History Of Washington (state)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The history of Washington includes thousands of years of Native American history before Europeans arrived and began to establish territorial claims. The region was part of
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
from 1848 to 1853, after which it was separated from Oregon and established as
Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
following the efforts at the Monticello Convention. On November 11, 1889, Washington became the 42nd state of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Prehistory and cultures

Archaeological evidence shows that the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
was one of the first populated areas in North America. Both animal and human bones dating back to 13,000 years old have been found across Washington and evidence of
human habitation Housing refers to a property containing one or more shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and human right, playing a crit ...
in the
Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...
dates back to approximately 9,000 BCE, 3,000 to 5,000 years after massive flooding of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
which carved the Columbia Gorge. Anthropologists estimate there were 125 distinct Northwest tribes and 50 languages and dialects in existence before the arrival of Euro-Americans in this region. Throughout the
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
region, coastal tribes made use of the region's abundant natural resources, subsisting primarily on salmon, halibut, shellfish, and whale. Cedar was an important building material and was used by tribes to build both longhouses and large
canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
s. Clothing was also made from the bark of cedar trees. The Columbia River tribes became the richest of the Washington tribes through their control of Celilo Falls, historically the richest salmon fishing location in the Northwest. These falls on the Columbia River, east of present-day
The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles ( ;) formally the City of the Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port, the county seat of and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 United ...
, were part of the path millions of salmon took to spawn. The presence of private wealth among the more aggressive coastal tribes encouraged gender divisions, as women took on prominent roles as traders and men participated in warring and captive-taking with other tribes. The eastern tribes, called the Plateau tribes, survived through seasonal hunting, fishing, and gathering. Tribal work among the Plateau Indians was also gender-divided, with both men and women responsible for equal parts of the food supply. The principal tribes of the coastal areas include the Chinook, Lummi, Quinault,
Makah The Makah (; Makah: ') are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah I ...
, Quileute, and Snohomish. The Plateau tribes include the Klickitat, Cayuse, Nez Percé, Okanogan,
Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of North Central Idaho, north central Idaho, southeastern Washington (part of eastern Washington), and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. ...
,
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
, Wenatchee, and Yakama. Today, Washington contains more than 20 Indian reservations, the largest of which is for the Yakama. At Ozette, in the northwest corner of the state, an ancient village was covered by a mud slide, perhaps triggered by an earthquake about 500 years ago. More than 50,000 well-preserved artifacts have been found and cataloged, many of which are now on display at the Makah Cultural and Research Center in Neah Bay. Other sites have also revealed how long people have been there. Thumbnail-sized quartz knife blades found at the Hoko River site near Clallam Bay are believed to be 2,500 years old.


