About The Salem Clique: Oregon’s “Machine”
Presented by
Barbara Mahoney, Author
Join us for
an exploration of 1850’s politics, as the Territory moved toward statehood, and
the part played by a group of young men known as the “Salem Clique.” All recent
arrivals to the Territory, they established and controlled the Democratic
Party. Rivals and critics accused them of dictatorship and corruption, of
seeking to force slavery on the Territory, and even of plotting to create a
“bigamous Mormon republic.”
An important
source of the Clique’s power was the Oregon Statesman, the newspaper
founded by the Clique’s leader, Asahel Bush. In a time when newspapers
dominated the public sphere, the Statesman and its rival, the Oregonian,
not only reported but also shaped the politics of the period.
The Clique
held key positions in Oregon’s constitutional convention in 1857 and were
elected to important offices when statehood was finally accomplished.
When the Civil War came, they were adamant in their support of the Union.
About the
Speaker:
Originally,
from Indiana, Barbara moved to Oregon with her husband Tim, who is a physician,
and their four children. After a few years as an adjunct faculty
member at Willamette University, she moved to the administration, first as
Director of Alumni Relations and then as Vice President for University
Relations.
She has
served on the boards of several organizations including Oregon Humanities, the
Oregon Encyclopedia, Portland Center Stage and the Library Foundation and as
chairperson of the Oregon Arts Commission.
Although her
doctorate from Saint Louis University is in twentieth century European history,
the history of Oregon has become a consuming interest. She has
contributed a number of entries to the Oregon Encyclopedia.
Her first
book, Dispatches and Dictators, is a biography of Oregon native Ralph
Barnes who was a correspondent in Europe for the New York Herald Tribune during
the 1930’s. Dispatches and Dictators won the Oregon Book Award for
Literary Nonfiction in 2003.
Her article,
“Oregon Democracy: Asahel Bush, Slavery, and the Statehood Debate,” appeared in
the summer 2009 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly. Her second
book, The Salem Clique: Oregon’s Founding Brothers, is a study of the
group of young men who dominated Oregon politics during the 1850s.
