Modoc War

The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard Muybridge photographed the early part of the US Army's campaign.
Kintpuash, also known as Captain Jack, led 52 warriors in a band of more than 150 Modoc people who left the Klamath Reservation. Occupying defensive positions throughout the lava beds south of Tule Lake (in present-day Lava Beds National Monument), those few warriors resisted for months the more numerous United States Army forces sent against them, which were reinforced with artillery. In April 1873 at a peace commission meeting, Captain Jack and others killed General Edward Canby and Rev. Eleazer Thomas, and wounded two others, mistakenly believing this would encourage the Americans to leave. The Modoc fled back to the lava beds. After U.S. forces were reinforced, some Modoc warriors surrendered and Captain Jack and the last of his band were captured. Jack and five warriors were tried for the murders of the two peace commissioners. Jack and three warriors were executed and two others sentenced to life in prison.
The remaining 153 Modoc of the band were sent to Indian Territory (pre-statehood Oklahoma), where they were held as prisoners of war until 1909, settled on reservation land with the Shawnee. Some at that point were allowed to return to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. Most Modoc (and their descendants) stayed in what became the state of Oklahoma. They achieved separate federal recognition and were granted some land in Oklahoma. There are two federally recognized Modoc tribes: in Oregon and Oklahoma.
Events leading up to the war.
The first known explorers from the United States to go through the Modoc country were John Charles Frémont together with Kit Carson and Billy Chinook in 1843. On the night of May 9, 1846, Frémont received a message brought to him by Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie, from President James Polk about the possibility of war with Mexico. Reviewing the messages, Frémont neglected the customary measure of posting a watchman for the camp. Carson was concerned but "apprehended no danger". Later that night Carson was awakened by the sound of a thump. Jumping up, he saw his friend and fellow trapper Basil Lajeunesse sprawled in blood. He sounded an alarm and immediately the camp realized they were under attack by Native Americans, estimated to be several dozen in number. By the time the assailants were beaten off, two other members of Frémont's group were dead. The one dead attacker was judged to be a Klamath Lake native. Frémont's group fell into "an angry gloom."
In retaliation, Frémont attacked a Klamath Tribe fishing village named Dokdokwas, that most likely had nothing to do with the attack, at the junction of the Williamson River and Klamath Lake, on May 10, 1846. Accounts by scholars vary, but they agree that the attack completely destroyed the village structures; Sides reports the expedition killed women and children as well as warriors.
The tragedy of Dokdokwas is deepened by the fact that most scholars now agree that Frémont and Carson, in their blind vindictiveness, probably chose the wrong tribe to lash out against: In all likelihood the band of native Americans that had killed [Frémont's three men] were from the neighboring Modoc ... The Klamaths were culturally related to the Modocs, but the two tribes were bitter enemies.
Although most of the "49ers" missed the Modoc country, in March 1851 Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer, discovered gold near Yreka while traveling along the Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. The discovery sparked the California Gold Rush area to expand from the Sierra Nevada into Northeastern California. By April 1851, 2,000 miners had arrived in "Thompson's Dry Diggings" through the southern route of the old Emigrant Trail to test their luck, which took them straight through Modoc territory.
First hostilities.
Although the Modoc initially had no trouble with Americans, after the murders of settlers in a raid by the Pit River Tribe, an American militia unit, not familiar with the Indian peoples, retaliated by attacking an innocent Modoc village, killing men, women and children. (Kintpuash, the future chief also known as Captain Jack, survived the attack but lost some of his family.) To try to end the American encroachment, some Modoc chose to attack the next whites they encountered. In September 1852 the Modoc attacked a wagon train of some 65 men, women, and children on their way to California.
One badly wounded man escaped to the Oregon settlements in Willamette Valley and told of the attack. His report spread quickly and Oregon volunteers who later reached the scene, reported bodies of men, women and children mutilated and scattered for more than a mile along the lake shore and their wagons plundered and burned. The location became known as Bloody Point. In another round of retaliation, California militia led by an Indian fighter named Ben Wright killed 41 Modoc at a peace parley. John Schonchin, the brother of the Modoc chief, was one of the natives who escaped.
Great Treaty of Council Grove.
Rounds of hostilities continued in the area as American settlers continued to encroach on Modoc land and urged the government to take over the territory. Warriors of the Klamath and the Yahooskin also attacked settlers and migrants in efforts to repulse them. In 1864 the United States and the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin band—over 1000 Indians, mostly Klamath—signed a treaty, by which the Indians ceded millions of acres of lands and the US established the Klamath Reservation, within the boundaries of present-day Oregon. Under the treaty terms, the Modoc, with Old Chief "Schonchin" as their leader, gave up their lands in the Lost River, Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake regions of California, and moved to a reservation in the Upper Klamath River Valley. In return, the Indians would receive food, blankets, and clothing for as many years as would be required to establish themselves. Allen David signed for the Klamath, while Old Schonchin and Kintpuash for the Modoc. Looking around for something to give emphasis to his pledge, Schonchin pointed to the distant butte and dramatically declared, "That mountain shall fall, before Schonchin will again raise his hand against his white brother." The old chief kept his word, although his brother and Kintpuash repudiated signing the treaty and left the reservation with a few followers.
Captain Jack.
While the old Modoc chief remained in the reservation, Kintpuash returned to Lost River and led an abusive harassment against the white settlers who had occupied the area. The small Modoc group of about 43 Indians demanded rent for the occupation of their land, which most settlers paid. After a few attempts to negotiate in behalf of the complaining settlers, including failed attempts by Agent Lindsay Applegate in 1864–6 and Superintendent Huntington in 1867, the Modoc finally relocated in 1869 following a council between Kintpuash (also known as Captain Jack); Alfred B. Meacham, the US Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon that replaced Huntington; O.C. Knapp, the US Indian agent on the reservation; Ivan D. Applegate, sub-agent at Yainax on the reservation; and Dr. William.C. McKay. Meacham was from Oregon, and knew Captain Jack and the Modoc.
When soldiers suddenly appeared at the meeting, the Modoc warriors fled, leaving behind their women and children. Meacham placed the women and children in wagons and started for the reservation. He allowed "Queen Mary", Captain Jack's sister, to go meet with Captain Jack to persuade him to move to the reservation. She succeeded. Once on the reservation, Captain Jack and his band prepared to make their permanent home at Modoc Point.
Mistreatment by the Klamath.
Shortly after the Modoc started building their homes, however, the Klamath, longtime rivals, began to steal the Modoc lumber. The Modoc complained, but the US Indian agent could not protect them against the Klamath. Captain Jack's band moved to another part of the reservation. Several attempts were made to find a suitable location, but the Klamath continued to harass the band.
In 1870, Captain Jack and his band of nearly 200 left the reservation and returned to Lost River. During the months that his band had been on the reservation, a number of settlers had taken up former Modoc land in the Lost River region.
Return to Lost River.
Acknowledging the bad feeling between the Modoc and the Klamath, Meacham recommended to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. that Captain Jack's Modoc band be given a separate reservation at Yainax, in the lower southern part of the reservation. Pending a decision, Meacham instructed Captain Jack to remain at Clear Lake. Oregon settlers complained that Modoc warriors roamed the countryside raiding the homesteads; they petitioned Meacham to return the Modoc to the Klamath Reservation. In part, the Modoc raided for food; the US did not adequately supply them. Captain Jack and his band did better in their old territory with hunting.
Failure of US to respond to Modoc.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs never responded to Meacham's request for a separate reservation for the Modoc. After hearing more complaints from settlers, Meacham instead requested General Edward Canby, Commanding General of the Department of the Columbia, to move Captain Jack's band to Yainax on the Klamath Reservation, his recommended site for their use. Canby forwarded Meacham's request to General Schofield, Commanding General of the Pacific, suggesting that before using force, peaceful efforts should be made. Jack had asked to talk to Meacham, but he sent his brother John Meacham in his place.
In the middle of the crisis, the Commission of Indian Affairs replaced Meacham, appointing T. B. Odeneal as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon. He "knew almost nothing of the background of the situation and had never met Jack or the Modocs" but was charged with "getting the Modocs to leave Lost River." In turn, Odeneal appointed a new US Indian agent, who was also unfamiliar with the parties and conditions.
On April 3, 1872, Major Elmer Otis held a council with Captain Jack at Lost River Gap, near what is now Olene, Oregon. At the council, Major Otis presented Captain Jack with some settlers who complained about the behavior of Jack's men. Captain Jack countered that the Modoc were abused and unjustly accused of crimes which other Indians had committed.
Although the council's results were inconclusive, Otis resolved to remove Jack's band of Modoc to the Klamath Reservation. As he needed reinforcements, he recommended waiting until later in the year, when he could put the Modoc at a disadvantage.
On April 12, the Commission of Indian Affairs directed US Superintendent T. B. Odeneal to move Captain Jack and his Modoc to the reservation if practicable. He was to ensure the tribe was protected from the Klamath.
On May 14, Odeneal sent Ivan D. Applegate and L. S. Dyar to arrange for a council with Captain Jack, which the latter refused. On July 6, 1872, the US Commissioner of Indian Affairs repeated his direction to Superintendent Odeneal to move Captain Jack and his band to the Klamath Reservation, peacefully if possible, but forcibly if necessary. Minor skirmishes occurred during the summer and early fall, but some of the settlers in California were sympathetic to the Modoc, as they had gotten along well with them before. The Modoc felt mistreated.
Battle of Lost River.
On November 27, Superintendent Odeneal requested Major John Green, commanding officer at Fort Klamath, to furnish sufficient troops to compel Captain Jack to move to the reservation. On November 28 Captain James Jackson, commanding 40 troops, left Fort Klamath for Captain Jack's camp on Lost River. The troops, reinforced by citizens from Linkville (now Klamath Falls, Oregon) and by a band of militiamen arrived in Jack's camp on Lost River about a mile above Emigrant Crossing (now Merrill, Oregon) on November 29.
Wishing to avoid conflict, Captain Jack agreed to go to the reservation, but the situation became tense when Jackson demanded that the Modoc chief surrender his weapons. Although Captain Jack had never fought the Army, he was alarmed at this command, but he finally agreed to put down his weapons. The rest of the Modoc warriors began to follow his lead.
Suddenly an argument erupted between Modoc warrior Scarfaced Charley and Lieutenant Frazier A. Boutelle, of company B, 1st Cavalry. They drew their revolvers and shot at each other, both missing. The rest of the Modocs scrambled for their weapons, and briefly fought before fleeing toward California. After driving the remaining Modoc from the camp, Captain Jackson ordered a retreat to await reinforcements. One soldier had been killed and seven wounded in the encounter; the Modoc lost two killed and three wounded.
A small band of Modoc under Hooker Jim retreated from the battlefield to the Lava Beds south of Tule Lake. In attacks on November 29 and November 30, they killed a total of 18 settlers.
Accounts vary regarding the first clash. One version: that the soldiers and militia had gotten drunk in Klamath Falls and arrived at the Lost River camp disorganized and were outfought; that, furthermore, the militia arrived last and retreated first, with one casualty; and that the Army did not drive the Modoc away. This version claimed that some warriors held their ground while the women and children loaded their boats and paddled south; that Scarfaced Charley, who spoke good English, was foul-tempered from lack of sleep, because he'd been gambling all night and was possibly drunk—but, since there was a warrant out for his arrest on a false murder charge, he wasn't going to go quietly. The official report, however, concealed that the operation had been badly managed, as Captain Jackson later admitted.
Fortifying the Stronghold.
For some months, Captain Jack had boasted that in the event of war, he and his band could successfully defend themselves in an area in the lava beds on the south shore of Tule Lake. The Modoc retreated there after the Battle of Lost River. Today it is called Captain Jack's Stronghold. The Modoc took advantage of the lava ridges, cracks, depressions, and caves, all such natural features being ideal from the standpoint of defense. At the time the 52 Modoc warriors occupied the Stronghold, Tule Lake bounded the Stronghold on the north and served as a source of water.
