quality:correction, structural:reformatting, stylistic:tone, structural:expansion
Partition of Oregon Country

When the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen, learned of the proposal Pakenham rejected, Aberdeen asked the U.S. to reopen negotiations, but Polk was unwilling unless the British made a proposal. With Britain moving toward free trade with the repeal of the Corn Laws, good trade relations with the U.S. were more important to Aberdeen than a distant territory. In February 1846, Louis McLane, the American minister in London, was told that Washington would look favorably on a British proposal to divide the continent at the 49th parallel. In June 1846, Pakenham presented an offer calling for a boundary line at the 49th parallel, with the exception that Britain would retain all of Vancouver Island, and there would be limited navigation rights for British subjects on the Columbia River until the expiration of the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1859. Polk and most of his Cabinet were prepared to accept the proposal. The Senate ratified the Oregon Treaty in a 41–14 vote. Polk's willingness to risk war with Britain had frightened many, but his tough negotiation tactics may have gained concessions from the British (particularly regarding the Columbia River) that a more conciliatory president might not have won.