In 1827 the American Congress and the British Parliament ratified the extension of the agreement of 1818 which gave joint occupancy to a great area of land in which lay the territory of Oregon.

Oregon was almost a lost country until immigrants followed the missionaries and shrewd Yankee traders began to follow the immigrants. The balance of power suddenly swung over to the Americans because of their numbers and with the advent of a political year Oregon under American rule as a free state became a national issue. The original agreement between the United States and Great Britain did not specifically speak of 54’40 as being the northern boundary of Oregon but the settlers so interpreted the agreement because that parallel meant all of Oregon would be under United States rule. In July 1843 an Oregon convention was held at Sinsonate.