On December 21, a Modoc party scouting from the Stronghold attacked an ammunition wagon at Land's Ranch. By January 15, 1873, the U.S. Army had 400 troops in the field near the Lava Beds. The greatest concentration of troops was at Van Brimmer's ranch, 12 miles west of the Stronghold. Troops were also stationed at Land's ranch, 10 miles east of the Stronghold. Col. Frank Wheaton was in command of all troops, including regular army as well as volunteer companies from California and Oregon.
On January 16, troops from Land's ranch, commanded by Col. R. F. Bernard, skirmished with the Modoc near Hospital Rock.
First battle of the Stronghold.
On the morning of January 17, 1873, troops advanced on the Stronghold. Hindered by fog, the soldiers never saw any Modoc. Occupying excellent positions, the Modoc repulsed troops advancing from the west and east. A general retreat of troops was ordered at the end of the day. In the attack, the U.S. Army lost 35 men killed, and 5 officers and 20 enlisted men wounded. Captain Jack's band included approximately 150 Modoc, including women and children. Of that number, there were only 52 warriors. The Modoc suffered no casualties in the fighting, as they had the advantage of terrain and local knowledge over the militia.
Peace Commission appointed.
On January 25, Columbus Delano, Secretary of the Interior, appointed a Peace Commission to negotiate with Captain Jack. The Commission consisted of Alfred B. Meacham, the former superintendent for Oregon as chairman; Jesse Applegate, and Samuel Case. General Edward Canby, commander in the Pacific Northwest, was appointed to serve the Commission as counselor. Frank and Toby Riddle were appointed as interpreters.
On February 19, the Peace Commission held its first meeting at Fairchild's ranch, west of the lava beds. A messenger was sent to arrange a meeting with Captain Jack. He agreed that if the commission would send John Fairchild and Bob Whittle, two settlers, to the edge of the lava beds he would talk to them. When Fairchild and Whittle went to the lava beds, Captain Jack told them he would talk with the commission if they would return with Judge Elijah Steele of Yreka as the judge had been friendly to Captain Jack.
Steele went to the Stronghold. After a night in the Stronghold, Steele returned to Fairchild's ranch and informed the Peace Commission that the Modoc were planning treachery, and that all efforts of the Commission would be useless. Meacham wired the Secretary of the Interior, informing him of Steele's opinion. The Secretary instructed Meacham to continue negotiations for peace. Judge A. M. Rosborough was added to the commission. Jesse Applegate and Samuel Case resigned and were replaced by Rev. Eleazer Thomas and L. S. Dyar.
In April, Gillem's Camp was established at the edge of the lava beds, two and one-half miles west of the Stronghold. Col. Alvan C. Gillem was placed in command of all troops, including those at Hospital Rock commanded by Col. E. C. Mason.
On April 2, the commission and Captain Jack met in the lava beds midway between the Stronghold and Gillem's Camp. At this meeting Captain Jack proposed: (1) Complete pardon of all Modoc; (2) Withdrawal of all troops; and (3) The right to select their own reservation. The Peace Commission proposed: (1) That Captain Jack and his band go to a reservation selected by the government; (2) That the Modoc guilty of killing the settlers be surrendered and tried for murder. After much discussion, the meeting broke up with no resolution.
The Modoc began to turn on Captain Jack, who still hoped for a peaceful solution. Led by Schonchin John and Hooker Jim, they put pressure on Jack to kill the peace commission. They believed that if the Americans lost their leaders, the Army would leave. They shamed Jack for his continuing negotiations by dressing him in women's clothing during council meetings. Rather than lose his position as chief of the band, Captain Jack agreed to attack the commission if no progress was made.
On April 5, Captain Jack requested a meeting with Meacham. Accompanied by John Fairchild and Judge Rosborough, with Frank and Toby Riddle serving as interpreters, Meacham met Captain Jack at the peace tent; it was erected about one mile east of Gillem's Camp. The meeting lasted several hours. Captain Jack asked for the lava beds to be given to them as a reservation. The meeting ended with no agreement. After Meacham returned to camp, he sent a message to Captain Jack, asking that he meet the commission at the peace tent on April 8. While delivering this message, the Modoc interpreter Tobey Riddle learned of the Modoc plan to kill the peace commissioners. On her return, she warned the commissioners.
On April 8, just as the commissioners were starting for the peace tent, the signal tower on the bluff above Gillem's Camp received a message; it said that the lookout had seen five Modoc warriors at the peace tent and about 20 armed Modoc hiding among the rocks nearby. The commissioners realized that the Modoc were planning an attack and decided to stay at Gillem's. Rev. Thomas insisted on arranging a date for another meeting with Captain Jack. On April 10, the commission sent a message asking Captain Jack to meet with them at the peace tent on the following morning.
Murder at the peace tent.
On April 11, General Canby, Alfred B. Meacham, Rev. E. Thomas, and L. S. Dyar, with Frank and Toby Riddle as interpreters, met with Captain Jack, Boston Charley, Bogus Charley, Schonchin John, Black Jim, and Hooker Jim. After some talk, during which it became evident that the Modoc were armed, General Canby informed Captain Jack that the commission could not meet his terms until orders came from Washington.
Angrily, Schonchin John demanded Hot Creek for a reservation. Captain Jack got up and walked away a few steps. The two Modoc Brancho (Barncho) and Slolux, armed with rifles, ran forward from hiding. Captain Jack turned, giving the signal to fire. His first shot killed General Canby. Reverend Thomas fell mortally wounded. Dyar and Frank Riddle escaped by running. Meacham fell seriously wounded, but Toby Riddle saved his life and interrupted warriors intending to scalp him by yelling, "The soldiers are coming!" The Modoc warriors broke off and left.
US efforts for peace ended when the Modoc killed the commissioners. Canby's Cross marks the site where Canby and Thomas died.
Second Battle of the Stronghold.
The U.S. Army prepared to attack the Stronghold. On April 15 a general attack began, troops advancing from Gillem's camp on the west and Mason's camp at Hospital Rock, northeast of the Stronghold. Fighting continued throughout the day, the troops remaining in position during the night. Each advance of troops on April 16 was under heavy fire from the Modoc positions. That night the troops succeeded in cutting the Modoc off from their water supply at the shore of Tule Lake. By the morning of April 17 everything was in readiness for the final attack on the Stronghold. When the order was given to advance, the troops charged into the Stronghold.
After the fighting along the shoreline of Tule Lake on the afternoon and night of April 16, the Modoc defending the Stronghold realized that their water supply had been cut off by the troops commanding the shoreline. On April 17, before the troops had begun to charge the Stronghold, the Modoc escaped through an unguarded crevice. During the fighting at the Stronghold, April 15–17, US casualties included one officer and six enlisted men killed, and thirteen enlisted men wounded. Modoc casualties were two boys, reported to have been killed when they tried to open a cannonball and it exploded. Several Modoc women were reported to have died from sickness.
Battle of Sand Butte.
On April 26, Captain Evan Thomas commanding five officers, sixty-six troops and fourteen Warm Spring Scouts left Gillem's camp on a reconnaissance of the lava beds to locate the Modoc. While they were eating lunch at the base of Sand Butte (now Hardin Butte), in a flat area surrounded by ridges, Captain Thomas and his party were attacked by 22 Modoc led by Scarfaced Charley. Some of the troops fled in disorder. Those who remained to fight were either killed or wounded. US casualties included four officers killed and two wounded, one dying within a few days, and 13 enlisted men killed and 16 wounded.
Following the successful Modoc attack, many soldiers called for Col. Gillem to be removed. On May 2, Bvt. Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, reported to relieve Gillem of command, and assume control of the army in the field.
Battle of Dry Lake.
At first light on May 10, the Modoc attacked an Army encampment at Dry Lake. The troops charged, routing the Modoc. Casualties among the Army included five men killed, two of whom were Warm Spring Scouts, and twelve men wounded. The Modoc reported five warriors killed. Among the five was Ellen's Man, a prominent man in the band. This was the first defeat of the Modoc in battle.
With the death of Ellen's Man, dissent arose among the Modoc, who began to split apart. A group led by Hooker Jim surrendered to the Army and agreed to help them capture Captain Jack. In return, they received amnesty for the murders of settlers at Tule Lake, Canby and Thomas.
Captain Jack, his wife, and little girl were captured by army scouts; Captain William F. Drannan, U.S. Army and Scout George Jones, U.S. Army in Langell's valley, June 4.
After the war.
General Davis prepared to execute Captain Jack and his leaders, but the War Department ordered the Modoc to be held for trial. The Army took Captain Jack and his band as prisoners of war to Fort Klamath, where they arrived July 4.
Captain Jack, Schonchin John, Black Jim, Boston Charley, Brancho (Barncho) and Slolux were tried by a military court for the murders of Canby and Thomas, and attacks on Meacham and others. The six Modoc were convicted, and sentenced to death on July 8.
On September 10, President Ulysses S. Grant approved the death sentence for Captain Jack, Schonchin John, Black Jim and Boston Charley; Brancho and Slolux were committed to life imprisonment on Alcatraz. Grant ordered that the remainder of Captain Jack's band be held as prisoners of war.
On October 3, 1873, Captain Jack and his three lead warriors were hanged at Fort Klamath. The remainder of the band of Modoc Indians, consisting of 39 men, 64 women, and 60 children, as prisoners of war were sent to the Quapaw Agency in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). In 1909, after Oklahoma had become a state, members of the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma were offered the chance to return to the Klamath Reservation. Twenty-nine people returned to Oregon; the Modoc of Oregon and their descendants became part of the Klamath Tribes Confederation.
The historian Robert Utley believes that the Modoc War and the Great Sioux War a few years later, undermined public confidence in President Grant's peace policy. There was renewed public sentiment to use force against the American Indians to suppress them.
Appendix to history of the Modoc War.
In the First Battle of the Stronghold, January 17, 1873, there were approximately 400 Army troops in the field. The troops included U. S. Army infantry, cavalry, and howitzer units; Oregon and California volunteer companies, and some Klamath Indian Scouts. Lt. Col. Frank Wheaton commanded all troops.
In the Second Battle of the Stronghold, April 17, 1873, approximately 530 troops were engaged. These included U. S. Army infantry, cavalry, artillery and the U.S. Army Wasco Scouts from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation . The volunteer companies had withdrawn from the field. A small number of civilians were used as runners and packers. Col. Alvin C. Gillem was in command.
During the Modoc War, the Modoc had no more than 53 warriors engaged in the fighting.
The casualty lists for the Modoc War are as follows:
Including the four Modoc executed at Fort Klamath, Captain Jack's band suffered the loss of seventeen warriors killed.
The Modoc War is estimated to have cost the United States over $400,000; a very expensive war in terms of lives and dollars, considering the small number of opposing forces. In contrast, the estimated cost to purchase the land requested by the Modoc for a separate reservation was $20,000.
Battlefields of the Modoc War are among the outstanding features of the Lava Beds National Monument. These include Captain Jack's Stronghold, where numerous cracks, ridges, and knobs were used by the Modoc to defend their positions. In addition there are numerous Modoc fortified outposts, smoke-stained caves occupied by the Modoc during the months of the war, corrals for their cattle and horses, and a war-dance ground and council area. Around the Stronghold are numerous low stone fortifications built by troops advancing on the Stronghold.
After the Modoc left the Stronghold, US troops built fortifications to protect against their possible return. The Thomas-Wright battlefield, near Hardin Butte, is a feature of the monument; as is the site of Gillem's camp, the former military cemetery, Hospital Rock, and Canby's Cross. The National Park Service provides self-guided trail maps for two walking tours of the battle field.
Legacy.
Canby's memorial plaque and cross.
A memorial plaque and a reproduction of Canby's Cross have been set up at Lava Beds National Monument outside of Tulelake. The names of all the fallen (both Modoc and US Army) are listed at Gillem's Camp; another historical marker is at the Lava Beds.
Over the years, various individuals and groups have made efforts to memorialize the death of General E.R.S. Canby, the only general to be killed in the Indian Wars. The wooden cross is a replica of an original erected by a U.S. soldier in 1882, nine years after the event. Some of the same troops whom Canby had commanded at the Lava Beds were fighting other Indian Wars, and public interest ran high.
John Yoo's torture memos.
When he was the Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General at the Office of Legal Counsel, John Yoo cited the Supreme Court's Modoc ruling, to argue that the USA was entitled to torture captives apprehended in Afghanistan, because they, like "Indians", were not entitled to be considered lawful combatants.
California Historical Landmark.
On California State Route 139 and the Old Alturas Highway is a California Historical Landmark # 108 the Battle of Land's Ranch.
California Historical Landmark number 108 reads:


