For many, the Adams-Onís treaty is mostly known for the treaty which ceded Florida to the United States, but did you know that it also established the boundary with Spanish Texas at the 42nd parallel giving what was then known as Oregon country to the United States. The boundary went all the way through the Rocky Mountains west to the Pacific Ocean. Actually, Spain did not give outright the Oregon Territory to the United States, but rather they just gave up any territorial claims to the area. It was not their land to give; the Oregon country was a hot bed for territorial disputes between several nations all competing for land and commerce in the area. The term Oregon Country was mostly an American term referring to the territory in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Prior to 1810, the region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders who called the region Columbia District. It includes land west of the Rocky Mountain roughly between what is now the southern border of Oregon all the way north to the present day Canadian province of British Columbia. The region was originally claimed by Great Britain, Russia, France and Spain.
In 1818, the United States under President James Monroe signed a treaty known as the Convention of 1818 or Treaty of 1818 which allowed for joint occupation and settlement of the Oregon territory. The U.S. and Great Britain agreed to the the 49th parallel to divide the land ceding all lands south to the United States. And now with the Adams-Onís, Spain was giving up all claims north of the 42nd parallel. Slowly, the United States was establishing itself as having sole claim of the Pacific Northwest up to at least the 49th parallel. The path for the United States to become a continental nation was opening, and the seeds of Manifest Destiny were being planted. The world was watching. With the way that Spain had delayed signing the treaty, and were quite reluctant to cede any territory, you might expect other European powers to have great reservations about the treaty. But as President Monroe stated in his 1819 State of the Union Address, "the opinion and wishes both of France and Great Britain have not been withheld either from the United States or from Spain, and have been unequivocal in favor of the ratification". For once, the European powers had sided with the United States. Monroe continued, that there was reason to believe, that even the government of Russia share the same sentiments. After 21 paragraphs of text describing the Adams-Onís treaty and how Spain had delayed, Monroe shared this about those European powers who had interest in the Oregon Country.
"In the course which the Spanish Government have on this occasion thought proper to pursue it is satisfactory to know that they have not been countenanced by any other European power. On the contrary, the opinion and wishes both of France and Great Britain have not been withheld either from the United States or from Spain, and have been unequivocal in favor of the ratification. There is also reason to believe that the sentiments of the Imperial Government of Russia have been the same, and that they have also been made known to the cabinet of Madrid."All of this is a huge testimony to the work of John Quincy Adams, Monroe's secretary of State, former minister to Russia, and former Special Envoy to the United Kingdom who worked tirelessly on the Adams-Onís treaty. John Quincy Adams received his first diplomatic assignment from the Washington administration as minister to the Netherlands in 1793. Washington referred to Adams as "the most valuable of America's officials abroad". Clearly, our first president was proved to be right.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29461
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams%E2%80%93On%C3%ADs_Treaty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_boundary_dispute
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_1818
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Oregoncountry.png/589px-Oregoncountry.png
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