European Colony


Early European and American exploration

The first
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an record of a landing on the future
Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
coast was in 1774 by
Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...
mariner Juan José Pérez Hernández (c.1725-1775), sailing for the
Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
/
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. One year later, another Spanish-
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Captain Don Bruna de Heceta (1747-1807), on board the ''Santiago'', part of a two-ship flotilla with the accompanying ''Sonora'', landed near the mouth of the Quinault River and claimed the coastal lands for
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
as far north up to the already present colonists of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
possessions, originally discovered / claimed by Captain
Vitus Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering ( , , ; baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering (), was a Danish-born Russia ...
(1681-1741), (a Danish mariner sailing the coasts of the northern Pacific for
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and its rapidly expanding
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
across the
Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...
and
Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...
(named for him) coming from eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
and
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
) further up the Pacific coast in
Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
since the
1740s File:1740s montage.jpg, 335x335px, From top left, clockwise: The War of Jenkins' Ear, a conflict between the British and Spanish Empires lasting from 1739 to 1748. The War of the Austrian Succession from 1740 to 1748, caused by the death of Empero ...
(modern
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
, purchased by the United States in 1867). In 1778, the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
explorer Captain
James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
(1728-1779), sighted Cape Flattery, at the entrance of the
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
at the
Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The Canada–United States border, international boundary between Canada and the ...
. But the strait itself was not found until almost a decade later when Charles William Barkley (c.1759-1832), captain of the ''
Imperial Eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...
'', sighted it in 1787. Captain Barkley named it for the earlier
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
-
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
explorer Juan de Fuca (1536-1602). The Spanish-British treaties of the
Nootka Convention The Nootka Sound Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s, which averted a war between the two countries over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific No ...
s of the 1790s ended Spanish exclusivity and opened the Northwest North America Coast to explorers and traders from other nations, most important being the future British, Russians, and Americans of the United States. Further explorations of the straits were performed again by Spanish-
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
vian explorer Manuel Quimper (1757-1844), in 1790 and a year later by Francisco de Eliza (1759-1825), in 1791 and then the following year of 1792, came the arrival by British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Captain
George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...
(1757-1798). Captain Vancouver claimed the sound and coast for Britain and named the waters originally to the far south of the Tacoma Narrows as the Puget's Sound, in honor of
Peter Puget Peter Puget (1765 – 31 October 1822) was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his exploration of Puget Sound, which is named for him. Midshipman Puget Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the ...
(1765-1822), (who was the young
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
naval lieutenant accompanying him on the
Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...
of 1791-1795, (later in his naval career he became a
rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
). The name later came to be used also for the waters north of the Tacoma Narrows as well. Captain Vancouver and his expedition mapped the Pacific coast of western
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
in 1792 to 1794, including the then large tract of the
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
composed later of future
territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
/ then
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
and Washington /
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, plus to the north of the
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
colonies of
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
of the
Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia. ...
on off-shore
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
and the mainland's Columbia District / then later renamed Department, on the continent. Then subsequently after several decades in 1858 / 1866 into the
Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...
, eventually merging the island and mainland becoming by 1866, the modern
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, later joining the 1867
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
formed further east of the
Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...
four years later in 1871 as the western-most
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
) in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
region.Captain Robert Gray (1755-1806) (for whom Grays Harbor County in Washington was named), a civilian
sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...
of a merchantman cargo vessel, discovered the mouth of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
along the West Coast of the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
continent in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
region in 1792, naming the river after his ship ''"Columbia"'' and later establishing a trade in
sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...
,
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...
and
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...
fur pelts in the surrounding
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
region. The
Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
(1804-1806), with their Corps of Discovery sent by the direction of third
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
(1743-1826, served 1801-1809), entered the region from the east on October 10, 1805, having journeyed upstream on the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
and through the passes in the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
chain, then downstream through the
Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...
and
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
valleys to the coast. Explorers and scientific observers
Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...
(1774-1809), and
William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
(1770-1838), were surprised by the differences in the various Native Americans / Indian tribes in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
from those they had encountered earlier in the expedition trip on the
Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
, noting, in particular, the increased status of women among both coastal and upper plateau / mountain tribes. Lewis hypothesized that the equality of women and the elderly with men, was linked to more evenly distributed economic roles. British / Canadian explorer, surveyor / cartographer and fur trader David Thompson (1770-1857), extensively explored the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
two years later, commencing in 1807. Four years later in 1811, he became the first European to navigate the entire length of the river westward downstream to its mouth on the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Along the way he posted a notice where it joins the
Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...
claiming the land for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
(
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
/
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
), and stating the intention of their
North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...
to build a fort and trading post there. Subsequently, the Fort Nez Perces trading post, was established (near present-day
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...
). Thompson's posted notice was later found by the party of Astorians of
John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...
(1763-1848) looking to establish an inland fur trading post / station. It contributed to American mercantile fur trader leader David Stuart (1765-1853)'s choice, on behalf of the competing Americans' and Astor's short-lived
Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of G ...
(1810-1813), of choosing a more northerly site for their operations which were then established at
Fort Okanogan Fort Okanogan (also spelled Fort Okanagan but only by nonresident Canadians) was founded in 1811 on the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers as a fur trade outpost. Originally built for John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, it was ...
(in modern Okanogan County, near Brewster, Washington). By the time American settlers started arriving from the east in the
1830s The 1830s (pronounced "eighteen-thirties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1830, and ended on December 31, 1839. In this decade, the world saw a rapid rise of imperialism and colonialism, particularly in Asia and ...
, a population of
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
(mixed race) people had grown from centuries of contact with early-
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an fur traders partnering with Native American women. Before larger numbers of Caucasian
European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...
women began moving to the territory from the east and the United States in the
1830s The 1830s (pronounced "eighteen-thirties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1830, and ended on December 31, 1839. In this decade, the world saw a rapid rise of imperialism and colonialism, particularly in Asia and ...
, traders and fur trade workers generally sought out Métis or Native American women for wives and companionship or for domestic chores. Early European-Indigenous mixed ancestry settlements resulted from these partnerships as an outgrowth of the fur trade then growing into the work of agriculture raising small crops of grain and vegetables harvested for food at: Cowlitz Prairie (
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...
) and Frenchtown, Washington ( Fort Nez Percés).


