Oregon boundary dispute in the context of "42nd parallel north"

Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcated by the Treaty of 1818, consisted of the land north of 42° N latitude, south of 54°40′ N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains down to the Pacific Ocean and east to the Continental Divide. Article III of the 1818 treaty gave joint control to both nations for ten years, allowed land to be claimed, and guaranteed free navigation to all mercantile trade. However, both countries disputed the terms of the international treaty. Oregon Country was the American name, while the British used Columbia District for the region.

British and French Canadian fur traders had entered Oregon Country prior to 1810 before the arrival of American settlers from the mid-1830s onwards, which led to the foundation of the Provisional Government of Oregon. Its coastal areas north of the Columbia River were frequented by ships from all nations engaged in the maritime fur trade, with many vessels between the 1790s and 1810s coming from Boston. The Hudson's Bay Company, whose Columbia Department comprised most of the Oregon Country and north into New Caledonia and beyond 54°40′ N, with operations reaching tributaries of the Yukon River, managed and represented British interests in the region.

In the textile arts, a motif (pronunciation) (also called a block or square) is a smaller element in a much larger work. In knitting and crochet, motifs are made one at a time and joined together to create larger works such as afghan blankets or shawls. An example of a motif is the granny square. Motifs may be varied or rotated for contrast and variety, or to create new shapes, as with quilt blocks in quilts and quilting. Contrast with motif-less crazy quilting.

Motifs can be any size, but usually all the motifs in any given work are the same size. The patterns and stitches used in a motif may vary greatly, but there is almost always some unifying element, such as texture, stitch pattern, or colour, which gives the finished piece more aesthetic appeal. Motifs may commemorate events or convey information or political slogans. For example, the individual blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the possible Quilts of the Underground Railroad, and the "54-40 or Fight" quilt block.

The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country; the area had been jointly occupied by both Britain and the U.S. since the Treaty of 1818.