Second Battle of Tucson

The Second Battle of Tucson or the May Day Attack was a battle in Tucson, Arizona, and the neighboring pueblo. It occurred during the Mexican Apache Wars on May 1, 1782, between a small garrison of Spanish soldiers and hundreds of Apache warriors.
Background.
Presidio San Augustin del Tucson, or Fort Tucson, was a Spanish built fortress located in present-day downtown Tucson, it was founded by Hugh O'Conor. The construction of the structure occurred from 1775 to 1783 and was used to protect communication and trade routes across northern Sonora and southern Alta California. The garrison on average consisted of forty to sixty cavalry, mostly of Sonoran descent. Though detribalized Pima native American scouts were also employed. Fort Tucson was primarily made of adobe bricks and wood from mesquite trees. At least one cannon and only a few officers also manned the position. Tucson was an isolated community during its earliest years, situated on the right side of the Santa Cruz River, next to a Pima pueblo, known as Indian Town, on the left side of the water, roughly northwest of Tucson. Between the village and presidio was a bridge, leading across the river.
The area around the presidio jacals was fortified with a wide ditch roundabout filled with water and a palisade of logs, ordered to be constructed by commander Captain Pedro Allande y Saabedra, with two ramparts on which an unknown number of cannon were placed. Four bulwarks, magazines, a guard tower and a church were built as well. The walls spanned various heights from ten to almost thirty feet high and were built to be compact. There were two gates, one on the eastern wall and the other on the western wall. A stockade and then an earthen defensive wall surrounding the military buildings. Some of the houses, belonging to Tucson citizens or soldiers, were outside the palisade and were protected only by artillery.
By 1782 the Spanish had been fighting a long war with the Apaches throughout the Tucson area. The garrison had already fought off an enemy attack in 1779, known as the First Battle of Tucson, at the edge of the town. In 1780 other small skirmishes between Spain and Apaches occurred near Tucson. Raids were also conducted by Apaches against wagon trains and other small unprotected convoys. However, Apache tactics changed in 1782 when they began to mass in larger numbers and attack heavily fortified or heavily protected settlements. A force of about 600 warriors headed for Tucson, retaliating for a recent Spanish campaign deep into Apache territory. After the battle, Captain Saabedra stated that the assault was carried out by the largest force of Apaches warriors he had ever seen.
Battle.
At around 10:00 am on Sunday May 1, 1782, the Apaches began a surprise attack. The force was split in two and proceeded simultaneously to attack Indian Town and Fort Tucson itself with a clear intention of capturing the fort. Unfortunately for the Spaniards, most of the garrison was not present inside the fortification, a lot of whom were scattered across the town, preparing for Sunday mass. Several Jesuit missionaries were among the population of Tucson, one later reported that around 200 Apaches fought on foot and said he did not attempt to estimate the number mounted on horses. Fighting occurred at three main places, the first was at the bridge connecting Indian Town to Tucson, the second, at the western gate of the presidio, and the third near the western gate at Lieutenant Miguel de Urrea's home.
At the time, Spanish forces numbered forty-two lancers, twenty dragoons and ten native scouts, including officers. One Apache force first swarmed into Indian village from the north where they encountered little resistance before advancing on to the bridge. The other force headed directly for the citadel. At the bridge a small force of Spanish troops were capable of holding their position, due to superior weapons, muskets against bows and arrows. Meanwhile, the second Apache unit rushed for the open gate of Fort Tucson but the advance was halted by cannon and musket fire from Captain Allande and four of his men, positioned on the bridge above the gate. The attack also failed due to Lieutenant Urrea's position, on the roof of his parapet topped house, which flanked the Apache attack. Urrea and his native servant were later credited with delaying a force of over 140 Apaches from joining their main force for the capture of Fort Tucson. The holders of the bridge, who held against over 200 warriors, also were commended. After two hours of close quarters combat, the Apaches suffered eight confirmed deaths and dozens more severely wounded. Apaches were known for removing their dead and wounded from their battlefields, immediately after a casualty was sustained. Meaning it is likely that more than eight warriors died as result of the battle, either in the engagement or afterwards.
The Spanish suffered one dead trooper and three wounded, one female civilian was also found to have been killed by the attackers. After seeing the deaths and wounding of so many warriors, the unknown Apache war chief ordered a retreat.
Aftermath.
The eight Apache deaths were confirmed by the various reports of the battle, written by the garrison and by the Jesuits there. Other accounts say as many as thirty Apaches were killed during the action. Lieutenant Urrea personally killed or wounded at least five Apaches from the top of his house. His servant killed or wounded a few others. Captain Allande killed two men. One soldier, José Antonio Delgado, who hid in a tree from the beginning to the end of the battle, evading capture, later reported that he witnessed three killed Apaches, being removed from the field by their fellow warriors.
He also reported that several Apache wounded were being carried off into the surrounding desert as well, casualties of cannon fire. The Spanish won the engagement but the Apaches would return again a few months later, on December 15, the Apaches raided some livestock, resulting in another Spanish victory and the deaths of a handful of warriors. Spanish records of the time indicate that only few Apaches were killed in overall campaigns. The largest Apache body counts never numbered more than fifty dead, most likely due to the Apache's evasion tactics.


