Fifty-four forty or fight

The phrase "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" was a campaign slogan of United States president-to-be James K. Polk.

In the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, the Americans and the British chose a joint sovereignty of what is now the Pacific Northwest of the United States to the British crown colony of British Columbia (now a province of Canada). The northern boundary of the Oregon Territory then was the parallel 54°40', with Russian claims on Alaska to the north. By the election of 1844, this alliance was growing shaky, with Western settlers wanting the land for America.

Polk was ready to go to war to claim all the land, and quipped the slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" to help win election. Fortifications like Fort Wayne were built along the U.S.-British Columbian border in anticipation of combat. The Democrat Polk beat the Whig Henry Clay 1,337,243 to 1,299,068; the electoral college results were Polk 170 votes versus 105 for Clay.

The argument was settled diplomatically, with the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The border was set the 49th parallel, which still marks much of the border between the United States and Canada.

The Canadian rock band 54-40 takes their name from this slogan.

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