54°40' or Fight
Item
Title
54°40' or Fight
Issue Date
25 October 1962
Issue
Vol. 69, No. 6
Description
Written after the resolution of the riots that took place at the University of Mississippi over the enrollment of Black student James Meredith.
It criticizes Alabama's governor-elect, George Wallace, for his confrontational approach to resisting integration, particularly his calling on the state police for support, which would pit them against other law enforcement brought in by the federal government.
Note: The title is a reference to the 19th century dispute between the U.S. and Britain over Oregon Country. The slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" was a call for the U.S. to claim not just that territory but to annex everything up to parallel 54°40′ -- that is, territory which is now Canada, up to the southern border of Alaska. In 1846, the boundary was settled at the more moderate parallel 49°.
It criticizes Alabama's governor-elect, George Wallace, for his confrontational approach to resisting integration, particularly his calling on the state police for support, which would pit them against other law enforcement brought in by the federal government.
Note: The title is a reference to the 19th century dispute between the U.S. and Britain over Oregon Country. The slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" was a call for the U.S. to claim not just that territory but to annex everything up to parallel 54°40′ -- that is, territory which is now Canada, up to the southern border of Alaska. In 1846, the boundary was settled at the more moderate parallel 49°.