Who said 44-40 or die?

Answer 1

I'm going to assume you mean "54 40 or fight" because I can find no reference at all to "44-40 or die". I hope this is what you want. I found this: "The 1844 Democratic presidential candidate James K. Polk ran on a platform of taking control over the entire Oregon Territory and used the famous campaign slogan, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" (after the line of latitude serving as the northern boundary of Oregon at 54°40'). Polk's plan was to claim and go to war over the entire territory for the United States." Here: http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/5440orfight.htm