28th Parliament of British Columbia

The 28th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1967 to 1969. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in September 1966. The Social Credit Party led by W. A. C. Bennett formed the government. The New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Robert Strachan formed the official opposition.
William Harvey Murray served as speaker for the assembly.
Members of the 28th General Assembly.
The following members were elected to the assembly in 1966:
Notes:
By-elections.
By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
Notes:


Johannes Bruyn

Johannes Bruyn (February 21, 1750 – February 10, 1814) was an American politician from Ulster County, New York.
Early life.
Bruyn was born on February 21, 1750 in Shawangunk, New York. He was a son of Jacobus Bruyn and Jane (née Graham) Pruyn (d. 1764). Among his siblings was elder sister Gertruyd Bruyn (the wife of Cornelius DuBois), twin brothers Severyn Tenhout Bruyn (also a New York Assemblymen) and Jacobus S. Bruyn (also a New York Assemblymen and member of New York State Senate; married Margaret DeWitt, a daughter of Andries J. DeWitt and Blandina Elmendorf Ten Eyck; father of Andrew DeWitt Bruyn), sister Mary Bruyn (wife of Nicholas Hardenberg), and brother Cornelius Bruyn (also a New York Assemblymen).
Career.
For a long time he was a judge of Ulster County and "enjoyed the esteem and confidence of the community; was a man of sound judgment, sterling integrity, and unwavering in his principles."
In April 1781, Bruyn was elected as a New York Assemblymen representing from Ulster County in the 5th and 6th New York State Legislatures and serving from July 1, 1781 until June 30, 1783. After two years, he was succeeded by John Cantine. He was a presidential elector for New York in 1792. In April 1796, he was again elected to the Assembly, this time as a Democratic-Republican, and served in the 20th New York State Legislature from July 1, 1796 to June 30, 1797 when he was replaced by his brother Jacobus. Two years later, Johannes replaced Jacobus in the Assembly. Johannes served in the 23rd New York State Legislature from July 1, 1799 to June 30, 1800.
In April 1809, he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to a four-year term in the New York State Senate for the 33rd New York State Legislature, and by virtue of that office a member of the Court of Errors. His seat was one of the 7 representing the Middle District which then consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Columbia, Delaware, Rockland, Greene and Sullivan counties. Bruyn served in the 34th, 35th, 36th New York State Legislatures until June 30, 1813. In 1812, he was chosen as a member of the Council of Appointment.
Personal life.
On April 10, 1783, Bruyn was married to Margaret DeWitt (1758–1827), a daughter of Blandina (née DuBois) DeWitt and Col. Charles DeWitt, who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Margaret's brother Gerrit was the father of Charles G. DeWitt, a U.S. Representative who was appointed the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires to Guatemala by Andrew Jackson. Her sister Maria "Polly" DeWitt, was the wife of Jacobus "James" Hasbrouck, a prominent Kingston merchant. In addition, Margaret was a niece of Andries DeWitt and a first cousin of Jenneke DeWitt (the wife of Johannes' brother Jacobus). Together, they were the parents of:
Bruyn died in Shawangunk, New York on February 10, 1814.


Mary Campbell (colonial settler)

Mary Campbell (later Mary Campbell Willford) was an American colonial settler, taken captive as a child by Native Americans during the French and Indian War. Later rescued, she is believed to have been the first white child to travel to the Western Reserve.
Early life.
Campbell was born in 1747 or 1748. According to oral tradition among her descendants, her family identified themselves as Scotch-Irish. Since members of this ethnic group came to America from the Ulster area of Ireland, Campbell would have been born either in Ireland or in America depending on whether her family immigrated before or after her birth.
Abduction.
On May 21, 1758, at the age of ten, Campbell was abducted from a place in or near the town of Penn's Creek, probably the town of that name situated in Cumberland (now Snyder) County, Pennsylvania. Her captors were a band of Lenape, a Native American tribe also known as the Delaware. It is widely believed that during her captivity she stayed in the household of, or with the tribe of, a principal chief of the Lenape called Netawatwees, also known by his English name, Newcomer. According to local tradition, this Native American group brought her to a cliff cavity now known as Mary Campbell Cave near the Cuyahoga River in present-day Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. After a reportedly brief residence in the cave, she is said to have moved to a nearby Lenape village, which may have been along the southern bank of the Cuyahoga River not far from the cave, or else on the flat ground directly above the cave.
Several lines of family tradition, however, say that Campbell lived with the Lenape in a place called Newcomerstown which is further south in eastern Ohio. This tradition tends to confirm Campbell's association with Netawatwees, since Newcomerstown was named after its founder Netawatwees (Newcomer). If, as this suggests, Mary's association with the group headed by Netawatwees is accepted, then "both" the local tradition of Mary Campbell's stay near Cuyahoga Falls as well as the family traditions which place her in Newcomerstown are probably correct. What is historically known of Netawatwees indicates that he established his people near Cuyahoga Falls from late in 1758 or early 1759. This would correspond with a period early in Mary Campbell's captivity, since she was abducted in May 1758. It is also known that he later moved with his group to eastern Ohio and there founded Newcomerstown.
Some writers have suggested that Campbell may have been adopted by Netawatwees. The adoption into an Indian family, of captives taken in raids, was common practice among the Native Americans of that time period, and Campbell most probably was adopted into a Lenape family according to this custom. Nevertheless, although it seems certain she was a member of the tribal group which followed and moved with Netawatwees, it cannot be definitely established that she was adopted into his own household.
Return.
Campbell's return to her family in Pennsylvania in 1764 was a result of British military pressure on the Native Americans of southern Ohio by troops under Colonel Henry Bouquet. Over two days, August 5 and August 6, Bouquet's forces prevailed against Native American irregulars in the Battle of Bushy Run, a key battle that turned the tide of Pontiac's Rebellion. While armed conflict became rare after the battle, no formal peace had been made. Starting from Fort Niagara on August 6, 1764, Colonel John Bradstreet and 1,200 of his soldiers moved through northern Ohio on their way to Fort Detroit. Bradstreet concluded a peace treaty with a number of tribes on August 12, which would have prohibited an expedition by Bouquet to the south. General Thomas Gage rejected Bradstreet's treaty on the grounds that the Colonel had exceeded his authority in making it.
On October 1, 1764, Bouquet held meetings with Shawnee and Delaware leaders at Fort Pitt. The Indians tried to convince Bouquet that their numbers were great, and that he should not move into their territory because his army could not survive. Apparently the Indians were bluffing, because within a day or two, they had agreed to give up their white captives to Bouquet and his forces. On October 3, Bouquet and 1,500 soldiers departed Fort Pitt, arriving at a place called Tuscarawas on October 13. The next day, Bouquet met with leaders of Native American groups including those of the Delaware. The meetings lasted until October 20, when Bouquet issued an ultimatum and demanded the return of captives. Captives were turned over to Bouquet's forces at different times during and after these proceedings, Mary Campbell was among those who returned.
Campbell's name is included in a list of 60 former captives who were transferred by Captain Lewis Durry to Captain Charles Lewis for transportation to Fort Pitt. The list was made out on November 15, 1764, at a "Camp at Muskingum", presumably in present-day southeastern Ohio. Campbell would have been 16 or 17 years of age at this time, having spent about six-and-a-half years with the Lenape. The captives arrived at Fort Pitt on November 28, 1764.
Family tradition among some of Campbell's descendants indicates that she was, at least initially, unhappy at being separated from the Lenape. Although it is estimated that approximately half of the captives turned over to Bouquet attempted to return to their Native captors, a development which reportedly puzzled both the army and the communities to which the captives were being returned, it is not known whether Campbell was one of them.
In October 1764, the "Pennsylvania Gazette" carried an advertisement placed by Mary Campbell's family, which read in part:
This is the only known contemporary physical description of Campbell. It is not known which of several places called Albany are referred to. Sources give the date of this advertisement as October 11, 1764. If that is accurate, it is possible that Mary Campbell was in Albany, Ohio at the time; alternatively, it could refer to one of several places called Albany in Pennsylvania. The advertisement definitely implies that Mary Campbell had been turned over to Bouquet's forces before the date of its publication. A historical account of Bouquet's expedition lends credence to such a scenario by saying that Bouquet's November 15 report included persons returned from captivity up to that date. It has been claimed that one of Mary's brothers was with Bouquet's forces when she was returned. If so this would explain how Mary Campbell's father knew of her whereabouts upon placing the advertisement with the "Pennsylvania Gazette".
Personal life.
Campbell married Joseph Willford in 1770 in Mt. Pleasant Township. Some sources place this in what was then York, but is now Adams County, Pennsylvania. The same sources have Mary and Joseph Willford continuing in York/Adams County from 1770 until they moved to Washington (now Greene) County, Pennsylvania. But tax rolls from Lack Township, situated in the Tuscarora Valley, Cumberland (now Juniata) County strongly suggest that they lived in this township from 1766 until at least 1782. A possible candidate for the place of their marriage is a town a few miles southeast of Mifflintown and adjacent to Lack Township which was later (from 1847) known as Mount Pleasant. Some time during or after 1782 they moved to Bald Ridge Farm, Dunkard Township, in present-day Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Mary and Joseph Willford had seven children: five sons, Samuel, Daniel, William, Dougal, and Joseph, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. Mary Wilford died in 1801, probably in Greene County, and was buried there.
Cultural significance.
Mary Campbell is widely known of in Northeast Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, and is spoken of as an example of courage and fortitude. The story is cited as further evidence of Native American brutality and savagery.
Most long-time residents of that area know the basics of her story, which is frequently told to children, and the general facts of her experience are taught in local schools. Mary Campbell's local popularity has led to a number of books, including "Song of Courage, Song of Freedom: The Story of the Child, Mary Campbell, Held Captive in Ohio by the Delaware Indians from 1759-1764" by Marilyn Seguin, and "" by Lynda Durrant. Both books are fictional.
Family traditions.
Although there are some biographical facts about Campbell that are solidly documented, most of the details of her life, including incidents about her capture and adoption by the Lenape tribe, have come down to the present day through oral family traditions and written records of those traditions. Although the following contain examples of conflicting information some of which must obviously be incorrect, we may safely assume that some true information is preserved in the individual family traditions. A stemmatic analysis of this, and other, traditional material, by cataloging different lines of familial descent and their accompanying traditions could possibly bring to light or clarify many incidents in Mary Campbell's life which are now unknown or not well understood by interested researchers.
Notes.
Dougal Campbell also appears in Washington (now Greene) County, Pennsylvania in association with the Willfords during the period between 1788 and the end of the 18th century. That Lack Township coincides with the Tuscarora Valley is also significant since William Willford's "Genealogy and History of the Willford Family in America" as well as at least one other source identifies the Tuscarora Valley as the area where Joseph Willford settled in Cumberland County.