American–British joint occupation disputes

American interests in the region grew as part of their concept of
manifest destiny Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...
.
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
had ceded their rights north of the 42nd Parallel to the United States by the terms of the earlier 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty, (but not possession, which was disallowed by the terms of the Nootka Conventions). Britain had long-standing commercial interests through the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
and a well-established network of fur trading stations and forts along the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
in what it called the
Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...
. These were headquartered from
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...
in present-day Vancouver, Washington. By the
Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...
, following from the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
(1812-1815), Great Britain and the United States established the 49th parallel as the international border stretching west to the
Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
of the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
; but agreed to temporary joint control and occupancy of the
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
/
Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...
for the next few years. In 1824, the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
) signed an agreement with the U.S. acknowledging it had no claims south of the parallel line 54-40 of latitude north and Russia signed a similar treaty with Britain the following in 1825, thereby establishing the southern limits of its coastal possessions in
Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
(modern
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
) in the northwestern corner of the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n continent until its sale to the U.S. 43 years later in 1867. British-American joint occupancy was renewed, but on a year-to-year basis in 1827. Eventually, increased tension between U.S. settlers arriving by way of the
Oregon trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
and already resident
fur traders The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
led to the intensified
Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...
, a major political issue in the American 1844 presidential election. It resulting in the election victory of 11th
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...
(1795-1849, served 1845-1849), of
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
with his expansionist foreign policies. Two years later, on June 15, 1846, Britain ceded its claims to the lands south of the 49th parallel, and the U.S. ceded its claims to the north of the same line, resulting in the present-day Canada–U.S. international border, resulting in the amicable splitting of the Oregon/Columbia territory along the 49th parallel line, extending it westward from the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
through the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
chain all the way to the west coast at the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
(with the exception of the off-shore
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
, assigned to Britain) between the two nations, in the negotiated
Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...
of 1846. A quarter-century later in 1872, an additional arbitration process settled the minor boundary dispute from the so-called Pig War of 1859 and established the U.S.A.–Canada border line through the off-shore
San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...
and
Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia Coast, mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by Geor ...
on the Pacific coast.


Part of Oregon Territory (1846–1853)

