How The Pacific Northwest ended up a part of the United States.

What Really Happened?How The Pacific Northwest

ended up a part of the United States

Spain In 1819, the Adams-Onis Treaty, or

Territorial Treaty, was signed by Spain and the U.S.

Spain gave up all land north of the 42nd parallel, but retained modern day California, Texas, and the Southwestern states (for a while)

The U.S. gained a lot of land, including the PNW

Why did Spain agree to this?

• Spain was struggling to control its other territories

• Spain has already given up some control in the area

• Spanish power was declining• The Peninsular War had cost a lot of money

and led to some civil unrest that needed attention

• They couldn’t really afford to be here, and didn’t want to be here enough to figure it out

Russia Agreed to give up claims to all land

south of the current Russian border in 1826

Sold what is now Alaska to the United States in 1867 in a transaction known as “Seward’s Folly”

We wrote a check ……..

Why did Russia do this?

Their main interest – the fur trade – was declining as a source of profit

They worried that Britain might take the area by force – England and Russia had recently fought a war, and England controlled Canada

Russian America becomes Alaska

England In 1818, the U.S. and Great Britain

agreed to “joint occupation” of the PNW

In 1848, they signed the Treaty of Oregon, which established the current border between the U.S. and what would become Canada.

Why did England agree to this?

They had plenty of land in the region (Canada)

They wanted to sustain good relations with the United States

Their main interest in the area was with the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had already moved north

Treaty of Oregon

Native Americans Many native groups were devastated

by diseases brought by Europeans A series of unjust treaties and forced

moves further damaged their ability to maintain control over their lands

As settlers moved in, many native people did fight, but they were unable to defeat the Americans

Native land was lost & reservations were established

The United States in the 1860s