6/12/2023 0 Comments Sundown towns by james w loewen![]() Applegate came from Maine, which had been a free state since 1820 and was less hostile to African Americans, making him a more likely advocate of the states African American population than the Missouri-born Burnett. The next summer saw yet another meeting of the legislative committee and a repeal of the Exclusion law, thanks to the advocating of the more fair-minded Jesse Applegate. This was the founding of the Exclusion law or what became known as one of the Black Laws of Oregon. This bill would exclude all African Americans from the territory altogether, under the guise of respecting the status of Oregon as a free state. In the summer of 1844, in the legislative committee for the provisional government of Oregon, Peter Burnett introduced a bill “to prevent slavery”. This is possible foreshadowing of a series of legislative actions in the territory. ![]() Throughout the early 1800s, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, where most of Oregon’s population originated, had all passed laws that restricted the rights of African Americans. ![]() Racial attitudes from home states were brought out West to the Oregon territory, right along with a family’s personal belongings. Racial politics that far precede the Civil Rights Movement are evident around the country, as well as in Oregon, despite Oregon having an extremely small black population. ![]() ![]() A timeline showing the Black Laws of Oregon from foundation to repeal. ![]()
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