stefansson-wrangel-09-37-039

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The question arose after the war of 1812, and was not
finally settled until 1846. The United States asserted its
right to the entire coast of the Pacific as far north as the
Russian line. This claim it based on a conjunction of discov-
eries made by various American ships, the explorations of Lewis
and Clark, and the occupation of a fur-trading post on the Columbia
River by John Jacob Astor, with an assignment from Spain of all
the interest which the latter country had gained in the coast by
the discoveries of her mariners. The United States, although it
claimed to the Russian line, expressed itself throughout the
negotiations as being willing to compromise on a continuation to
the Pacific of the boundary on the 49th parallel.

Great Britain based her claim on the discoveries of Van-
couver and other navigators and the capture of Astoria during
the war of 1812. She demanded that the territory should be
divided by a line drawn along the 49th parallel until it crossed
the Columbia River, and thence down the course of the river to
the Pacific.

The correspondence setting forth the claims of the two
countries may be found in 34 British and Foreign State Papers,
64-83, and 34 Idem, 93-137. The plenipotentiaries set forth
the claims of their countries and attempt to refute the claims
made by their adversaries. For instance, Mr. Pakenham, the
plenipotentiary of Great Britain, says that a British captain
was the first to discover the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so that
the claim of Great Britain to that territory is unassailable.

The American negotiator replied, in effect, that the strait was