Why the U.S. Wanted Oregon Country (1840s)

The U.S. pursued Oregon Country (modern WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, BC) for seven strategic reasons:

1. Pacific Ports: Access to Asia trade (Puget Sound, Columbia River).
2. Manifest Destiny: Ideological drive for continental expansion.
3. Boundary Dispute: Joint occupation with Britain (1818) was unstable; 49th parallel unresolved west of Rockies.
4. Economic Resources: Timber, furs, fisheries, fertile Willamette Valley.
5. Columbia River Control: Vital inland transport artery.
6. Settler Pressure: Oregon Trail migrants demanded U.S. sovereignty.
7. Geopolitics: Preempt Russian (Alaska) and British claims.

Resolved by 1846 Oregon Treaty (49th parallel to Strait of Juan de Fuca).