In 1848, the
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
, composed of present-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho as well as parts of Montana and Wyoming, was established. Settlements in the eastern part of the state were largely agricultural and focused around missionary establishments in the Walla Walla Valley. Missionaries attempted to 'civilize' the Indians, often in ways that disregarded or misunderstood native practices. When missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and Narcissa Whitman refused to leave their mission as racial tensions mounted in 1847, 13 American missionaries were killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. Explanations of the 1847 Whitman massacre in Walla Walla include outbreaks of disease, resentment over harsh attempts at conversion of both religion and way of life, and contempt of the native Indians shown by the missionaries, particularly by Narcissa Whitman, the first white American woman in the Oregon Territory. This event triggered the Cayuse War against the Natives, wherein the Provisional Legislature of Oregon in 1847 immediately raised companies of volunteers to go to war, if necessary, against the Cayuse, and, to the discontent of some of the militia leaders, also sent a peace commission. The
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
later came to support the militia forces. These militia forces, eager for action, provoked both friendly and hostile Indians. In 1850, five Cayuse were convicted for murdering the Whitmans in 1847 and hanged. Sporadic bloodshed continued until 1855, when the Cayuse were decimated, defeated, bereft of their tribal lands, and placed on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeastern Oregon. As American settlers moved west along the Oregon Trail, some traveled through the northern part of the Oregon Territory and settled in the Puget Sound area. The first European settlement in the
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
area in the west of present-day Washington State came in 1833 at the British
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
's
Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trade, fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a ...
, a farm and fur-trading post later operated by the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company (incorporated in 1840), a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company. Washington's pioneer founder, Michael Simmons, along with the black pioneer George Washington Bush and his Caucasian wife, Isabella James Bush, from
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
and
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, respectively, led four white families into the territory and settled New Market, now known as Tumwater, in 1846. They settled in Washington to avoid Oregon's racist settlement-laws. After them, many more settlers, migrating overland along the
Oregon trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
, wandered north to settle in the
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
area.


Washington Territory (1853–1889)

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, which included Washington and pieces of Idaho and Montana, was formed from Oregon Territory in 1853. Isaac Ingalls Stevens, a
Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
veteran, had heavily supported the candidacy of President
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...
, a fellow veteran. In 1853 Stevens successfully applied to President Pierce for the governorship of the new Washington Territory, a post that also carried the title of Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Lumber industries drew settlers to the territory. Coastal cities, like
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
(founded in 1851 and originally called "Duwamps"), were established. Though wagon trains had previously carried entire families to the Oregon Territory, these early trading settlements were populated primarily with single young men. Liquor, gambling, and prostitution were ubiquitous, supported in Seattle by one of the city's founders, David Swinson "Doc" Maynard, who believed that well-run prostitution could be a functional part of the economy. The
Fraser Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's c ...
in what would, as a result, become the
Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...
saw a flurry of settlement and merchant activity in northern Puget Sound which gave birth to Port Townsend (in 1851) and Whatcom (founded in 1858, later becoming Bellingham) as commercial centres, at first attempting to rival Victoria on Vancouver Island as a disembarkation point of the goldfields until the governor of the
Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia. ...
ordered that all traffic to the Fraser River go via Victoria. Despite the limitation on goldfield-related commerce, many men who left the "Fraser River Humbug" (as the rush was for a while misnamed) settled in Whatcom and Island counties. Some of these were settlers on San Juan Island during the Pig War of 1859. Upon the admission of the State of
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
to the union in 1859, the eastern portions of the
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
, including southern
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, portions of
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
west of the continental divide (then
Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...
), and a small portion of present-day
Ravalli County, Montana Ravalli County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,174. Its county seat is Hamilton. Ravalli County is part of a north–south mountain valley bordered by the Sapphi ...
were annexed to the Washington Territory. In 1863, the area of Washington Territory east of the Snake River and the 117th meridian west was reorganized as part of the newly formed
Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory ...
, leaving that territory with only the lands within the current boundaries of the State of Washington.


