The Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and Oregon

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The Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and
Oregon

• Robert J. Miller
• Professor
• Lewis Clark Law School
• Portland, Oregon

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Louisiana Purchase - 1803
From Ambrose Axtell, LC Voyage of Discovery
(1998)
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Johnson v. McIntosh, 21 U.S. 543 (1823).

• Country settled on Discovery Conquest
• Discovery limited tribal real property rights
• Discovery limited tribal sovereign rights

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Jeffersons Discovery policies

• 1792 U.S. Right of Preemption
• 1802-08 Tribes own land U.S. will buy
• 1804 Limits of LA - Discovery principles
• 1808 wrote Congress U.S. has to buy the land from
  the native proprietors

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Jeffersons Discovery policies

• 1792 U.S. exclusive control of tribal trade
  political interactions
• 1804 Letter Being now become sovereigns of the
  country - subject to Indian rights of
  occupancy

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Lewis Clark Discovery

• Tribal speeches sovereignty tokens
• Forts Mandan Clatsop
• Lewis branding iron

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Fort Clatsop March 18, 1806

• The object of this list is, that through the
  medium of some civilized person who may see the
  same, it may be made known to the informed world,
  that the party consisting of the persons whose
  names are hereunto annexed, and who were sent out
  by the government of the U States in May 1804 to
  explore the interior of the Continent of North
  America, did penetrate the same by way of the
  Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the discharge of
  the latter into the Pacific Ocean . . . ."

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Elements of Discovery

• First discovery - Actual occupancy
• Preemption/European title - Indian title
• Tribal sovereign comml rts - Contiguity
• Terra nullius - Conquest
• Christianity - Civilization

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U.S. claims to the Pacific NW

• Robert Gray 1792 Columbia Redidiva
• Lewis Clark 1805-06
• John Jacob Astor Astoria 1811

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Manifest Destiny

• Special virtues of Americans institutions
• Americas mission to redeem remake the world in
  our image
• Divine destiny under Gods direction to
  accomplish this wonderful task

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The Oregon Country Discovery

• U.S. English settlement
• U.S. Spain, 1821, U.S. Russia, 1824
• US England treaties 1818, 1827, Polk 1846
• Indian treaties 1850-1855
• Oregon Territory Act 1848 (NW Ord 1787)
• Donation Land Act HR Rep. 271 (1850)