Timeline of the Republic of Texas

This is a timeline of the Republic of Texas, spanning the time from the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, up to the transfer of power to the State of Texas on February 19, 1846.
1836.
Texas Declares Independence


Autry Museum of the American West

The Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including lectures, film, theater, festivals, family events, and music, and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. It has two sites and attracts about 150,000 visitors annually.
In 2013, it extensively redesigned and renovated the Irene Helen Jones Parks Gallery of Art and the Gamble Firearms Gallery in its main building. In its related opening exhibit for the Parks Gallery, "Art of the West," the new organization enabled material to be presented in relation to themes rather than chronology, and paintings were shown next to crafts, photography, video and other elements in new relationships.
Locations.
The Autry Museum of the American West has two sites, about apart:
Elements.
The Autry was established in 1988 by actor and businessman Gene Autry as "Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum" to explore and share the comprehensive story of the American West and its multiple cultures and interpret its significance. Its Griffith Park collection includes 21,000 paintings, sculptures, costumes, textiles, firearms, tools, toys, musical instruments, and other objects. The museum presents contemporary and historical exhibitions, year-round programs for children, intellectual forums, and the "Native Voices at the Autry" performing arts series.
Native Voices at the Autry Museum of the American West has been the only equity theater that has only focused on producing new works by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nation playwrights since 1995. Randy Reinholz (member of Oklahoma’s Choctaw nation) and his wife Jean Bruce Scott have run this theater program that runs out of the Museum for 20 years. Native Voices has since been able to produce over 34 full productions, gone on over 20 tours, with 23 new play festivals and 13 Native playwrights. Native Voices is a crucial part of the Autry’s mission to promote art history and cultures of the American West.
The museum is located in Griffith Park across from the Los Angeles Zoo. The 4,000-square foot Parks Gallery was renovated in 2013 and has been organized into three theme areas: Religion and Ritual, Land and Landscape, Migration and Movement, and also contains two mini galleries with revolving exhibits. This enables flexible curating of the museum's extensive materials: paintings can be placed near textiles, photographs, pottery and videos. The spaces can also be used for more flexible programming.
The Gamble Firearms Gallery also was renovated in 2013. It now shows more of the context and place of firearms in the Old West; curators grouped firearms by themes: "hunting and trapping, the impact of technology on firearms, the conservation movement and the West in popular culture." This is part of the Western Frontiers: Stories of Fact and Fiction Gallery.
From 2004 to 2015, it was known as the "Autry National Center of the American West and in October 2015, the museum began using the name "Autry Museum of the American West" to describe its "principal activities as a museum." "


Indian Mexicans

Indian Mexicans are Mexican citizens who are descendants of migrants from India.
Overview.
The first Indians arrived in Mexico during the colonial era. During this period, thousands of Asians arrived via the Manila galleons, some of them as slaves termed "chinos" or "indios chinos" (literally Chinese, regardless of actual ethnicity). The first record of an Asian in Mexico is from 1540; an enslaved cook originating from Calicut. The best known "china" was Catarina de San Juan, a girl captured by Portuguese slave traders in Cochin.
In 1923, immigration of ethnic Indians was secretly prohibited. The ban was kept confidential in order to avoid diplomatic problems with the British Empire. This ban, along with similar bans based on ethnicity, was eliminated by a 1947 law that prohibited racial discrimination.
Most of the Indians in Mexico are recent arrivals in the country and almost all of them have settled in Mexico City. Mexico has a non-discriminatory policy with regard to the grant of its citizenship. The spouse of a Mexican national would generally not face any problem in acquiring local citizenship. Although a few of the NRIs have married Mexicans, they have retained their Indian citizenship.
The Indians in this country are mainly businessmen or professionals. Many of them work with one or other international organization or a multinational corporation. There are also some academicians and scientists among them. They have helped to bring about greater mutual understanding between India and their host country. Some of the Indians work for "ISPAT Mexicana" which is part of the Laxmi Mittal group, well known in this region for having turned around a sinking steel company in Trinidad. The Indian presence in Mexico has been greatly appreciated as fifty other business ventures have invested around US$1.58 billion in the country around 1994 to 2000.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, there were about 2,000 Indians living in Mexico as of March 2011.
Indian culture in Mexico.
The main Indian community organisation is the Indian Women's Association of Mexico (IWAM)in Mexico City. It celebrates important festivals and organises cultural programmes. A Sai Baba temple, a Vaishnav temple and a Gurudwara have also been constructed by Sangam Organisation in Mexico City.


Timeline of the Gerald Ford presidency

Gerald Ford, a Republican from Michigan, was inaugurated as the nation's 38th president on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon, and ended on January 20, 1977. The following articles cover the timeline of Ford's presidency:


Jacobus S. Bruyn

Jacobus Severyn Bruyn (April 7, 1749 – May 25, 1823) was an American politician from Ulster County, New York.
Early life.
Bruyn was born on April 7, 1749 in Shawangunk, New York. He was a son of Jacobus Bruyn and Jane (née Graham) Pruyn (d. 1764). Among his siblings was elder sister Gertruyd Bruyn (the wife of Cornelius DuBois), twin brother Severyn Tenhout Bruyn (also a New York Assemblymen), brother Johannes Bruyn (also a New York Assemblymen and member of New York State Senate; married Margaret DeWitt, a daughter of Col. Charles DeWitt and Blandina DuBois; father of Charles DeWitt Bruyn), sister Mary Bruyn (wife of Nicholas Hardenberg), and brother Cornelius Bruyn (also a New York Assemblymen).
Career.
In April 1797, Bruyn was elected to succeed his brother Johannes as a Democratic-Republican New York Assemblymen from Ulster County in the 21st and 22nd New York State Legislatures from July 1, 1797 until June 30, 1799. After two years, he was succeeded by the same brother he had replaced. In 1800, he was elected to a one-year term in the New York State Senate to fill the vacancy left by John Addison for the 24th New York State Legislature. His seat was one of the 12 representing the Middle District which then consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Columbia, Delaware, Rockland and Greene counties. In April 1801, Bruyn was reelected to a four-year term, serving in the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th New York State Legislatures until June 30, 1805.
Personal life.
Bruyn was married to Jenneke DeWitt (1755–1823), a daughter of Andries J. DeWitt and Blandina Elmendorf (née Ten Eyck) DeWitt. Jenneke was a niece of Col. Charles DeWitt and a first cousin of Margaret DeWitt (the wife of Jacobus' brother Johannes). Together, they were the parents of:
Bruyn died in Wawarsing, New York on May 25, 1823 and was buried at Wawarsing Cemetery in Wawarsing.