The "Indian Wars" (1855–1858)

The conflicts over the possession of land between the Indians and the American settlers led the Americans in 1855, by the treaties at the Walla Walla Council, to coerce not only the Cayuse, but also the Walla Walla and the Umatilla tribes, to the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeastern Oregon; fourteen other tribal groups to the Yakama Indian Reservation in southern Washington State; and the
Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...
to a reservation in the border region of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. That same year, gold was discovered in the newly established Yakama reservation and white miners encroached upon these lands, with Washington Territory beginning to consider annexing them. While Governor Stevens generally avoided some of the more
genocidal Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" b ...
rhetoric that was popular among some settlers, historian David M. Buerge charges that Stevens' "timetable asreckless;
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
the whole enterprise was organized in profound ignorance of native society, culture, and history,” and that “ e twenty-thousand-odd aboriginal inhabitants who were assumed to be in rapid decline, were given a brutal choice: they would adapt to white society or they could disappear.” A treaty was presented to Chief Leschi of the
Nisqually Nisqually, Niskwalli, or Nisqualli may refer to: People * Nisqually people, a Coast Salish ethnic group * Nisqually Indian Tribe of the Nisqually Reservation, federally recognized tribe ** Nisqually Indian Reservation, the tribe's reservation in ...
(along with other tribes), and while it provided concessions such as fishing rights, the main crux of the so-called Treaty of Medicine Creek was that it required: "The said tribes and bands of Indians hereby cede, relinquish and convey to the United States, all their right, title, and interest in and to the lands and country occupied by them." Leschi was outraged and pulled out of the negotiations, preferring war to the loss of his tribe's ancestral lands. While it is not clear who fired the first shots, this standoff quickly escalated into violence as Washington Territorial militias began to exchange fire with Nisqually soldiers. This conflict would come to be known as the
Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muck ...
. In 1856, Chief Leschi of the Nisqually was finally captured after one of the largest battles of the war. Stevens, who was seeking to punish Leschi for what he considered a troublesome revolt, had Leschi charged with the murder of a member of the Washingtonian militia. Leschi's argument in his defense was that he was not at the scene of the killing, but that even if he was the killing had been an act of war and was thus not murder. The initial trial ended in a hung jury after the judge told jurors that if they believed the killing of the militiaman was an act of war, they could not find Leschi guilty of murder. A second trial, without this note to the jury, ended in Leschi being convicted of murder and sentenced to execution. Interference by those who opposed the execution were able to stall it for months, but in the end they could not prevent it. Chief Leschi was formally exonerated of his crimes in 2014. Concurrent with the Nisqually negotiations, tensions with other local tribes also continued to escalate. In one instance a group of Washingtonians assaulted and murdered a Yakama mother, her daughter, and her newborn infant. The woman's husband Mosheel, the son of the Yakama tribe's chieftain, gathered up a posse, tracked down the miners and killed them. The Bureau of Indian Affairs sent out an agent named Andrew Bolon to investigate, but before reaching the crime scene the chief of the Yakama intercepted him and warned Bolon that Mosheel was too dangerous to be taken in. Taking heed of this warning, Bolon decided to return to the Bureau to report his findings. He joined a traveling group of Yakama on his return trip, and while they walked he told them why he was in the area, about the unexplained murder that had happened. Unbeknownst to Bolon, the rest of the trip would be taken up by argument between the natives in a language he did not understand, as the leader of the group, Mosheel, argued for the murder of Bolon. Before he was stabbed in the throat, Bolon reportedly yelled in Chinook dialect, "I did not come to fight you!" Washington Territory immediately mobilized for war, and sent the Territorial Militia to put down what it saw as a rebellion. The tribes - first the Yakama, eventually joined by the Walla Walla and the Cayuse - united together to fight the Americans in what is called the Yakima War. The U.S. Army sent troops and a number of raids and battles took place. In 1858, the Americans, at the
Battle of Four Lakes The Battle of Four Lakes was a battle during the Coeur d'Alene War of 1858 in the Washington Territory (now the states of Washington and Idaho) in the United States. The Coeur d'Alene War was part of the Yakima War, which began in 1855. The bat ...
, defeated the Natives decisively. In a newly imposed treaty, tribes were, again, confined to reservations. The
Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muck ...
of 1855–1856, the Yakima War of 1855–1858, and the Spokane War of 1858, all happened simultaneously and were generally referred to by the Washingtonian settlers as the "Indian Wars". Fighting raged in the
Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...
and spilled out into larger battles such as the Battle of Seattle, with both sides committing atrocities. Stevens led his soldiers on the frontlines, doing battle with the Natives in vicious encounters across the State. While eventually Federal General John E Wool arrived and tried to take control of the US’ forces in order to centralize the chain of command, his reportedly elitist attitude and belief that the Washingtonian whites had caused the war meant he lost the loyalty of the volunteer driven militias who mostly stayed de facto under the command of Stevens. In addition, raids by Haida,
Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...
and other northern tribes from British and Russian territory terrorized Native Americans and settlers alike in Puget Sound in the 1850s (note the events associated with Port Gamble in 1856–1857). Miners bound for the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in British Columbia in 1858 using the
Okanagan Trail The Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from the Lower Columbia region of the Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858–1859. The route was essentially the same as that used by the Hudson's Bay Company fur brig ...
traveled under arms, and many instances of violence occurred along the route.


