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Congress creates Territory of Oregon on August 14, 1848.

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On August 14, 1848, Congress establishes the Territorial Government of Oregon. The United States had enjoyed sovereignty over the region, which included present-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, since 1846. In 1843, local residents had declared their own "provisional government."

The federal government was spurred to formalize a territorial government by the massacre by members of the Cayuse tribe of Methodist missionary Dr. Marcus Whitman (1802-1847), his wife, and 12 other settlers near Walla Walla on November 29, 1847.

Sources:
Edmond S. Meany, History of the State of Washington (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1909); Dictionary of Oregon History ed. by Howard McKinley Corning (Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1956).

By Walt Crowley, February 19, 2003

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