The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by

European-American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

and

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

pioneers in the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was held at Champoeg, a settlement on the

French Prairie French Prairie is located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, in the Willamette Valley between the Willamette River and the Pudding River, north of Salem. The prairie area roughly corresponds to the traditional land of the Kalapuya peopl ...

of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

valley in present-day Marion County, Oregon, and at surrounding settlements.Carey, Charle
''History of Oregon.''
Chicago: The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. 1922 The meetings were organized by newly arrived

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s as well as Protestant

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

from the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee (missionary), Jason Lee was ...

and Catholic

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priests from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Since the first decade of the 19th century, a small but growing number of pioneers had settled in the Oregon Country, mostly to pursue business interests in the

North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the (typically) historical Fur trade, commercial trade of furs and other goods in North America, beginning in the eastern provinces of French Canada and the northeastern Thirteen Colonies, American colonies (soon- ...

. Despite its economic value, the region was so vast and remote that it was left unorganized for several decades, with no European-American government in place to set laws and resolve disputes. Prior to the Champoeg Meetings, the closest thing to a government in the Oregon Country was the privately owned

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, which effected a loose authority mainly through the efforts of Dr. John McLoughlin at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

in present-day

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. Uncertainty about settling the estate of prominent settler Ewing Young in 1841 stirred a group of settlers led by missionary Jason Lee to advocate for a settler-run local government in the region. The assemblies at Champoeg addressed issues of probate law and estate administration, how to reward hunters who killed animals preying on livestock, and how to compromise on a system of leadership for the proposed government. The meetings eventually culminated in a vote on May 2, 1843, which concluded in favor of forming what became the

Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

. Though primarily supported by

American pioneer American pioneers, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...

s and opposed by French Canadian settlers in anticipation of the region's annexation by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, several French Canadians also voted in favor of forming a provisional government. A state park and marker at the site of the May 2 vote commemorate the proceedings, as well as a large mural behind the desk of the Oregon Speaker of the House at the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the Oregon Legislative Assembly, state legislature and the offices of the Governor of Oregon, governor, Oregon Secretary of State, secretary of state, and Oregon State Treasurer, treasurer of t ...

in Salem.

Background

The Oregon Country was an enormous area of indeterminate boundaries on the Pacific Northwest coast. By 1805, it was claimed simultaneously by the United States as well as by three colonial European powers:

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Interest by these nations was mostly stimulated by the prospect of obtaining enormous wealth from the area's rich natural resources, especially in the burgeoning

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. Several voyages were proposed to map the coast, with

Alessandro Malaspina Brigadier Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Spanish Navy officer and explorer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 to 1794, a scientific expedit ...

, Robert Gray, and

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

arriving in the early 1790s. The overland treks of Alexander Mackenzie and

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

which reached the Pacific coast in 1793 and 1805, respectively, continued to ferment interest by Europe and the United States. In 1818, the United States and Britain signed a treaty that called for the two countries to peaceably co-exist in the region, but not to exclude other claims. Through a series of other treaties the number of countries claiming the Oregon Country was eventually reduced to just two, the United States and Great Britain. As such expeditions expanded Euro-American knowledge of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, the possibilities of exploiting the fur trade provoked several companies to attempt to establish a permanent presence there. The first to do so was the

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

, which under David Thompson arrived in what is now

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and created posts such as the

Saleesh House Saleesh House, also known as Flathead Post, was a North West Company fur trading post built near present-day Thompson Falls, Montana in 1809 by David Thompson and James McMillan of the North West Company. It became a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) po ...

to trade with the Salish and Kootenai tribes. The American

Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of G ...

financed the next commercial push into the region, working primarily with

Chinookan peoples Chinookan peoples include several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages. Since at least 11,500 BCE, Chinookan peoples and their ancestors have resided along the upper and ...

Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary Fur trade, fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party tra ...

at the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. The

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

ended the American venture and its operations were sold to its competitor, the North West Company, which was itself amalgamated into the

in 1821. From

, located near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, the operations of the Hudson's Bay Company grew and quickly became the primary commercial force in the Oregon Country. Despite the activities of American mountain men and upwards of 12 attempted companies, the commercial hegemony of the British company remained in force until after the formation of the Provisional Government. Britain and the U.S. continued a tense "joint occupation" as economic activity in the region continued to expand. In the 1830s,

, including Protestants such as Jason Lee, Henry H. Spalding, and

Marcus Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802 – November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary. He is most well known for leading American settlers across the Oregon Trail, unsuccessfully attempting to Christianize the Cayuse Indians, and wa ...

and Catholics such as François Norbert Blanchet, Modeste Demers and Pierre-Jean De Smet, would also travel overland to the Oregon Country and establish missions among the Native Americans there. As time passed many of the trappers and missionaries settled the land and developed farms and timber and grist mills. Beginning in the 1840s, more and more settlers arrived via the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

that the early missionaries and trappers had helped to blaze.Clarke, S.A
''Pioneer Days of Oregon History.''
Cleveland: J.K. Gill Company. 1905 Finally, enough Americans, Canadians and Europeans (mainly English and French) were living in the ungoverned land that a critical mass was reached and the settlers began to develop plans for a government.A History of Oregon, 1792-1849
Chapter XXVII

Meetings

Location

The plans called for meetings to be held at the

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

enclave of Champoeg on the banks of the

. This part of the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

was and still is known as the

, since its early settlers spoke French as their first language. Some of the meetings were also held at the Oregon Institute (the predecessor to

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

) further south of Champoeg in present-day Salem and downriver in Oregon City. The name Champoeg has an unknown origin. Some theories are that it was a Native American name for its location along the Willamette River, originally ''Champooik''. Other theories are that it is of French origin, or a French variation on the Native American term. The name was later used for one of the early districts of the Provisional Government of Oregon, part of which later became

Marion County, Oregon Marion County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population was 345,920 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Oregon, 5th most populous county in Oregon. The ...

1841

In 1841, the early settlers found themselves in need of a government after the death of pioneer Ewing Young. Young had accumulated much wealth as a successful rancher following the Willamette Cattle Company events of 1837 when he and a group of other settlers herded over 600 head of cattle from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to Oregon. Bancroft, Hubert Howe and Frances Fuller Victor
''History of Oregon.''
San Francisco: History Co. 1890 This made him very wealthy and intertwined him economically with many of the other pioneers in the valley. Young had died without a will or an heir, thus necessitating the judgment of a

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

, because otherwise people were sure that Young's estate would be disposed for the

, the Catholic Jesuit priests from Canada, or the Protestant

from the United States, which had happened in the past.Brown, James H
''Brown’s Political History of Oregon: Provisional Government.''
Portland: Wiley B. Allen. 1892 The settlers decided to assemble at Champoeg, where they hoped to receive input from other prominent settlers and outline a plan of government for the region. Several meetings occurred over the subsequent months, which were attended by François Norbert Blanchet, William J. Bailey, Mr. Charlevon, David Donpierre, Gustavus Hines, William Johnson, Jason Lee, Étienne Lucier, Robert Moore, Josiah Lamberson Parrish, Sidney Smith, and David Leslie.Grover, La Fayette
''The Oregon Archives.''
Salem: A. Bush. 1853 The first meeting was held on February 17, 1841, and chaired by Jason Lee, who suggested a set of measures that would establish a civil government. Amongst the measures was one which would have organized a single criminal justice system applicable to all Oregon pioneers not employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. The proposed positions included a governor, an attorney general, justices of the peace, road commissioners, and even two people to serve as overseers of the indigent. This initial proposal was rebuked by François Blanchet, who counter-proposed a looser system with the post of a judge, rather than a governor, as the highest position.Loewenberg, Robert J. "Creating a Provisional Government in Oregon: A Revision." ''The Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' 68, No. 1 (1977). pp. 19-21 The second meeting, held the following day, was chaired by David Leslie. To mollify French-Canadian discontent over a potential governorship, Dr.

Ira Babcock Ira Leonard Babcock (c. 1808 – March 21, 1888) was an American pioneer and doctor in the Oregon Country. A native of New York, he was selected as the first Supreme Judge with probate powers in February 1841 in what would become the state of Ore ...

