54-40 or Fight

About this block

This block borrows its name from one of the 19th century's most memorable political slogans: "Fifty-four Forty or Fight," coined by Senator William Allen of Ohio in an 1844 speech and adopted as a rallying cry during James K. Polk's presidential campaign, demanding U.S. control of the disputed Oregon Country boundary up to the 54°40′ parallel against British claims. The slogan helped carry Polk to victory, though the two nations ultimately settled the boundary at the 49th parallel in 1846 rather than going to war, a line that still separates the western United States from Canada today. Quilters of the era regularly folded current events and political slogans into their pattern names, and since sewing was one of the few public outlets available to women who couldn't yet vote, a name like this stitched into a quilt could carry a quiet layer of political opinion along with the craft. This block, a nine-patch star design built from squares and triangles, with its written pattern directions traced to 1933, carried the old campaign cry into fabric nearly a century after the dispute was settled.