Scandinavian immigration to the Americas

Scandinavian Immigration to the Americas involves the immigration of people from Scandinavia to the American continent and its associated territories. Typically, Scandinavia refers to the countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and sometimes other Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland. Individuals who immigrated to the Americas from Scandinavia brought with them cultural, economic, educational, and other valuable contributions.
Swedish immigration.
Swedish immigration into the Americas was primarily between the years of 1840 and 1930, where 1.3 million Swedes traveled to America. Between 1920 and 1930, 92,000 Swedes arrived in one of the last large migrations to the United States. Swedish Americans settled all over the United States, specifically in the Midwest areas near the Great Lakes, and Cuba. Despite eventual successful integration with American culture and other nearby settlers, Swedes were able to maintain some of their national heritage through religious and social organizations. Swedish American newspapers were published in Illinois and Minnesota, the first of which named "Hemlandet" in 1855. Swedes in America were primarily agricultural farmers, factory workers, or furniture workers.
Swedish immigration to Delaware.
New Sweden.
In the early 1600s, Swedish settlers attempted to join the colonization of the Delaware River region. Much of the initial effort was led by Peter Minuit, who established New Sweden in 1638 upon the building of Fort Kristina. This early settlement saw difficulty however, and never grew to its intended fruition, as ships travelling back and forth to Sweden malfunctioned and friction between colonizers of other nationalities arose. On one occasion, a party sent by Minuit was rejected trade agreement by the English at Jamestown. On another occasion, English colonizers were accused of bribing Native Americans to kill Swedish colonizers for the purpose of monopolizing the trade outlet for animal pelts. In addition, the Dutch under the direction of Peter Stuyvesant destroyed parts of Swedish settlements and captured Swedish ships. The Dutch also restricted navigational efficiency on the Delaware for the Swedes by constructing a fort named Fort Casimir near Fort Kristina without warranted permission from the Swedes. Eventually in 1655, New Sweden was conquered by the Dutch. The growing number of Swedes in the present day eastern United States was kept at bay until centuries after New Sweden was established. One result of the Swede’s difficulty in maintaining New Sweden was unusually good relations with the nearby Native American tribes. Because friends were so scarce in the Delaware River valley for the Swedes, they often had no choice but to trade with the Natives, necessitating a relationship of peace. Residents of New Sweden primarily grew and harvested tobacco for trade.
Swedish immigration to Minnesota.
The first Swedes on the United States Census in the Minnesota Territory were recorded in 1850. In April 1851, the first permanent Swedish settlement in Minnesota was established near Chisago Lake. Some of the more well known Swedish pioneers to this area include Erik Ulrick Norberg and Johan Oscar Roos. Intrigued by letters from family and friends, Swedes continued to move to the Chisago Lake area and quickly became a significant economic and political presence in the community.
Swedish immigration to Cuba.
Following the Spanish-American War, some Swedes saw an opportunity to settle in Cuba, which offered cheap land and fertile soil able to grow crops year-round. One of the first Swedish settlements in Cuba was led by Dr. Alfred Lind, who capitalized on the opportunity, advertising settlement in Cuba to Swedish immigrants on the United States mainland. Most of the Swedes who moved to Cuba came from Minnesota. Following Lind’s efforts, a few additional Swedish colonies began to emerge and grow in Cuba, such as the Bayate settlement. Many Swedes became tri-lingual as they learned English in the United States, spoke their native language among themselves in Cuba, and learned Spanish to communicate with the native Cubans. Many Swedes hired Cubans for farm work. The settlements began to diminish around 1917 due to many Swedes moving back to the United States because of the beginning of the first world war in Europe and the resultant unpredictability regarding the future state of Cuba as a whole. Today, little Swedish influence remains in Cuba.
Influences.
Coffee.
Among the foundation of America’s coffee drinking habits lies the influence of the Swedish Americans. Swedish immigrants brought a love of good coffee with them to America. In Sweden, substitute forms of coffee were often the norm due to its difficulty to acquire, but opportunities in America allowed for coffee beans to be more easily accessed, and coffee drinking for Swedish Americans became very frequent. Along with the tradition of coffee drinking, the Swedes brought the tradition of enjoying a complementary treat with the coffee, such as cookies.
Gustavus Adolphus College.
Swedish American founded Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota is another evidence of the valuable contributions of Swedish immigrants to America. The college was established by Reverend Eric Norelius in Minnesota in 1862, and in 2020 ranked number 89 among the nation's best liberal arts colleges.
Religion.
Along with the Swedes came their devout religious practices to America. Many theologically versed Swedes, such as preachers, became an integral part of the communities to which they immigrated. Swedish Americans formed and led congregations, and though many shared an Episcopal background, they interacted heavily with other denominations, contributing to the societal benefits of religion.
Norwegian immigration.
Norwegian presence in the Americas began as Leif Erikson landed in New England in the year 1000. Erikson established a colony called Vinland, and Norwegians are believed to have traveled as far west as the Great Lakes at that time, as well as considerably far down the Eastern Coast. It was difficult to maintain these colonies due to the Norwegian relationship with Denmark. This allowed for Norwegian presence to disappear in the Americas until Christopher Columbus arrived in the hemisphere and subsequent later events in U.S. History. Norwegians reentered America during the colonizing period, and were prominent in Dutch colonies. Norwegian immigration in the modern period was the second largest group to come to America, closely following the Swedes and occurring during relatively the same time period, around 1840-1930. Most Norwegians emigrated to America for economic reasons, although some also came for religious freedoms. Generally, Norwegians settled in the Midwestern regions, close to the Great Lakes.
Leif Erikson's discovery of the Americas.
Leif Erikson is credited with discovering the Americas, naming each place he landed along the coast Helluland, Markland, and Vinland respectively. The exact locations of each landing site are unknown, but it generally believed by scholars to be along the eastern coast of Nova Scotia and modern day Canada. Archaeological evidence of Vikings has been found in North America, such as spun yarn, iron, and European style carvings. L'Anse aux Meadows in present day Canada is the best known site of Viking presence in America.
Kleng Pedersen Hesthammer.
Kleng Pedersen Hesthammer is considered by many the first modern Norwegian to settle in America. Later known by the name Cleng Peerson, Peerson was sent to America by a group of Norwegian Quakers looking for a place to practice their religion. In 1821, Peerson arrived in New York, and there lived for three years, after which he returned to Norway. Peerson returned to America in 1825, and traveled throughout the Midwest, settling in Texas where it was buried. His gravestone reads, "Cleng Peerson, the first Norwegian Emigrant to America."
The Sloopers.
A group of 45 Norwegians, and a crew of 7 seamen bought a slooper named Restoration in Stavanger, Norway and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. Their path was not a common route, as they chose to journey from Stavanger, to Funchal in Madiera, to New York. Upon arrival in New York, the passenger count had increased to 46 as a child had been born en route, and the ship was seized by the US government. The US Act of 1819 stated that the legal limit for passengers was 2 people for every 5 tons. before departure from Norway, the Restoration measured 39 tons, at the American port, the Restoration was registered at 60 tons. Even with higher tonnage, there were 21 passengers too many on the slooper. The Norwegian immigrants, called Sloopers, were fined $3,150 dollars in addition to the seizure of the ship. Due to the help of prominent New York Quakers such as Francis Thomas, the Sloopers were able to reclaim their slooper and were released from paying the fine by President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay. The Sloopers then continued on to settle in Kendall, New York.
Norwegian immigration to Wisconsin.
One the first large shiploads of Norwegian emigrants departed Norway on May 17, 1839. Upon arrival in the United States, immigrants immediately settled in Wisconsin. Large groups of Norwegians gathered in the areas of Milwaukee, Muskego, Jefferson and Rock Prairies, and Koshkonong.
Muskego, Wisconsin.
Even Heg.
Even Heg was heavily involved in the settlement of Muskego. Widely regarded as an authority figure within the community, Heg's barn was used for both political and religious functions in the community, and Heg himself officiated in these meetings often. The barn was used temporarily as a schoolhouse, as well as printing press of the local newspaper.
First Norwegian Newspaper.
The First Norwegian language newspaper was published in Muskego on July 29, 1847, by James Denoon Reymert, Even Heg, and Søren Bache. Named the Nordlyset, the newspaper had the goal of educating Norwegian immigrants of politics both in America and in Norway. Reymert left the paper after a couple publications, and started a second newspaper in a neighboring town called the Democraten. The Nordlyset and Democraten were combined and published together in Racine, WI.
First Norwegian Church.
The first constructed Norwegian Church was built on top of a hill in Muskego. Built in 1843, it was composed of Walnut and Oak. In 1869, the building was removed, and is now restored for viewing at a Lutheran Seminary in Minneapolis. The current Norwegian Muskego church is located in the same location.
Danish immigration.
The Danes were the smallest group of Scandinavian immigrants to come to America, however there are several US names that point to Danish influence. The Hudson River is said to be named for Henrik Hudson, the Bronx Borough in New York City is named after Jonas Bronck, and Peter Lassen gave his name to several landmarks in California.


