Champoeg Meetings

Oregon Institute building circa 1844 in present-day Salem

The plans called for meetings to be held at the French-Canadian enclave of Champoeg on the banks of the Willamette River. This part of the Willamette Valley was and still is known as the French Prairie, 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) further south of Champoeg in present-day Salem and downriver in Oregon City.[5]

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.

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 to Oregon.[6] 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, because otherwise people were sure that Young's estate would be disposed for the Hudson's Bay Company, the Catholic Jesuit priests from Canada, or the Protestant Methodist Mission from the United States, which had happened in the past.[7][4] 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.[8] 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.[8][9] 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.[10]

The second meeting, held the following day, was chaired by David Leslie. To mollify French-Canadian discontent over a potential governorship, Dr. Ira Babcock, a physician from the Methodist Mission, was elected as Supreme Judge, using the laws of New York State as his guide to probate any estates.[11] 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".[4] In fact he led not only the judicial branch but also the legislative and executive branches.[4] The only other estate that Babcock administered was that of Cornelius Rogers, previously a laborer of the ABCFM stations[12] who died in February 1843.[13] 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.[4] Additionally, a constitutional committee of seven, consisting of three Americans and four French-Canadians and chaired by Blanchet, was established to discuss further measures.[8]

During the next meeting, commenced on June 1, 1841, Blanchet reported the constitutional committee had not met and requested a reprieve from his duties.[8] William J. Bailey was appointed as the new chairman, and the committee was advised to consult with Commodore Charles Wilkes of the U.S. government and Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company concerning forming a government.[8] 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.[14] McLoughlin was equally unsupportive of the considered organization. These reactions discouraged the constitutional committee from ever meeting, nor were the planned general meetings convened.[7] Despite falling short of the original goals set by Lee, these early meetings still helped to create "an organized community" in the Willamette Valley.[15]

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.[16] Those favoring an independent nation were led by Lansford Hastings, then employed by Dr. McLoughlin, while George Abernethy led those opposed to a new country.[16] Ultimately those favoring waiting for the United States to take ownership of the region won out in the debates.[16] 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."[17] On September 22, 1842, Dr. Elijah White organized and spoke at a meeting at Champoeg.[18] His purpose was to inform the settlers that he had been commissioned by the United States War Department as a sub-Indian agent.[18] Additionally, he implied that the pioneers could select him as a magistrate for the region.[18] However, White was not popular among the settlers and this led to additional discussions about forming a government.[18]

On February 1, 1843, residents of the Willamette Valley met at the Oregon Institute in present-day Salem, Oregon, 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,[19] 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".[20] Bounties were to be paid by orders on the accounts of Fort Vancouver, the Island Milling Company or the Methodist Mission.[8] The gathering set in motion the organizing of a provisional government, with the post of governor agreed upon.[10][20] Notably, indigenous people were to get half the pay of pioneers for bounties.[8] 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.

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,[21] which was rejected immediately by French Canadians after being read.[8] 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.[22]

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.[20] 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.[20] Gray's book has been stated to be rife with "acrimonious partisanship and disregard of truth"; contemporaries including Blanchet, Jesse Applegate, Robert Newell, Peter Hardeman Burnett, and George Abernethy, among others, criticized portions of it.[6] Newell stated the vote was 55-50, with three additional French Canadians supporting the motion.[23] He also noted that the "First vote taken was that we have no Governor to defeat the wolf bummers."[10] The official record states that after the first vote, the report was voted on "article by article" without the office of Governor appearing.[8]

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.[22]

Those alleged to have voted for the creation of the provisional government:[24]

Those slandered as voting against the creation of the provisional government despite a lack of contemporary records[5] (Hussey's list was originally compiled by François X. Matthieu from his store ledger[26] and provided to George Himes, who first publicized the two lists[27]):

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.[8]

District boundaries drawn in 1843, showing modern U.S. state and international borders

A gathering was held on July 5 to vote on the work of the legislative committee. The original Organic Laws of Oregon were modeled after the Ordinance of 1787 and Iowa's Organic Law, laying out the framework of a political structure modeled on the United States, with three branches of government.[5] The government was created, as its preamble declared, "until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us."[8] This document was recognized as the de facto first Oregon constitution. The election for the first Executive Committee was held with Joseph Gale, David Hill, and Alanson Beers elected as the committee members to serve in place of a Governor.[8] 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.[8] The northern border of the jurisdiction was not initially clearly delineated due to the ongoing Oregon boundary dispute and to the fact that there no willing participants in the government north of the Columbia River.