Chris Kessel Hst 338U Key Dividers in Oregons History Race has constituted the key divider amongst

Oregonians since the mid-nineteenth century, even though the majority of the population was Caucasian. Racial disparity overshadowed regional differences, given that racial tolerance occurred only recently in Oregons history. Comparing the two key dividers among Oregonians history revealed several common similarities. Discrimination and exclusion amongst ethnic minorities has always existed, while urban-rural dividers developed progressively. Since Oregons inception, ethnic people were not wanted as slaves or citizens, dividing the territory along racial boundaries beginning amid Native Americans and fur traders in the mid-nineteenth century. Caucasians were initially welcomed into the Lower Columbia and Willamette valley for economic reasons. The abundance of furs and natural resources for sustainability drew Caucasian settlers into Oregon. Along the Columbia, and throughout the territory, fur trade disrupted the traditional socio-economical patterns of the Native Americans. Integration of Caucasians into Native American communities occurred through slow emigration and interracial marriages, securing Caucasians a strong foothold within Native society. Initially Natives maintained autonomy and equality with Caucasians. However, Native populations greatly diminished by the mid 19th century. Through disease, the Willamette Valleys number of native people had plummeted by about 90 percent in just one decade. (Del Mar 32 ) This caused a shift from Native to Caucasian majority occurred in a very short period. Some of the first Caucasian settlers were missionaries who viewed Natives as racially, morally, and socially unequal. Once settlers started arriving in

greater numbers, racial discrimination developed exponentially throughout their new interracial society. Racism regarding all ethnic groups in early Oregon was societal policy. The strategy regarding Natives was forced assimilation. When they resisted, settlers treated them as substandard citizens. Attempts at actual integration would not happen for another century. Callous treatment towards Natives would set the stage for the treatment of all nonCaucasians. Not only were Native Americans discriminated against and forced off their land, but also people of color were not able to claim land as Caucasians were. Del Mar states, both law and custom made it very difficult for people of African or Asian or Mexican descent to claim pieces of verdant Willamette Valley. (108) Within the developing Caucasian community, regional differences based on natural resources formed. These dividers were in their infancy stages around the turn of the century, while racism against ethnic minorities, especially Natives was securely established. Throughout the early 20th century, Oregon with its fertile soils, developed into an agricultural economy. Urban areas began to mechanize causing a shift in Oregons rural farming communities. Farmers began selling parcels of farmland to purchase mechanized equipment. Thus allowing smaller labor forces to obtain higher production rates. At the same time, factories and employment opportunities emerged in urban areas. An urban population vacuum ensued due to lack of employment opportunities in rural communities, and emergence of factory/service related jobs in urban areas. Mainly concentric upon transportation hubs, populations began accumulating in cities such as Portland. The Rural agricultural based economy shifted to a market capitalist economy. Excluded many rural

agricultural based communities and people from the economic mainstream, continued the process of division between urban and rural Oregonians. Unlike their rural counterparts, Native Americans were not the only ethnic minority discriminated against. Asian, African Americans, and other minorities received heavy doses of discrimination. The low numbers of African American residents attests to the severity of Oregons division. The African American population in Portland Oregon up until WWII was approximately 2000, with Oregon known as a racist state, most African Americans decided to settle in either Washington or California. The same way that industrialization affected the rural population, World War II affected ethnic groups through employment, drawing large numbers of colored minorities into Oregons urban centers. Opportunities that were previously unavailable to African and Native Americans became accessible at shipyards and other wartime industries. These same employment opportunities were previously only available to Caucasian males. Although these opportunities did not remain for ethnic minorities after the war, they allowed them the opportunity to prove their workplace equality. Discrimination affected both ethnic groups and rural-urban dividers. Caucasians were the majority and ethnic minority; this is comparable to the urban majority and rural minority. Each majority group afflicted their influence over the minority group. The difference was that ethnic minorities had less control and influence within the economy, politics, and overall decision making. Rural groups retained some autonomy and control over decision-making, only influenced politically and economically by the majority. Economic factors were the major influence in their overall lives. These influenced education, housing, and health. Blacks, Indians, Chinese, and Hispanics suffered these

same conditions. However, ethnic minorities were at the total mercy of the Caucasian majority, retaining little to no influence. Japanese Americans took the brunt of racial ignorance in Oregon during and directly following the war, allowed for an increase in social acceptance of Native and African American minorities. Internment camps housed Japanese Americans from 19421946. The sentiments against Japanese Americans decreased entering the 1950s. Reparations made to Japanese Americans occurred late in the 1940s, Congress in 1952 reestablished citizenship for Japanese born Americans, and reversed abnormal immigration quotas. Minority groups began demanding their rights for equality, facing strong opposition within the Caucasian majority. In conjunction with the United States civil rights movement, African Americans in Oregon began asserting their ambitions onto Caucasian culture from the 1950s through 1970s. Slowly and incrementally, Blacks began accumulating rights; Reforms began in 1949 with a fair employment law, in 1953 a public accommodation law, and 1957 - 1959 fair housing laws made considerable headway. By the mid 1970s African Americans enjoyed more opportunities than ever before (Del Mar 232). Differences between urban and rural Oregon decreased due to automobility, advancements in technology, and urban sprawl occurring over the last half of the 20th century. Caucasians and Ethnic minority divisions did not integrated at nearly the same rate. A correlation between the urban-rural and racial divides in Oregon draws a conclusion that although similar, racial discrimination and exclusion has been the key divider in Oregons history.