An Executive Committee was the title of a three-person committee which served as the

executive Branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of 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 ...

in the disputed

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 ...

. This arrangement was announced on July 5, 1843, after three months of study by the Provisional Legislature at Champoeg.

Powers

The executive committee was empowered to grant reprieves and pardons, recommend legislation, and call out the militia.History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington
: Embracing an Account of the Original Discoveries on the Pacific Coast of North America, Volume 1, (1889), p. 240.

Members of the First Executive Committee (1843–1844)

* David Hill – Pioneer from Connecticut, went on to become founder of

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

. * Alanson Beers – Also from Connecticut.

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

missionary with the Reverend Jason Lee's mission. Later a business partner of George Abernethy. * Joseph Gale – Ship builder, sea captain and accomplished trader.

Members of the Second Executive Committee (1844–1845)

* Peter G. Stewart – New York pioneer. * Osborne Russell – Helped build Fort Hall in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, fur trader, later candidate for Provisional Governor. * William J. Bailey – Trapper and trader, later became a doctor.

References

{{Oregon-gov-stub Provisional Government of Oregon Champoeg Meetings State executive councils of the United States 1843 establishments in Oregon Country Pardons

Powers

Members of the First Executive Committee (1843–1844)

Members of the Second Executive Committee (1844–1845)

Further reading

References