Socialist Party of Oregon

The Socialist Party of Oregon (SPO) is the name of three closely related organizations — an Oregon state affiliate of the Social Democratic Party of America (later the Socialist Party of America) established in 1897 and continuing into the 1950s, as well as the Oregon state affiliate of the Socialist Party USA from 1992 to 1999.
Socialist Party of America affiliate (1890s–1950s).
Origins.
The Socialist Party of Oregon traces its roots to the late 1890s, when local affiliates of the Socialist Party's antecedent, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) first emerged. The earliest published report that a local branch of the SDP had been formed in the state appeared in the "Appeal to Reason" in October 1899. By the end of the year a rudimentary state organization was in place, with a state organizer, J.D. Stevens of Portland, actively involved in the effort to establish local branches of the organization.
The SDP underwent a small, incremental growth process during 1900, with a local branch launched in Oregon City in March. A formal state organizational convention followed, held in Portland on April 10, 1900. In the fall election of 1900, the unity slate of Eugene V. Debs and Job Harriman gained 1.76% of the presidential vote in Oregon running a joint campaign on behalf of the two independent SDP factions in the November 1900 election.
Following the establishment of the Socialist Party of America in August 1901, a move was made to organize the state under the name of the new party. The inaugural gathering was held September 25, 1901 at Women's Christian Temperance Union Hall in Salem. Attendance was light and the start of the session was postponed one hour to allow time for delegates to debark from a train from Portland. The dozen or so delegates elected a chairman and secretary and conducted routine organizational business, naming Albany as the first headquarters city for the fledgling organization. Oregon was granted an official state charter by National Secretary Leon Greenbaum during the second half of October 1901. A few counties seem to have organized at this time, such as the 50 individuals who gathered in Oregon City to form a county organization for Clackamas County.
The modest launch of the party was followed with a flurry of enthusiastic county-level conventions during the spring of the election year of 1902. The Marion County gathering alone drew over 100 participants to a gathering held March 5, 1902 in Salem to nominate candidates and approve a platform. The fledgling SPO was able to field broad slates of candidates around the state for the June 1902 general election, with the statewide ticket headed by R.R. Ryan of Marion County for Governor, C. W. Barzee of The Dalles for Secretary of State, B. F. Ramp of Douglas County for Congress in the 1st District, and D.T. Gerdes of Clatsop County, Oregon for Congress in the 2nd District.
Party headquarters were moved to Portland by decision of the March 1904 State Convention, where they would remain throughout the Debsian period,
The Socialist Party's 1904 ticket generated an even stronger showing, with Debs and his running mate, Benjamin Hanford of New York, receiving approximately 8.5% of the vote.
Comparison to the Socialist Party of Washington.
Although (or perhaps because) it was an older state than its less populated neighbor to the north, Washington, Oregon never generated as large or influential a political organization as was the Socialist Party of Washington. Nor did Oregon generate any publications with a national readership, as was the case with the Seattle "Socialist", the Industrial Workers of the World weekly "The Industrial Worker", published in Spokane, or even the weekly papers of two of the utopian socialist colonies established in Western Washington just prior to the turn of the 20th century.
Portland, the largest urban center in Oregon, was a far more orderly town than was Seattle, the rowdy upstart to the north. As historian Carlos A. Schwantes notes, Portland was "conservative, business oriented, with a tendency towards smugness among its elite" and consequently the Oregon labor movement was correspondingly more cautious than were the shipping and mill workers of Puget Sound.
The "Red Special" of 1908.
The election of 1908 saw the arrival in Oregon of Presidential candidate Eugene Debs aboard the so-called "Red Special," a train chartered by the Socialist Party and taken from station to station around the country for campaign speeches on the fly. The train made several stops in Oregon on September 14, energizing the state's party members.
Speaking in Eugene, Debs declared "I am the candidate of the workingmen, and don't expect the votes of any capitalists." An enthusiastic crowd was addressed in Albany, with Debs asserting that the two old parties each represented the capitalists rather than the people and that the Republican Party had fulfilled its historic mission by freeing the slaves, subsequently becoming a political organization of the plutocracy.
An evening speech on September 14 by Debs at the Exposition Auditorium on Washington Street attracted more than 10,000 spectators, erupted upon the appearance of the candidate in the hall:
"Men and women stood on chairs and benches and waved handkerchiefs, hats, and umbrellas. Ten thousand voices howled and shouted until the band, which had started to play, was drowned out and could not be heard. This commotion lasting for a couple of minutes subsided in three cheers and a tiger led by Chairman [Tom J.] Lewis."
Radical SPO State Secretary Tom Sladden made particular note of the 3,000 person procession in Portland which preceded Debs' appearance and expressed optimism about the party's prospects for an increased vote in November:
"The sentimentalists are quitting us; the revolutionary element that four years ago were scoffing at us are joining us now. The lines are being drawn sharply, hatred is being expressed and a class conflict is clearly in evidence. We have enthusiastic members and bitter enemies and the man on the fence is getting hell from both sides."
Sladden noted that from 1904 to 1908, the number of Socialist Party Locals in Oregon had grown from 32 to 74, despite a lack of full-time party organizers.
The heyday of Oregon Socialism.
The years 1910 through 1912 marked a high-water mark of sorts for the Socialist Party of Oregon in terms of its size and influence. The organization conducted an impressive demonstration in the afternoon of May Day 1910, in which 1500 members and supporters of the party, decked out in red ribbons and carrying red banners, marched through the streets of Portland. Beginning at 309 Davis Street, the procession of men, women, and children marched with neither police protection nor police interference to a vacant lot recently purchased for a future school. There a crowd estimated by a supporter at 4,000 people heard speeches and sang together "The Red Flag" and "The Marsellaise," before adjourning to Finnish Socialist Hall for singing and dancing until midnight.
In June 1910 Klamath Falls in Southern Oregon became the site of the first "Socialist Encampment" in the Western United States with the establishment of "Camp Progress." In an idea borrowed from the evangelical protestant religious movement and used with particular effectiveness in Oklahoma, a socialist "revival meeting" was held. More than 60 tents were divided into two parallel lines, with very large tents suitable for group meetings raised at either end. Socialists and their friends camped together, attending politically oriented meetings in the evenings in which they sang, watched plays, listened to speakers and debates, and were entertained by a 12-member "Encampment Band." Members of the local community were invited to attend the evening meetings, which drew between 2,000 and 3,000 attendees during each of the 8 days of the encampment. Speakers included J. Stitt Wilson, journalists Cloudesley and Dorothy Johns, and Tom J. Lewis.
One Oregon Socialist in attendance saw the 1910 Encampment as a large step forward for the party organization:
"As I looked nightly over the immense throng in the Big Tent, noted the striking absence of dissent to the utterances of our speakers, even the most revolutionary, heard the at times uproarious applause, I recall the time four years ago when the handful of members of Local Klamath Falls held their meetings in a lumber yard. Later the meetings were held at private houses and afterward a hall was hired. The local has had a hard fight and has had its seasons of depressions, also its internal dissensions, but today the movement is progressing at a rapid rate. * * *
"What impressed even the most casual observer at the Encampment was the Spirit of Comradeship that was so plainly manifested, the atmosphere of equality and freedom from conventionality that prevailed."
The Socialist Party showed promise at the polls in the November 1910 general election, with Albany furniture factory worker W.S. Richards receiving more than 7.5% of the total vote in his campaign for Governor of Oregon.
A short-lived effort to organize unemployed workers took place in 1912 with the formation of a mass organization called the "League of the Unemployed." An initial membership of 1,000 was dubiously reported in the press, an error resulting from sloppy misreporting of a January 21 open air meeting in Portland at which "nearly 1,000 men raised their hand in response to the query as to how many were unemployed." An organizing committee of 8, headed by Tom Lewis, was named and a march planned for January 28. This effort appears to have fizzled and the new auxiliary organization vanished without a trace.
By the summer of 1915, the SPO had English-language Locals and official party contact names in 69 Oregon towns, with an additional Finnish Locals in Astoria and Svenson, as well as Finnish, Latvian, German, and Polish branches of Local Portland.
The Finnish Socialists of Astoria.
The early Socialist Party of Oregon was in many ways a federation of two parallel organizations — an English-language organization centered in Portland, the state's largest city, and Finnish-language organization consisting of a cluster of radical émigrés from Finland who made their home in the old coastal town of Astoria.
The migration of Finns to North America began in the early 1860s, when representatives of Michigan mining interests began to actively recruit hardy Finnish workers as a labor source. This purely economic migration was joined by others who chose to escape the political hegemony of the Russian Empire, of which Finland was only a semi-autonomous part. By the coming of World War I, over 300,000 Finns had left their native land for jobs or freedom.
Comparatively few of the immigrant Finns were activists in the socialist movement of their native land, it does not follow that the socialist cause was obscure to those who were not. In the Finnish election of 1907, the first held under conditions of universal suffrage, the Social Democratic Party of Finland garnered an impressive 37% of the popular vote, electing 80 of its members to the 200 seat national parliament and making it the largest political party in the country. Many of the top leaders of the Finnish Socialist movement were ultimately driven into political exile in subsequent years by the Russian Tsarist regime. Finnish socialist politics made itself felt upon the Finnish immigrant population in both ways: socialist ideas were not alien to the community's culture and custom, they were a leading political option back home; and these ideas were advocated by some of the most energetic and outspoken political partisans of the Finnish socialist movement via their newspapers, pamphlets, and public speakers.
Astoria, Oregon, a fishing community of about 10,000 people on the American frontier, happened to be a magnet for the Finnish immigration. Located at the mouth of the Columbia River on the far northwest tip of the state, Astoria was cut off from population centers by the mountains of the Coast Range to the East and the waters of the river to the North, and sat perched upon the hills looking toward the Pacific Ocean in the West. It was a hamlet which developed in isolation, a community where newly arriving Finns could readily find others who spoke their language.
While some worked in the area's not insubstantial timber industry, most of the Finns in Astoria caught steelhead and salmon on the Columbia, working independently as small proprietors on their own boats. The needs of the Finnish fishermen were for cooperation, coordination, and collective social activity and they were generally not pitted against ruthless capitalist enterprise as were their countrymen engaged in mining and timber work in the Upper Midwest. Consequently, the political views of Astoria's Finnish Socialists tended to be moderate and electoral rather than built around the notions of class struggle and revolution. Some of the more radical Finns sometimes disparaged the Astorians for their "fish-captain's" world-view.
The Astoria Finnish Socialist Club (ASSK) was established in 1904 as a branch of the Finnish Socialist Federation (SSJ), an organization which would formally affiliate with the Socialist Party of America on January 1, 1907. The organization gave Finnish adherents of socialism a venue through which they could meet with like minded others and, at least as importantly, meet with other Finnish speakers — throughout their history the language federations of the American socialist movement had both political and social aspects. Membership in the ASSK was open to all Finns at least 18 years of age who accepted basic socialist doctrine and paid minimal dues.
The ASSK was a very small group in its initial inception, consisting of 27 members at the time of its 1904 formation and growing to 59 by 1909. Thereafter the organization grew rapidly, hitting a membership of 250 in 1911, nearly 18% of the members of the Socialist Party of Oregon. Thereafter a split of the pro-syndicalist left wing of the Finnish Socialist Federation dampened the membership level slightly, with 210 members remaining in the club in 1916. Contrary to national trends within the national Socialist Party, the Astoria Finnish Socialist Club then went on another membership surge, probably driven by enthusiasm for revolutionary events in Russia and Finland, with its ranks peaking in excess of 400 members in the summer of 1918.
Finnish Socialist press.
There was no lack of a Finnish-language press for Finnish-American socialists in the early 20th century. From the summer of 1903 there was issued a four-page weekly called "Amerikan Suomalainen Työmies" ("American Finnish Worker"), a publication which moved to Hancock, Michigan the following year and shortened its name to "Työmies." The enclave of Finns located in New England had a paper of their own, "Raivaaja" ("The Pioneer"), launched early in 1905. With the decision of the national SSJ to divide the Finnish Federation into three districts discussions began to accelerate among the Astorians about the possibility of launching a newspaper of their own to serve as the voice of the Federation's Western District.
In June 1907 a referendum of the Finnish Socialist locals of the West decided to establish a paper for the district and a temporary board of directors was established in Astoria. The venture was capitalized in July through the offer of $5,000 worth of stock at $10 a share. When half of this amount was sold by October, the new holding company, the Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company, was cleared to begin operations.
The first issue of the new paper, named "Toveri" ("The Comrade") appeared on December 7, 1907, under the editorship of Aku Rissanen, formerly on the editorial staff of "Raivaaja." Although planned as a bi-weekly, the paper was impacted by an emerging economic crisis and appeared only irregularly during its first year. The paper moved to daily status in 1912.
