"For Their Effectual Exclusion": Oregon, Racial Exclusion, and Citizenship in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

Author

• Riley M. Littleton, University of MississippiFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-8-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Public Policy Leadership

First Advisor

Robert Colby

Second Advisor

Susan Stearns

Third Advisor

Timothy Yenter

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

In light of Oregon’s admission to the Union as the only state to receive congressional approval with a racial exclusion clause in its constitution, this project seeks to examine the constitutional and cultural thought that ultimately led to the stamp of approval on the thirty-third state. In the past, Missouri had attempted a similar maneuver, seeking to bar free Black Americans from entry; Congress had not allowed it, believing that the provision violated the U.S. Constitution’s Privileges and Immunities Clause. This project investigates what changed congressional opinion between Missouri and Oregon’s respective times.

In researching contemporary literature to understand local police structure, racial exclusion, migration policy, slavery politics, the Dred Scott decision, and concurrent debates about Kansas, this thesis draws on a broader national context. By relying on congressional debate records to understand how legislators and their constituents were thinking about citizenship, racial exclusion, slavery politics, and interstate migration, the project expands analysis to encompass historical perspectives.

The thesis concludes with broader takeaways, noting that Oregon was admitted largely both in light of and in spite of sectional politics. It fractured both parties in the House and the Senate, with some Republicans prioritizing free state numbers and others prioritizing interstate rights, and some Democrats prioritizing slave state numbers and others remaining loyal to the prospect of a slave Kansas being admitted without a population quota. In investigating different priorities of congressmen, this thesis highlights broader changes in nineteenth-century cultural and constitutional understandings of citizenship, race, politics, and rights.

Recommended Citation

Littleton, Riley M., ""For Their Effectual Exclusion": Oregon, Racial Exclusion, and Citizenship in the Mid-Nineteenth Century" (2026). Honors Theses. 3552.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3552

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