The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations over the region.

In the general election, Polk defeated Henry Clay of the rival Whig Party. Historians have praised Polk for having met during his four-year term every major domestic and foreign policy goal he had set.

Polk responded with more bluster, returning to the demand for a border at 54°40′ north and threatening to nullify the current joint occupation of Oregon. Southern Democrats and most Whigs had no stomach for his brinkmanship, however, and Congress soon invited the British delegation to resume negotiations.

Residents of much of the western United States can thank President James K. Polk for making them Americans. His belief in the country’s “Manifest Destiny” to expand from coast to coast was the driving force behind several of the accomplishments that rank him as one of our greatest presidents.

Gadsden’s Purchase provided the land necessary for a southern transcontinental railroad and attempted to resolve conflicts that lingered after the Mexican-American War. Fearing the colonists would rebel as those in Texas had, Mexican President Juan Ceballos revoked the grant, angering U.S. investors.

The first draft was signed on December 30, 1853, by James Gadsden, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, and by Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico….Gadsden Purchase.

For those who don’t like reading a lot, the short answer is, the US never conquered Canada because invading was more trouble than the land was worth. The US didn’t NEED to conquer Canada, because it had and still has tremendous leverage over Canada.