It was the presence of this newspaper which drew Santeri Nuorteva to Astoria in 1911, where he replaced editor Rissanen, who was coming to the end of a second stint as editor of the newspaper, begun the previous year. Nuorteva, a giant of the Finnish-American socialist movement, spent two years in Astoria as the paper's editor-in-chief. He would later become the head of the de facto consulate in America of the Finnish Revolutionary government of 1918 and the number two man in the Russian Soviet Government Bureau, de facto consulate of Soviet Russia in 1919.
In 1911 the Western District convention of the SSJ reversed its previous policy and urged its locals to form special women's committees and, where possible, separate women's branches for their female members, with a view to increasing the size and influence of the socialist movement among women, who were beginning to gain the right to vote throughout the West. In Astoria this took the form of the establishment of a sewing club, designed for both social and fundraising purposes, and the foundation of a special weekly newspaper for socialist women, "Toveritar" ("The Woman Comrade"). "Toveritar" was launched as a weekly in July 1911 and it continued as such until 1930, when the publication was terminated. In addition to news of the socialist movement, "Toveritar" included household hints, a section dedicated to the youth movement, poetry, and serialized literature (both original work and material in translation).
In short, although the Socialist movement of Oregon did not produce an English-language newspaper of national note, "Toveri" had a regional impact as the voice of the Western District of the SSJ and "Toveritar" had a nationwide impact as the sole Finnish-language newspaper for socialist women. The lengthy existence of their two papers and the ongoing role they played in workers' education were believed by the Finnish Socialists of Astoria to be among their greatest achievements.
In addition to its very large Astoria branch, the Finnish Socialist Federation had three other branches in Oregon as of 1923: a rural branch in Svensen in the logging country near Astoria, a branch in the small mill town of Marshfield (now Coos Bay) on the Southern Oregon coast, and an urban branch in Portland.
Electoral activity.
As electorally oriented socialists, the Finnish Socialists of Astoria desired to participate in the political process and to win control of the apparatus of local government so as to advance the socialist agenda. It took time for the Finns to build an adequate organization and sufficient confidence to enter the political fray, however. In the election of 1904, the English-speaking Socialists of Clatsop County nominated a full slate for the June county elections, although no Finns received places on the ticket.
Indeed, the Finnish Socialists would run no candidates until the election of 1910, when they supplied two of the Socialist Party's candidates for State Representative, as well as the nominees for County Commissioner and County Treasurer. Local Astoria's English-speaking branch supplied the nominees for State Senator, Sheriff, County Clerk, County Assessor, and County Judge. Later that same year, the Finnish and English branches again cooperated in fielding a full ticket in Astoria's city election. None were successful in their bids.
The elections of 1912 and 1914 followed a similar pattern, with full Socialist tickets put forward topped by native English-speakers while the English and Finnish branches each contributed downticket candidates.
By 1916, the English branch seems to have dissolved, leaving the full Socialist ticket to be filled by Finns. Despite this circumstance, Local Astoria still nominated a native American as its candidate for Mayor of Astoria, while Finns occupied 5 of the remaining 6 slots on the ticket, winning one race.
In the election two years hence, the high-water mark for membership in the Astoria Finnish Socialist Club, no ticket was nominated, owing perhaps to war hysteria discouraging the participation of native English-speakers while Finnish-speakers were preoccupied with revolutionary events in the old country and Soviet Russia. Throughout the 1904–1916 period, Socialist candidates generally drew just over 10% of the ballots cast in Astoria, peaking in 1912 with a 15.2% share of votes received.
Criminal Syndicalism law.
On January 14, 1919, a criminal syndicalism statute authored by conservative legislator Kaspar K. Kubli was introduced as House Bill 1 at the opening of the 1919 session of the legislature. Kubli's bill moved speedily through the legislative process and was signed into law on February 3, 1919, with an emergency provision attached putting the law into immediate effect. Initially intended as a legal cudgel to be used against the syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World, the new law made it a felony to advocate in word or writing any doctrine involving "crime, sabotage, violence or any other unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform."
Anyone editing, printing, or circulating a newspaper or pamphlet advocating such doctrines or assisting in formation of an organization or society in support of such activities was to be subject to the law, which called for penalties of up to 10 years in prison and potential fines of up to $5,000. Authorities made immediate use of the new law, arresting Harlin Talbert, State Secretary of the Socialist Party of Oregon, and five others for selling copies of "The Western Socialist" on the streets of Portland and for "distributing handbills without a license" less than one week after the criminal syndicalism law took effect.
The end of Finnish participation in the SPO.
In the summer of 1919 the Socialist Party of America (SPA), amidst much acrimony, split into three parts, with the Regular faction controlling the National Executive Committee and the National Office suspending six large language federations for their endorsement of the Left Wing Manifesto around with the Left Wing Section was organizing its forces. While the Finnish Socialist Federation was not one of those endorsing the Left Wing Manifesto, and thus not the subject of sanctions, many in the organization were sympathetic to the revolutionary socialist pronouncements of the Manifesto and disgusted by the actions of the NEC.
At its national convention held in Waukegan, Illinois from December 25, 1920, to January 2, 1921, the Finnish Socialist Federation decided to withdraw from the SPA and to instead continue as an independent organization. While it had previously pursued as neutral a line as possible regarding factional scuffles, "Toveri" under editor Elis Sulkanen came down firmly in favor of an independent existence for the SSJ.
Upon learning of the decision of the Waukegan Convention to separate the Finnish Socialist Federation from the party, Socialist Party Executive Secretary Otto Branstetter immediately set about reorganizing a new Finnish Federation for the Socialist Party. A large percentage of the moderate Eastern District of the now independent SSJ came over the new reorganized Socialist Party-affiliated SSJ, including about 30 branches representing approximately 2,000 members. This group brought with them the daily newspaper of the Eastern District, "Raivaaja" [The Pioneer].
In this split he Astoria Finns — typical of the entire Western District of the Finnish Federation — stayed loyal to the independent organization. They henceforth remained outside the Socialist Party, as did their newspapers, "Toveri" and "Toveritar." No branches of the SPA's reorganized Finnish Federation were established in Oregon.
The Socialist Party of Oregon in the 1930s.
The party continued to field candidates for public office throughout the first three decades of the 20th century.
In 1934, the SPO, under the leadership of Albert Streiff and George Buickerood, lead the state organization out of the Socialist Party of America under the pretext that the SPA was "too radical." This departure proved to be short-lived, however, as Streiff and Buickerood transferred their allegiance to right wing populist William Lemke in the 1936 Presidential election and the SPO returned to the national Socialist Party of America following the election of Don Sweetland of Portland as State Secretary at the 1936 State Convention and Monroe Sweetland as State Chairman.
The party lost the ability to place candidates on the ballot as "Socialist Party" candidates in the 1940s. Norman Thomas ran for president variously as an 'independent' or as an 'Independent Socialist Principles' in the 1940s. The party did not field Socialist candidates until nearly a half century later, and effectively ceased to exist as an association of electors mid 20th century.
State Conventions.
The Social Democratic Party of Oregon, loyal to the Chicago headquarters, held its first state convention on Thursday, July 12, 1900, at the Washington Hotel, located at Third and Flanders Streets in Portland, for the purpose of selecting Presidential electors for the November ballot. Each branch in the state was entitled to one delegate, either by directly sending a delegate or by assigning a proxy. The gathering also was responsible for electing a State Executive Committee.
In the run-up for the July 1901 convention which established the Socialist Party of America a "socialist mass meeting" was held in Albany on May 31, 1901. This gathering approved a resolution calling for a formal convention to be opened in Oregon not later than October 1 of that same year. In accordance with this decision, a convention call was issued for a gathering at WCTU Hall in Salem for Wednesday, September 21, 1901 in order to form a permanent state organization and adopt a formal platform. The Founding Convention, attended by about a dozen socialists, was actually held on Sunday, September 25 at that location.
The 1902 State Convention was held Wednesday, March 19, 1902, in Portland at Foresters' Hall, 6th and Washington Streets, to nominate a state ticket for the June general election. Between 175 and 200 Socialists were in attendance, nominating R.R. Ryan of Marion County for Governor, among other candidates. The state platform adopted included a plank calling for the exclusion of Chinese and Japanese immigrants from the United States. A second convention was to be held the following day in Oregon City for nomination of a congressional candidate in the 2nd Congressional District. Additional county conventions were to be held on March 5 for the naming of county Socialist Party slates.
A special 1903 Nominating Convention was held April 3, 1903, at Hurst's Hall in Salem to name a candidate for a special election to be held in June to fill the vacancy of the 1st Congressional District seat caused by the death of Republican Representative Thomas H. Tongue. About 50 people attended, with 41 accredited votes being cast. The convention unanimously named John W. Ingle, a 53-year-old Corvallis farmer who had previously served as superintendent of schools in Umatilla County as its nominee. A new electoral platform was approved by the assembled delegates which outlined the basic idea of the class struggle and declared "there is only one weapon with which the working class can successfully oppose the capitalistic system — and that is the ballot."
The 1904 State Convention was held March 3 in Portland at 309 Davis Street, headquarters of Local Portland. The gathering adopted a new constitution for the SPO, subject to referendum of the locals. The gathering endorsed "The Real Issue" as the official organ of the state party and encouraged party members throughout the state to assist with its subscription list. Portland was chosen as the new state headquarters for the organization and Local Portland made the new State Quorum of the party. SPA National Organizer John W. Brown was in attendance and spoke to large crowds at public meetings in Portland on the evenings of March 2 and 3. The convention named State Organizer C.C. Mikkelsen its candidate for Judge of the Oregon Supreme Court, B.F. Ramp its candidate for U.S. Congress in the 1st Congressional District and George R. Cook in the 2nd, and N. Rasmussen its candidate for State Food and Dairy Commissioner. The party pledged itself to "conduct all the affairs of the state in such a manner as to promote the interests of the working class."
The 1906 State Convention was held in March 1906 and selected a ticket topped by farmer C.W. Barzee of The Dalles as the nominee for governor. County conclaves were held around the state throughout the month of March, naming full tickets for local office across much of Western and Southern Oregon.
The 1910 State Convention was held August 7, 1910, at Finnish Hall, 717 Montana Avenue in Portland. Party nominees for the November 1910 general election included W.S. Richards of Albany for Governor, Allen McDonald of Portland for Secretary of State, and W.A. Crawford of The Dalles for US Congress in the 2nd District. A platform was also approved which called for enfranchisement of all citizens over 21 years of age "regardless of sex, color, or property qualifications" and which called for "the transformation, as rapidly as possible, of the capitalist ownership of the property in the means of production...into the collective property of the producers."
1940 Picnic – As World War II approached, the dwindling Socialist Party of Oregon remained committed to the party's historic anti-war line, hosting a picnic of Oregon progressives on August 18, 1940 at Mickey's Grove, located 5 miles outside of West Salem, Oregon. The gathering, hosted by the Salem Socialist local, was touted as a means of bringing together "farmers, union members, anti-war people, members of co-ops, pacifists, socialists, and progressives throughout the state" to "get acquainted and work out some united plan" against conscription and the restriction of civil liberties.
1992 reorganization.
The party was re-organized in 1992 by at-large members of the Socialist Party USA, including the organization's 2004 Presidential candidate Walt Brown, Bill Smaldone, James Hadley, Trey Smith, and others with interest in democratic socialism. The Socialist Party of Oregon is recognized as both an activist organization and an electoral vehicle. The Socialist Party of Oregon was a supporter early on of the Health Care for All-Oregon ballot measure, a participant in the successful unionizing effort at Powell's, a continuing presence in the peace movement, and Oregon's electoral arm for democratic socialist electoral politics.
The party regained electoral ballot status through acquisition of ballot lines previously held by others; the No Sales Tax Party was acquired circa 1994 (changing its name to the Socialist Party thereafter) and the Representative Party was acquired in the same year (also changing its name). In 1995, the ballot line of the New Alliance Party was acquired, giving the Socialist Party of Oregon statewide minor party status. The Socialist Party has run candidates for partisan office regularly since that time although in 1998, the party failed to achieve 1% of the statewide vote under then existing state election law, and lost statewide ballot access.
As of November 2008, the party was recognized by the Oregon State Elections Division as a "less than statewide" nominating party, having failed to retain certification outside of Oregon's Third Congressional District.
Party organizers subsequently announced a plan to expand ballot access in other areas of the state by circulating petitions to qualify for nominating privileges in individual state house districts.
Segments of the Party's ballot access line remained active until 2008. That same year, the organization disaffiliated from the national Socialist Party USA and continues now as a small independent political organization.
The Party has achieved a few recent electoral successes (although has not won a partisan elective office since re-organization):
Oregon Socialist press.
Albany
Astoria
Grants Pass
Medford
Milwaukie
Portland
Salem