Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/227

RESULTS FROM ASTOR EXPEDITIONS 219 But the greatest result, to the benefit of the United States, was the discovery by the Stuart party of an easy and conven- ient way of passage from the Missouri River to the Columbia, that became the Oregon Trail, by means of which the Oregon of today was peopled by citizens of the United States, prior to the year 1847, and the Oregon Question amicably and final- ly settled. Fortunately the enmity and bad feeling between the United States and Great Britain, which caused the war of 1812 and which resulted therefrom, and which nearly caused a war be- tween them over the Oregon Question, have long since passed away and are now of historic interest only. By common con- sent and by mutual feeling, which are stronger and more enduring than any written treaties, these two nations and their peoples are united in a motive and in an endeavor that the genius, the traditions, and the institutions of the English- speaking peoples shall be foremost in the world.