Government
The territorial government consisted of a governor, a marshal, a secretary, an attorney, and a three-judge supreme court. Judges on the court also sat as trial level judges as they rode circuit across the territory. All of these offices were filled by appointment by the President of the United States. The two-chamber Oregon Territorial Legislature was responsible for passing laws, with seats in both the upper-chamber council and lower-chamber house of representatives filled by local elections held each year.
Read more about this topic: Oregon Territory
Famous quotes containing the word government:
“The powers of the federal government ... result from the compact to which the states are parties, [and are] limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting that compact.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“Our government rests in public opinion. Whoever can change public opinion, can change the government, practically just so much.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)