Tyler Harper, age 14, of Nashville, Tenn., for his question:

WHAT IS "FIFTY FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT"?

Fifty Four Forty or Fight was a slogan used during a boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain.

An 1818 treaty allowed both nations to occupy the Oregon Country,lying between 42 degrees and 54 40 degrees north latitude. In the 1830s and 1840s, American expansionists wanted to take the whole area, by force if necessary.

The dispute became a major issue in the 1844 presidential election campaign. The British wanted the southern boundary of British territory to follow the 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, and then to follow the river south and west. This would have given the British all of what is now western Washington. The Democrats said: "Fifty Four Forty or Fight."

When Democrat James K. Polk became president, the United States made a new treaty in 1846 that set 49 degrees as the boundary, except for Vancouver Island. The United States secured the land south of this line and Great Britain obtained the land to the north.