Political Parties in Oregon 349 missionaries, the French Canadian settlers, the Mountain Men and the independent American settlers. The part which the Protestant missionaries early took in establishing American influence, strengthened what would have been at any rate the natural alliance between the Company and the Catholics. 1 With these two went the Canadians, the three elements mak- ing one main party variously denominated as the Hudson's Bay, English, or, after the latter had come in under the Pro- visional Government, the Independent party. On the other side, the independent American settlers, the Protestant mis- sionaries and the Mountain Men represented the American interests. In general these were the two main opposing par- ties or influences. There was a further division among the Americans into the Mission and American parties, with little local conditions and prejudices coming in from time to time to affect and modify this general alignment. The Missionary party was rather looked upon as representing the aristocracy and vested interests of the settlement from the United States. 2 The American party, made up of the Mountain Men and in- dependent settlers, opposed the tendencies toward independ- ent government and was strongly nationalistic . Though in a minority, the English or independent party held the balance of power. This is well demonstrated in the election of gov- ernors in 1845 an d again in 1847. ^ n the first case the candi- dates of the three parties were : American, A. L. Love joy ; Independent, Osborne Russell ; Mission, also denominated "American, " George Abernethy. The Independents, having no hope of success, and wishing to defeat the more aggressive of the American candidates, threw their support to Abernethy, who was elected, though the "American" party won a sweep- ing victory with its legislative ticket. 3 In 1847 Lovejoy and Abernethy again opposed each other and again the English element defeated the former. In the two counties north of iGrover, "Notable Things," etc., Ms., p. 90. A. G. Walling, "Southern Ore- gon," p. 135. 2Thornton, "History of the Provisional Government," pp. 50, 51. 3Bancroft, Vol. 1, pp. 471, 472.