Stevens era political struggle

Throughout the existence of
Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens proved the defining character of the political landscape. His hawkish and
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
tendencies were often at odds with the desires of the
territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
and Federal governments. In addition, as both an
anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
and
anti-federalist The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles ...
stronghold, Washington's position in the union was unclear as the nation approached its impending
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Generally, citizens of Washington where highly anti-federalist, seeing the national government as greedy kleptocrats interfering in Washingtonian business. Despite this, the Federally mandated Stevens was often more popular with the Washingtonian people than the actual local elected government (despite the controversy surrounding him). As the nation approached civil war, national politics were in the midst of a great transition. The Whig party had recently collapsed and virtually disappeared from politics, and the newly formed Republicans were not yet a factor. This combined with their anti-federalist tendencies led to a strong Democratic Party majority in the territory (despite their lack of slavery and progressiveness in certain areas), but party label seemed to count for very little. The real political division in the legislative assembly was whether you were pro-Stevens or anti-Stevens. The Indian Wars were controversial, as many who opposed Governor Stevens claimed they were unjust and that he had intentionally caused them, thereby costing many Washingtonians to lose their lives. This opposition would not grow any smaller when Stevens famously declared martial law: The decision was made unilaterally, without the support of the territorial or federal government. In Washington, many men from the Hudson Bay Company had married Native women during the early years of the Territory (before it was considered safe enough for white women). Stevens and his administration suspected these men of having covertly aided the Natives, and so upon the declaration of Martial Law they were immediately arrested and shipped off to Fort Steilacoom. In addition, Stevens was generally suspicious of many of the Whig supporters throughout the territory, and had them arrested or harassed. The territorial judiciary was outraged at this federal outsider overstepping his authority to trample on local rule of law, and Justices Francis Chenoweth and Edward Lander subsequently began a drawn out legal dispute with Stevens which threatened to spill the Territory into civil war. After Stevens ignored a
writ of habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
for the prisoners from Judge Lander, Lander responded by holding Stevens in
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...
and sending out a posse of
marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...
to retrieve the Governor. These marshals were expelled, and in return Stevens had Judge Lander arrested by his militias. Stevens then established a military committee for the trials of those held under militia custody. At this point, Chief Territorial Justice Francis Chenoweth, who was in the midst of recovering from an illness, left his home in
Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...
and travelled by canoe to Pierce County. Upon arriving, Chenoweth again began the process of issuing a writ of habeas corpus. News of Chenoweth's actions got to Stevens and he deployed a detachment of soldiers to shut down the court and arrest Chenoweth. While these volunteers were on route, Chenoweth ordered the Sheriff of Pierce County to summon the local posse under arms, and accordingly 50 men gathered to defend the court. Stevens’ territorial volunteers arrived at the courthouse demanding entrance to arrest Chenoweth, but the local militia held firm, and eventually soldiers from the local US Federal military base, led by Lt. Col. Silas Casey (who had previously written in sympathy of Chenoweth), arrived overlooking the town, with orders to intervene if shooting began. Fearing a shootout with both the Federal government and the territorial judiciary, Stevens’ men reluctantly pulled back after a drawn out negotiation between the three sides. Shortly afterwards, Judge Chenoweth ruled the declaration of Martial Law to be unconstitutional and said that the basis of insurrection justifying it had been greatly overblown by Stevens’ administration. The wrath of the Washington judiciary, legislature and public figures such as
Ezra Meeker Ezra Morgan Meeker (December 29, 1830December 3, 1928) was an American pioneer who traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon as a young man, migrating from Iowa to the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. Later in life he worked to ...
eventually forced Stevens to rescind the Martial Law order. While some pushed for his removal, President Pierce refused to take action against him (though he denounced the declaration of martial law), and many white settlers in Washington thought that the Anti-Stevens agitators were too sympathetic to the Natives.


