338 The Oregon Question

338.The Oregon Question

 It was not only in the Southwest that boundaries were disputed ; in the Northwest also there was a long controversy which was settled while Polk was President . Oregon was the name given to the whole region , between Spanish and Mexican California and the Russian Alaska . The United States and Great Britain each claimed to have the best right to Oregon . As they could not agree as to their claims , they decided to oC - cupy the region jointly . As time went on Amer - ican settlers and missionaries began to go over the mountains to Oregon . In 1847 seven thou - sand Americans were living in the Northwest .