This timeline gives some key dates in Oregon history. Notice how often attempts to control resources (land, timber, gold) or to restrict competition in labor result in racist policies.

1787 Northwest Ordinance proclaims Indian land and property will never be taken or disturbed or invaded unless lawfully authorized by Congress.

1844 The Provisional Government of Oregon prohibits slavery in the territory, but also enacts measures to force blacks to leave the state. The Lash Law requires that any blacks remaining in Oregon, be they free or slave, be whipped twice a year until they shall quit the territory.

1845 Sandwich Islander Tax Bill directed against the Pacific Islanders who were being brought to the area to perform manual labor. To discourage Pacific Islanders from becoming permanent residents, employeres were required to pay a $5 tax for each Islander they brought to Oregon, and $3 annually for Islanders kept in their service.

1850 Oregon Donation Act grants up to 320 free acres to white males regardless of whehter or not Indians resided on the land, and prohibits blacks from taking a claim in Oregon.

1854 Oregon's 1849 Exclusion Law is repealed; however, another Exclusion Law will be written into the State Bill of Rights in 1857.

1857 The Oregon Constitution includes numerous provisions that prevent people of color from entering the state and severely limit the rights of those already here. No free negro or mulatto not residing in the state at the time of the adoption of the Constitution shall come, reside, or be within the State, or hold any real estate or make any contracts in the State. No negro, Chinaman, or mulatto shall have the right of suffrage. No Chinaman shall hold real estate or mine a claim.

1862 Annual Poll Tax requires all residents of color to pay a $5 tax or be forced to labor for the state at a rate of 50 cents per day.

1864 It becomes illegal to entice an Indian or "half-breed" to leave the reservation.

1866 Oregon's legislature refuses to pass the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provided citizenship to blacks, and guaranteed due process and equal protection for all people regardless of race.

1866 The state ban on interracial marriages is extended to include anyone who is 1/4 or more Chinese or Hawaiian or 1/2 Native American.

1882 Chinese Exclusion Act makes it illegal for Chinese laborers to come to the U.S. or to remain past 90 days if already here.

1883 Despite national passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which states "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," an effort to remove Oregon's state ban on black suffrage fails.

1919 Portland Board of Realty approves a Code of Ethics prohibitings realtors and bankers from selling property in white neighborhoods to people of color or providing mortgages for such purchases.

1923 The Oregon state legislature, dominated by members of the Klan, passes a number of restrictive laws. The Alien Land Law prevents first generation Japanese Americans (those who had immigrated to the U.S.) from owning or leasing land. The Oregon Business Restriction Law allows cities to refuse business licenses to first generation Japanese Americans.

1926 The Exclusion Law is removed from the Oregon Bill of Rights.

1927 The Oregon Constitution is amended to remove the clause denying blacks the right to vote.

1937-1945 The state passes a number of laws restricting Indians, mostly concerning the possession of alcohol.

1942 Following President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, Japanese Americans residing in Oregon were interned in Portland at what is now the Expo Center, and later sent out of the state.

1948 National Realtors Code (based on an earlier state law) proclaims a realtor shall never introduce into a neighborhood members of any race or nationality whose presence will be detrimental to property values.

1949 Fair Employment Act empowers the State Labor Bureau to prevent discrimination in employment.

1951 Oregon repeals its law prhobiting interracial marriage.

1953 Public Accommodation Law prohibits discrimination in hotels and other public accommodations.

1954 Congress terminates Western Oregon Indian tribes, ending all federal services and selling any tribal lands.

1956 Congress terminates Klamath Indian Tribe. Grand Ronde and Siletz reservations are closed.

1957 The Dalles Dam is completed, which floods Celilo Falls, the major Indian fishing area on the Columbia River.

1999 The Oregon state legislature holds a Day of Acknowlegement to recognize the past discimination earlier legislatures had sanctioned.

2000 Oregon removes all racist language from its Constitution.