The main consequence was the wars of religion.
The first set of people who
spurred American settlement of Oregon were American missionaries to Indians. November
29, 1847, thirteen of these missionaries, including Marcus Whitman and his wife
Narcissa were massacred by a party of Cayuse Native Americans (Whitman Massacre) for allegedly poisoning
200 natives in his medical care. This accusation is now understood to be as a
result of Whitman’s inability to end the measles outbreak among the Native
Americans, and as a result was held responsible for succeeding deaths.