, a physician from the

, was elected as Supreme Judge, using the laws of

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

as his guide to probate any estates. However, the contemporary historian William H. Gray, in his book ''A History of Oregon, 1792-1849'', explained that there would not have been any copy of the laws of New York available to the settlers and that instead Babcock acted "just as he pleased". In fact he led not only the judicial branch but also the legislative and executive branches. The only other estate that Babcock administered was that of Cornelius Rogers, previously a laborer of the ABCFM stations who died in February 1843. Other positions created and filled by the group included George LeBreton as Clerk of the Courts and Public Recorder; William Johnson as High Sheriff; William McCarty, Pierre Belleque, and Havier Laderant as constables; and Joseph Gervais, William Cannon, Robert Moore and Lewis H. Judson as justices of the peace. Additionally, a constitutional committee of seven, consisting of three Americans and four French-Canadians and chaired by Blanchet, was established to discuss further measures. During the next meeting, commenced on June 1, 1841, Blanchet reported the constitutional committee had not met and requested a reprieve from his duties. William J. Bailey was appointed as the new chairman, and the committee was advised to consult with Commodore

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

of the U.S. government and Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company concerning forming a government. The group decided on subsequent meetings to be held on August 1 and on October 5. Meeting with five men, Wilkes judged their motivation based on getting "settlers to flock in, there by raising the value of their farms and stock"; consequently he advised the group to wait for the United States to project rule over them. McLoughlin was equally unsupportive of the considered organization. These reactions discouraged the constitutional committee from ever meeting, nor were the planned general meetings convened. Despite falling short of the original goals set by Lee, these early meetings still helped to create "an organized community" in the Willamette Valley.

1842

In Oregon City at the Oregon Lyceum, pioneers debated the aspects of forming a temporary government with the expectation of eventually being annexed by the United States, or forming an independent country. Those favoring an independent nation were led by

Lansford Hastings Lansford Warren Hastings (1819–1870) was an American explorer and Confederate soldier. He is best remembered as the developer of Hastings Cutoff, a claimed shortcut to California across what is now the state of Utah, a factor in the ill-fated ...

, then employed by Dr. McLoughlin, while

George Abernethy George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...

led those opposed to a new country. Ultimately those favoring waiting for the United States to take ownership of the region won out in the debates. Hastings noted that if the United States hadn't "extended her jurisdiction" within in a few years many "were favorable to declaring themselves independent... of all powers of the world." On September 22, 1842, Dr.

Elijah White Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission in th ...

organized and spoke at a meeting at Champoeg.Hussey, pp. 142-144 His purpose was to inform the settlers that he had been commissioned by the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

as a sub-

Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793 The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...

. Additionally, he implied that the pioneers could select him as a magistrate for the region. However, White was not popular among the settlers and this led to additional discussions about forming a government.

1843

On February 1, 1843, residents of the Willamette Valley met at the Oregon Institute in present-day

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, to discuss at the so-called "First Wolf Meeting" the issue of predatory animals attacking livestock. The only fact known from the First Wolf Meeting is that Supreme Judge Babcock was elected chairman and appointed a committee of six in preparation for the "Second Wolf Meeting", which met on March 6 at the house of French-Canadian Joseph Gervais. The total population of non-indigenous people in the valley was under 500 during this time, but the addition of about 1,000 Americans later in 1843 bolstered the pioneer presence. It was not until the Second Wolf Meeting that a system of bounties for wolves, cougars and bears was created. As one participant, William H. Gray, put it, the purpose of the discussions was to "get an object before the people upon which all could unite" to ensure settler "self-preservation, both for property and person". Bounties were to be paid by orders on the accounts of

, the Island Milling Company or the

. The gathering set in motion the organizing of a provisional government, with the post of governor agreed upon. Notably, indigenous people were to get half the pay of pioneers for bounties. The last organizational meeting was held on May 2, 1843, in Champoeg, where Babcock was elected president again and, aware of the great friction on that issue, he called for a vote on whether to create a provisional government.

