The Pacific Northwest, like many other regions of the United States, has been touted as the Promised Land. As early as the 1830s, "Oregon fever" brought missionaries, promoters, speculators, politicians, and settlers to the nation's far West. Spared the ravages of the Civil War and the scars of rapid northern industrialization, the region continued to offer Golden Opportunity. Its promise encompassed the bounties of sea and land, a mild and healthful...