Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!

Carol Blake, AMH2010, Monday-Friday, 10:30 am

When James K. Polk ran for President in 1844, he used the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" The Oregon Territory was owned and settled by both British and Americans. Polk said the United States should own the land all the way to the latitude of 54 degrees 40'. He said he was willing to fight to own the land. When Polk became President, he compromised. He agreed to set the border at 49 degrees latitude. Today this is Washington's northern border.