Voting record

There were two votes on May 2, neither of which was recorded at the actual event. The report presented by the committee is known to have included the position of Governor, which was rejected immediately by French Canadians after being read. The meeting was then divided over adopting "the report of the committee and an organization". According to the only surviving contemporary record, taken by George LeBreton, a "great majority of those present" voted to form a government. George W. LeBreton
"Public Meeting at Champoeg, 1843"
Oregon Historical Society catalog number PTD R76I12186; May 2, 1843 The first count of the division appeared by Gray in an article of the ''Astoria Marine Gazette'' in 1866 as 52 "Americans" for and 50 "French-Canadian and Hudson's Bay men" against considering a government, and was later published in his 1870 book ''A History of Oregon''. Additionally, Gray claimed that the French Canadians were "drilled" by Vicar General Blanchet to vote no, despite the two tiebreakers in Gray's version being the Catholics Étienne Lucier and François X. Matthieu. Gray's book has been stated to be rife with "acrimonious partisanship and disregard of truth"; contemporaries including Blanchet,

Jesse Applegate Jesse Applegate (July 5, 1811 – April 22, 1888) was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He was an influential member of the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the ...

, Robert Newell,

Peter Hardeman Burnett Peter Hardeman Burnett (November 15, 1807May 17, 1895) was an American politician who served as the first elected governor of California from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851. Burnett was elected Governor almost one year before California's ...

, and

, among others, criticized portions of it. Newell stated the vote was 55–50, with three additional French Canadians supporting the motion. Robert Newell, (Oregon Register, 1866) quoted in Russel B. Thomas ''"Truth and Fiction about Champoeg."'' Oregon Historical Quarterly 30, No. 3 (1929), p. 224 He also noted that the "First vote taken was that we have no Governor to defeat the wolf bummers." The official record states that after the first vote, the report was voted on "article by article" without the office of Governor appearing. The list below was created several decades after the vote, and after many of the participants were deceased. No roll of participants is known to exist from the time of the actual meeting, and the only primary source from the time of the meeting states that "a great majority" passed the motion by acclamation. Those alleged to have voted for the creation of the provisional government: : Pleasant M. Armstrong :

(president) : Dr. William J. Bailey : Alanson Beers : Pierre Belleque : J.C. Bridges : Hugh Burns : Charles Campo : William Cannon : Harvey L. Clark : Medorem Crawford : Amos Cook : Allen J. Davie : David Donpierre : William M. Doughty : George W. Ebbert : Francis Fletcher : George Gay :

Joseph Gale Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vesse ...

: Joseph Gervais : William H. Gray : John Smith Griffin :

Webley John Hauxhurst Webley John Hauxhurst Jr. (January 23, 1809 – January 23, 1874) was a pioneer in Oregon Country. He helped build the first grist mill in Oregon, participated in the Willamette Cattle Company, and was a participant at the Champoeg meeting where ...

: David Hill : Joseph Holman : John Howard : Gustavus Hines : Thomas J. Hubbard : William Johnson : Lewis H. Judson : George W. Le Breton : David Leslie : Reuben Lewis : Étienne Lucier : François X. Matthieu :

Joseph Meek Joseph Lafayette Meek (February 9, 1810 – June 20, 1875) was an American pioneer, mountain man, law enforcement official, and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory of the United States. A trapper involved in the fur tr ...

: William McCarty : Charles McKay : Robert Moore : John L. Morrison : Robert Newell : James A. O'Neil : Xavier Laderout : Josiah Lamberson Parrish : John Edmunds Pickernell : James R. Robb :

Osborne Russell Osborne Russell (19 June 1814 – 1 May 1884) was a mountain man and politician who helped form the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Maine. Early life Osborne Russell was born 19 June 1814, in the village of Bowdoinha ...

