The Oregon Lyceum or Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club was founded in
Oregon City,
Oregon Country around 1840. The
forum was a prominent fixture for the leading
pioneer
Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land.
In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...
settlers during its brief existence. It would begin publishing the first American newspaper west of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
in 1846 and had several names during its existence.
Founding
One source lists the founding of the institution as 1844,
[
] but this is unlikely as there are many references to debates regarding forming a government in 1842.
[
] The forum was likely started at that time with the goal of producing a newspaper in the region.
That paper, the ''
Oregon Spectator
''The Oregon Spectator'', was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The ''Spectator'' was the first American newspaper west of the Rocky Mo ...
'', began publishing in 1846.
The Lyceum's first meeting was held at the home of Sidney Moss who had purchased his land in Oregon City from Dr.
John McLoughlin of the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
(HBC).
Frederick Prigg Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
* Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederic ...
was another member of the Lyceum that assisted in building the organization.
[
] So was Portland co-founder
Francis Pettygrove
Francis William Pettygrove (1812 – October 5, 1887) was a pioneer and one of the founders of the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Port Townsend, Washington. Born in Maine, he re-located to the Oregon Country in 1843 to establish a store in ...
.
[
]
In addition to debates on government and the creation of a press, the group discussed literary items, scientific pursuits, and other local issues.
Literary works of the group were published in the ''Spectator''.
[Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] The group as also known as ''The Willamette Falls Debating Society'' or ''The Falls Association''.
[
Other notable members during its existence include:][Bancroft, Hubert Howe. 1882. The works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Co. p. 297] Henry A. G. Lee, William H. Gray, Lansford W. Hastings, Elisha Applegate, Jesse Applegate, Asa Lovejoy, Sidney W. Moss, Robert Newell, James W. Nesmith
James Willis Nesmith (July 23, 1820 – June 17, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Oregon. Born in New Brunswick to American parents, he grew up in New Hampshire and Maine. A Democrat, he moved to Oregon Country in 1843 where he ...
, William C. Dement, Medorem Crawford, Hiram Straight, William Cushing, Philip Foster
Philip Foster (January 29, 1805 – March 17, 1884) was one of the first settlers in Oregon, United States. The farmstead he established in Eagle Creek in 1847 became a stopping post for pioneers heading west along the Oregon Trail. Approximatel ...
, Theophilus Magruder, Daniel Waldo, Peter G. Stewart, Isaac W. Smith, Joseph Watt, Frank Ermatinger, Albert E. Wilson, Jacob Hoover, John Minto
John Minto (born ) is a New Zealand political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers listed him as number 89. Tod ...
, Barton Lee, and John P. Brooks.
Government debate
Beginning in the fall and winter of 1840-1841 the members of the Lyceum debated the future of the region.Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
could claim the Oregon Country under the terms of the Treaty of 1818
The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...
signed at the conclusion of the War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. During these debates in Oregon City the European settlers argued about whether an independent country should be formed, or if a provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
should be formed.[
]
Those lyceum members advocating an independent country were mainly British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, including Dr. McLoughlin and his HBC employees. Although many former fur trappers
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...
(predominantly French-Canadian Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
s) and the region's Jesuit missionaries sided with McLoughlin on this issue. Both groups viewed the formation of an independent country as preventing the territory from eventually becoming a part of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.Resolved, That it is expedient for the settlers of the coast to organize an independent government.
The resolution was adopted but at that same meeting George Abernethy
George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...
of the Methodist Mission
The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee was the principal leader fo ...
introduced a competing issue following the vote to be discussed the next week.Resolved, That if the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
extends its jurisdiction over this country during the next four years it will not be expedient to form an independent government.
After debate of the issues, (which by now, according to later observers, included the option of ''no'' provisional government if an independent nation was not formed) the resolution in favor of a four-year delay passed and
Later years
It is not known when the Oregon Lyceum disbanded, but the Lyceum movement in the United States died out around the turn of the Twentieth Century.
References
External links
End of the Oregon Trail.org
{{Oregon Pioneer History
Champoeg Meetings
Oregon Country
Pre-statehood history of Oregon
Lyceum movement
1840s establishments in Oregon