Oregon – White State Constitution Excludes Blacks
By
John C Abercrombie
One of the myths we are led to believe is that Blacks were only in the South and enslaved. This post will raise questions about that as well as show the racism that existed in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America.
Many believe the first person of African descent was Marcus Lopez, the cabin attendant of Captain Robert Gray, in 1788. Captain Gray explored the Pacific Northwest and pioneered the American maritime trade. He became the first American to circumnavigate the world and naming the Columbia River.
Lopez set foot in what is today Oregon in 1788, followed by the little known York who played such an important role in the Lewis and Clark trek across the United States to the Pacific Ocean. Lopez was killed in Tillamook, Oregon in a skirmish with Native Americans there. It has become known as “Murder’s Bay”.
Records show that Blacks settled in 32 of Oregon’s 36 counties. This is confirmed by ships’ manifests and stories told by Native Americans. Blacks were used on board vessels like “Lady Washington” and in local mining operations.
Because of the way history is taught, many may not be familiar with the case of Holmes v Ford. Robin Holmes a slave belonging to Nathaniel Ford a long term sheriff in Missouri and a major landholder facing financial difficulties mortgaged Holmes’ oldest children to another slave owner. Holmes, his wife Polly and their youngest children were taken to Oregon despite the territorial ban on slavery, promising Holmes his freedom for helping him get to Oregon, then backing out of granting his freedom. This case was finally resolved in Holmes, the slave’s favor.
In 1850, Ford released Robin and Polly from slavery, keeping four of the Holmes’ children and threatening to sell the entire family back to Missouri
Then there is the saga of Ruben Shipley. Shipley was a Missouri slave given the choice of helping his owner move to Oregon or stay in Missouri and have his family sold away one by one. Although Shipley accepted the offer of helping to keep his family intact, he never saw them again. There are way too many cases of people not following through and keeping their word.
Originally the Oregon Territory included what is now Washington State. We have seen the role played by James Douglas, the first Governor of British Columbia. To see post click here.
In 1844, slavery was declared illegal in Oregon however there was a “Lash Law,” requiring that all Blacks slave or free be whipped twice per year “until he or she shall quit the territory,”. This was later deemed too harsh and replaced with forced labor, forcing people to perform hard labor on state roads for $0.50 per day.
The law was an attempt to exclude Blacks from the state and was passed by the Provisional Government. The law authorized that any Black remaining in the territory with “not less than 20 nor more than 30 stripes (lashes). The law was not repealed until 1926.
In 1850 we see an eye opening action. The Oregon Donation Land Grant Act grants free land to “Whites and half-breed Indians (Native Americas) in the Oregon territory. This law prevents Blacks from claiming land in Oregon. This is contrary to the notion that everyone had an equal chance to prosper in America.
There were even attempts to form a state consisting of land from Southern Oregon and Northern California, but California was unwilling to give up any of its territory. Many feared the competition from free Black people for power. This feeling is not limited to Oregon. Jacob Vanderpool was actually expelled from Oregon because of the color of his skin. George Washington Bush was forced to move North of the Columbia River which is now Washington State which today serves as the border between Oregon and Washington State.
Another Black man living in what is now Washington State is George Washington who established the town of Centralia, Washington.
In 1857 Oregon proposed to legalize slavery and ban Blacks from signing contracts or owning land.
On February 14, 1859, Oregon becomes the first state admitted to the Union with an exclusion law written into the state constitution.
The racially discriminatory amendment in Section 35 was invalidated after the Civil War by ratification of the 14th Amendment to the federal constitution in 1868. The 14th amendment stated that no state shall make or enforce any law which abridges the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States and gives citizenship to all persons born or naturalized.
However, Section 35 remained formally on the books for another 58 years. In 1925, the Oregon legislature proposed the formal repeal of Section 35, adopted as House Joint Resolution 8 (1925). The measure was referred to Oregon voters as a 1926 ballot initiative which was approved with 62.5% in favor.
As we look at Oregon’ history, they approved the 13th Amendment banning slavery in 1865 and the 14th Amendment granting citizenship and equal rights to African Americans in 1866. However, they rescinded ratification in 1868 and did not re-ratify it until 1973. Oregon did not ratify the 15th amendment granting voting rights to Blacks until 1959.
