>John Beeson, an English expatriate, arrived in Oregon in 1853, where he documented the mistreatment of Indigenous people[3] In one such example, in his book "A Plea for the Indians; with Facts and Features of the Late War in Oregon".[4][5] Many Indigenous women were forced into sexual slavery after their family members were shot to death by white miners.

>Ultimately, the Oregon Territorial government and the writers of the Oregon Constitution used the excuse of preventing slavery from entering Oregon to hide their true ambitions. They were not abolitionists, but white supremacists[16] They wanted to create a white utopia.[17] The motivations of these lawmakers were to remove people of color from their territory and in working towards that goal created laws that have had long lasting consequences.