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Oregon was originally settled by many Native Americans before the [[Lewis and Clark]] expedition brought greater attention to the area from the United States and Britain.  The British had control of the majority of the territory until the Oregon Trail started in the 1840s and American settlers began moving in.  Eventually, the land was ceded to the United States in the resolution of a boundary dispute.

Oregon was originally settled by many Native Americans before the [[Lewis and Clark]] expedition brought greater attention to the area from the United States and Britain.  The British had control of the majority of the territory until the Oregon Trail started in the 1840s and American settlers began moving in.  Eventually, the land was ceded to the United States in the resolution of a boundary dispute.

Oregon is infamous for its history of racist progressivism. In 1922, left-wing Democrat [[Walter M. Pierce]] ran for governor with the backing of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] against anti-KKK Republican governor [[Benjamin W. Olcott]] and won the general election.<ref name=oregonkkk>[https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/ku_klux_klan/ Ku Klux Klan]. ''Oregon Encyclopedia''. Retrieved September 25, 2021.</ref> The Klan and their allies that election cycle pushed for a ballot measure to ban [[school choice]] in the state by forcing all children to [[public school]]s rather than letting parents decide between government and parochial institutions.

Oregon is infamous for its history of racist progressivism. In 1922, left-wing Democrat [[Walter M. Pierce]] ran for governor with the backing of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] against anti-KKK Republican governor [[Benjamin W. Olcott]] and won the general election.<ref name=oregonkkk>[https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/ku_klux_klan/ Ku Klux Klan]. ''Oregon Encyclopedia''. Retrieved September 25, 2021.</ref> The Klan and their allies, including Pierce, in that election cycle pushed for a ballot measure to ban [[school choice]] in the state by forcing all children to [[public school]]s rather than letting parents decide between government and parochial institutions.<ref name=waltermpierceoregoncyclopediabio>Robbins, William G. [https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/pierce_walter_1861_1954_/ Walter Pierce (1861-1954)]. ''Oregon Encyclopedia''. Retrieved September 25, 2021.</ref>

 

Pierce lost re-election in 1926 and was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a staunch liberal [[New Deal]]er.<ref name=waltermpierceoregoncyclopediabio/> When [[World War II]] broke out, he adamantly supported – like most progressives – President [[Franklin D. Rooesvelt]]'s mass internment of Japanese-Americans by race. Pierce also voted against [[anti-lynching legislation]].

Although the KKK held a significant influence in Oregon for the first half of the 1920s, moral scandals and hypocrisy surrounding their leadership costed them membership; by the 1930s, the statewide organization collapsed as only local groups remained.<ref name=oregonkkk/>

Although the KKK held a significant influence in Oregon for the first half of the 1920s, moral scandals and hypocrisy surrounding their leadership costed them membership; by the 1930s, the statewide organization collapsed as only local groups remained.<ref name=oregonkkk/>