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For Black History Month 2020, we posted daily. These posts focus on the reality of Black life in America after the Civil War culminating in the landmark Brown v Board of Education that changed so many of the earlier practices. To see the posts, click here
For Black History Month 2021, we focused on Black Medical Achievements, Inventors and Scientists.To see those posts, click here.
We also posted a 5 part mini-series on the 100th anniversary of one of the most horrific massacres in the history of America. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. To see the posts, click here.
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Oregon’s Black Pioneers: Full Documentary
Long before Oregon became a state, black people were in the Far West. Some were brought to the region as slaves, but many others arrived as freemen looking for a new life. They opened boarding houses and stores, worked farms and mined for gold. But as more white settlers arrived over the Oregon Trail, the newcomers passed discriminatory laws to keep African Americans out. “Oregon Experience” examines the largely unknown history of Oregon’s black pioneers.
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Dangerous Subjects:
James D. Saules and the Rise of Black Exclusion in Oregon Dangerous Subjects describes the life and times of James D. Saules, a black sailor who was shipwrecked off the coast of Oregon and settled there in 1841. Before landing in Oregon, Saules traveled the world as a whaleman in the South Pacific and later as a crew member of the United States Exploring Expedition. Saules resided in the Pacific Northwest for just two years before a major wave of Anglo-American immigrants arrived in covered wagons.
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Oregon Quarterly
takes a deep dive into Oregon’s white supremacist roots Editors of the Oregon Historical Society’s scholarly journal talk about how understanding the role white supremacy played in our past has impacted our present.
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Building Supplies
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Against Civility:
The Hidden Racism in Our Obsession with Civility The idea and practice of civility has always been wielded to silence dissent, repress political participation, and justify violence upon people of color. Although many progressives today are told that we need to be more polite and thoughtful, less rancorous and angry, when we talk about race in America, civility maintains rather than disrupts racial injustice.
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State Senator Lew Frederick on life as a Black man in Oregon
Lew Frederick is a state senator, former KGW reporter, a past teacher and grew up playing with Martin Luther King Junior’s kids. But he knows the only thing too many people see is the color of his skin. Here’s his story.
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Hardware
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Black People In Oregon?
In times like these when racial tensions are at an all-time high, a reality check is long overdue. In this book we take an in-depth look into the current perception of black people in Oregon. This state is well-known for being mainly white , with many people not even believing that black people exist here. Black People In Oregon is a first of its kind. In this raw and uncut analysis, it breaks down the inner-workings of a range of issues affecting black Americans today. From the systematic racism that’s rife in American society, to the gentrification of poor areas; this book uncovers the truth behind the headlines as we gain a realistic insight into racial inequality in the US. This book predominantly focuses on Oregon — a state with just a 3% black population. In the midst of the black life matters protests, author Marlon “Prxscott” Abah decided to write this book to give a voice to the struggles of black people living in white-dominated areas. He picks apart the root causes of the state racism and shows us the real life perception of
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Racism Rooted in Oregon’s History
From black exclusion laws, to the KKK, to redlining, the effects of Oregon’s racist history are still doing resounding harm today.
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Vanport (Images of America)
Nestled in the floodplain between North Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, a housing project was built to help house World War II shipyard workers. Its very name, Vanport, is derived from Vancouver and Portland. When the United States entered the war, the demand for ships and for workers to build those ships became a huge priority. Workers were recruited from all corners of the United States. Portland had a serious lodging shortage, so much so that these workers lived in cars, tents, parks, and whatever shelter could be found. Vanport, built in a little over a year to house them, was a city that did not sleep. In its heyday, Vanport was the second-largest city in Oregon with a population of over 40,000 residents. It was a city with many firsts. It was a city that touched many lives in a very short period of time. And on May 30, 1948, it was a city that disappeared just as quickly as it came into existence, leaving a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.
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The Birth of an Advocate: Beatrice Morrow Cannady
The Birth of an Advocate: Beatrice Morrow Cannady
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Breaking Chains:
Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory When they were brought to Oregon in 1844, Missouri slaves Robin and Polly Holmes and their children were promised freedom in exchange for helping develop their owner’s Willamette Valley farm. However, Nathaniel Ford, an influential settler and legislator, kept them in bondage until 1850, even then refusing to free their children. Holmes took his former master to court and, in the face of enormous odds, won the case in 1853.
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Oregon is often looked at as a state tht never had racial problems, yet we can see that from an early date there were problems. The resolution took many years but they were faced after they were discussed. This is a lesson learned. We can no longer hide our problems and expect them to resolve themselves.