: Robert Shortess : Alvin T. Smith : Sidney Smith : Solomon H. Smith : Calvin Tibbetts : David Weston : Caleb Wilkins : Albert E. Wilson : William H. Willson Those slandered as voting against the creation of the provisional government despite a lack of contemporary records (Hussey's list was originally compiled by François X. Matthieu from his store ledger and provided to George Himes, who first publicized the two lists): : Alexis Aubichon : Jean B. Aubichon : Louis Ausant : Cyfois Bargeau : Pascal Biscornais : Louis Boivers : Antoine Bonenfant : Alexis Briscbois : Oliver Briscbois : Joseph Brunelle : Andre Chalifoux : Adolph Chamberlain : Joseph Cornoyer : Joseph Delard : Pierre Depot : Joseph Despart : Andre Dubois : Jean B. Ducharme : Antoine Felice : Louis Forcier : Luc Gagnon : Pierre Gauthier : Jean Gingras : Étienne Gregoire : Andre La Chapelle : Louis La Bonte : Michel Laframboise : Jean B. Lalcoure : Augustin Lambert : Alexis La Prate : Andre Longtain : Moyse Lore : Joseph Matte : Fabien Maloin : David Mongrain : Pierre Pepin dit LaChance : Pierre Pariseau : Augustin Remon : Thomas Roi : Charles Rondeau : Andre Sanders : Gideon Senecalle : Jacques Servant : Louis B. Van Dalle After this vote, the people elected members for a legislative committee to draft a working government. The members selected were David Hill, Robert Shortess, Robert Newell, Alanson Beers, Thomas J. Hubbard, William H. Gray, Robert Moore, James A. O'Neil, and William M. Doughty. Other offices elected on May 2 were Albert E. Wilson as Supreme Judge, George W. LeBreton as Court Clerk and Recorder, Joseph L. Meek as Sheriff and William H. Willson as Treasurer.

Organic Laws

A gathering was held on July 5 to vote on the work of the legislative committee. The original

Organic Laws of Oregon The Organic Laws of Oregon were two sets of legislation passed in the 1840s by a group of primarily American settlers based in the Willamette Valley. These laws were drafted after the Champoeg Meetings and created the structure of a government in ...

were modeled after the

Ordinance of 1787 The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

and

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

's Organic Law, laying out the framework of a political structure modeled on the United States, with three branches of government. The government was created, as its preamble declared, "until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us." This document was recognized as the '' de facto'' first Oregon constitution. The election for the first

Executive Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

was held with

, David Hill, and Alanson Beers elected as the committee members to serve in place of a Governor. The entire territory was then divided into four administrative districts: Yam Hill (also Yamhill), Clackamas (also Klackamas), Tuality (also Twality, and later Washington County), and Champoick (also Champoeg). The districts were generally divided according to watersheds such as the Willamette and Pudding Rivers. The northern border of the jurisdiction was not initially clearly delineated due to the ongoing

Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...

and to the fact that there no willing participants in the government north of the Columbia River.

Subsequent history

The

originally hardly functioned due to various limitations upon its power, but after the adoption of the second Organic Code in 1845, its control over the Willamette Valley was solidified. It eventually established taxes, built roads, authorized ferries, passed laws, and even waged war against some Native American tribes in the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War (1847–1855) was an armed conflict between the Cayuse people of the Northwestern United States and settlers, backed by the U.S. government. The conflict was triggered by the Whitman massacre of 1847, where the Cayuse attacked a ...

following the Whitman Massacre. Oregon's pioneers considered this government framework that was installed by the adopted

to be their first constitution, although in 1844 the legislative committee specifically ruled the organic laws

statutory A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

rather than

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. online a
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/ref> Negotiations with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1845 expanded the provisional government's jurisdiction north of the Columbia River, its officers continuing to run the majority of the civil affairs in the newly created Vancouver district. In 1846, the boundary dispute with Great Britain was settled, which reduced the area claimed by the provisional government to that territory south of the 49th degree of latitude. A new territorial government was formed after 1848 when Oregon was organized as an official United States

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

. The presidentially appointed governor of the Oregon Territory,

Joseph Lane Joseph Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk ap ...

, arrived March 3, 1849, and he officially ended the provisional government by declaring that U.S. laws and government were in effect over the territory.

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

later entered the Union as the 33rd U.S. state, on February 14, 1859.