from North Carolina and a senator from Alabama. He also served as minister to France under President James K. Polk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowlitz County, Washington</span> County in Washington, United States

Cowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 110,730. The county seat is Kelso, and its largest city is Longview. The county was formed in April 1854. Its name derives from the anglicized version of the Cowlitz Indian term Cow-e-liske, meaning either 'river of shifting sands' or 'capturing the medicine spirit.' Cowlitz comprises the Longview, WA Metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA Combined statistical area.

The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries, Spanish "El Orejón" was part of the Territorio de Nutca (1789–1795), later in the 19th century, the region was divided between the British Empire and the US in 1846. When established, the territory encompassed an area that included the current states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as parts of Wyoming and Montana. The capital of the territory was first Oregon City, then Salem, followed briefly by Corvallis, then back to Salem, which became the state capital upon Oregon's admission to the Union.

The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the portion of the Oregon Territory north of the lower Columbia River and north of the 46th parallel east of the Columbia. At its largest extent, it also included the entirety of modern Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming, before attaining its final boundaries in 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho Territory</span> Territory of the U.S. between 1863–1890

The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Territory</span> Territory of the US (1863–1912)

The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Arizona. It was created from the western half of the New Mexico Territory during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Nathaniel Bell</span>

William Nathaniel Bell, originally from Edwardsville, Illinois and later a resident of Portland, Oregon, was a member of the Denny Party, the first group of Euro-American settlers in what is now Seattle, Washington. He lived in Seattle from 1851 to 1856 and then again from 1870 till his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur A. Denny</span> American politician

Arthur Armstrong Denny was an American politician and businessman who is regarded as one of the founders of Seattle, Washington. He founded the Denny Party, and was later the city's wealthiest citizen. He was a 9-term member of the territorial legislature. Seattle's former Denny Hill was named after him; it was flattened in a series of regrading projects and its former site is now known as the Denny Regrade. The city's Denny Way, however, is named not after Arthur Denny, but after his younger brother David Denny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon pioneer history</span> Account of the founders Oregon

Oregon pioneer history (1806–1890) is the period in the history of Oregon Country and Oregon Territory, in the present day state of Oregon and Northwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Olympia, Washington</span>

The history of Olympia, Washington, includes long-term habitation by Native Americans, charting by a famous English explorer, settlement of the town in the 1840s, the controversial siting of a state college in the 1960s and the ongoing development of arts and culture from a variety of influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Lancaster</span> American judge

Columbia Lancaster was an American lawyer and politician who served as the first Delegate from the Territory of Washington to the United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Strong (Oregon judge)</span> American judge

William Strong was an American attorney and jurist in the Pacific Northwest. He was the 4th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court when the region was still the Oregon Territory. A native of Vermont, he settled in the Washington Territory after it was created in 1853 and served in the legislature of that territory and on the Washington Supreme Court. Later he returned to Oregon and settled in Portland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Territorial Legislature</span> A defunct legislative body by the United States Congress

Oregon's Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory. The upper chamber Council and lower chamber House of Representatives first met in July 1849; they served as the region's legislative body until Oregon became a state in February 1859, when they were replaced by the bicameral Oregon State Legislature.

James Urquhart served three terms in the Washington Territory legislature. He was also elected to three terms as a county commissioner in Lewis County, Washington. He was a delegate to the Washington State Constitutional Convention. In 1873, he laid out the town of Napavine where he was Postmaster and ran the general store. He chose the town's name from the Indian word "napavoon" meaning small prairie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Jay Allen</span>

Edward Jay Allen was an entrepreneur and prominent businessman based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In his younger years, he had been a pioneer in the Oregon Territory for a few years. He was an officer in the Civil War and survived major battles.

The Oregon black exclusion laws were attempts to prevent black people from settling within the borders of the settlement and eventual U.S. state of Oregon. The first such law took effect in 1844, when the Provisional Government of Oregon voted to exclude black settlers from Oregon's borders. The law authorized a punishment for any black settler remaining in the territory to be whipped with "not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes" for every six months they remained. Additional laws aimed at African Americans entering Oregon were ratified in 1849 and 1857. The last of these laws was repealed in 1926. The laws, born of anti-slavery and anti-black beliefs, were often justified as a reaction to fears of black people instigating Native American uprisings.

Cowlitz Prairie is in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The natural prairie roughly lies along the west side of the Cowlitz River, north of Toledo, east of Interstate 5 in Washington, and South of U.S. Route 12. The Lower Cowlitz tribal group's traditional territory includes Cowlitz Prairie. Early 19th century visitors noticed an area mainly cleared of trees and assessed its dimensions from 4 to 6 miles long, 1 to 2 miles wide, adding up to nearly 6000 acres.

Peter Crawford was a Scottish-born land surveyor who was a prominent pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. He founded Kelso, Washington and platted numerous towns in the Oregon Territory which later became the states of Oregon and Washington. He was a member of the Monticello Convention which petitioned and successfully convinced Congress to create Washington Territory out of the Oregon Territory.

William Myron King, also known as Colonel King for most of his life, was an American pioneer merchant and Oregon state legislator. He served four terms in Oregon's territorial legislature. This included one term as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives during the 1851 legislative session. Before immigrating to Oregon, King lived and worked in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri. After moving to Oregon in 1848, he became a merchant in Portland, and was later the county judge for Multnomah County and a member of Portland's city council.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Weber, Dennis P. (2003). "The Creation of Washington: Securing Democracy North of the Columbia" (PDF). Columbia - the Magazine of Northwest History. 17 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Meany, Edmond S. (January 1922). "The Cowlitz Convention: Inception of Washington Territory". The Washington Historical Quarterly. XIII (1): 3–16. JSTOR   40473582.
  3. 1 2 Banel, Feliks (August 23, 2017). "Cowlitz convention responsible for splitting Washington from Oregon". MyNorthwest.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 The Chronicle staff (July 19, 2013). "Lewis County's First Elected Sheriff John R. Jackson". The Chronicle . Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Historical Floods Compared with Debris Flows". United States Geological Survey. March 1, 2005. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  6. 1 2 McClelland, John M. Jr. (Summer 1988). "Almost Columbia, Triumphantly Washington". Columbia Magazine. 2 (2): 3–11. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Territorial Timeline". Washington State Secretary of State. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  8. ↑ The History of the Pacific Northwest Oregon and Washington 1889: Volume I. Portland: North Pacific History Company. 1889.
  9. ↑ United States. Public Land Commission. Committee on Codification (1881). [ttps://books.google.com/books?id=TtJmzsS1iuQC The Public Domain. Its History, with Statistics ... Prepared ... by Thomas Donaldson ... Revised July 16, 1881. [With Maps.]]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  10. ↑ Congressional Edition, Volume 657. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1852.

46°06′56.3″N122°54′46.9″W / 46.115639°N 122.913028°W / 46.115639; -122.913028

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.