The Washington People's Party

Because many Washingtonians did not feel they aligned with either the Republicans or Democrats, early on in the history of the territory a popular third party was founded, called the People's Party. The existence and prominence of this party is widely corroborated, with the official History of the Washington State Legislature claiming for example that former Republican Governor Dr. W.A. Newell ran as a People's Party candidate, and that in the 1887 Legislative council, 6 members were Republicans, 4 were Democrats, and 2 were from the People's Party. Most sources state that it was formed after a defection of Democrats and some
anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
Republicans from their parties. Despite this, the party's actual members,
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
, goals, achievements, and even the date of its foundation is somewhat difficult to place due to conflicting primary sources and a lack of secondary analysis. The official History of the Washington State Legislature states "As had been the case in 1882, in Thurston County, Democrats and anti-administration Republicans joined to form the People’s Party". However a Washington local newspaper in 1865 listed the People's Party as one of the main competing parties in an election. As far back as 1854, newspapers mentioned ending talk of a "people's party", though it is not clear whether they were referring to an actually established party or a concept. It seems likely that the party had been established by at least 1874, as multiple primary sources attest to some kind of People's Party existing at the time. The beliefs and allegiances of this party are also somewhat unclear. The official history and certain newspapers from the 1870s labelled the People's Party as nothing but radical
Bourbon Democrat Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century and early 20th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with fiscal conservatism or classical liberalism, es ...
s, who were effectively members of the Democrats. However other sources seemed to dispute this, with one newspaper claiming that the People's Party and the Republicans were working together against the Democrats. These early sources tend to paint the People's Party as having been ideologically
Populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
, opposing the corruption and
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
that was common throughout the country at the time, the partisanship of the two political parties, and the culture of political bossism, preferring a more Washingtonian association free from strict partisan lines. Despite many testimonies to the idea that the People's Party were simply a populist offshoot of the conservative Democrats, the Snohomish People's Party platform of 1886 paints a very different picture. In it the party is portrayed more as a populist quasi-
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
laborite party, which believed that capitalists controlled the national Congress, and that a party for the Washingtonian working class was needed to fight for its interests. This version of the party advocated busting monopolies, increasing safety regulations, equal pay for all regardless of race, sex, or creed,
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
, the abolition of convict labor, the abolition of child labor, and the use of public land by settlers rather than corporations. Notably, this party platform also displayed intense
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
, anti-foreigner, and anti-Asian sentiments, calling for the end of the importation of “hordes of heathen slaves” from the “Mongolian Empire” into America by business owners, the restriction of their right to own property, and the deportation of existing Chinese peoples. This version of the party also fits into the noted debate during the late 1880s over whether the People's Party was officially affiliated with the
Knights of Labor The Knights of Labor (K of L), officially the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the largest American labor movement of the 19th century, claiming for a time nearly one million members. It operated in the United States as well in ...
, with whom many members were shared. Another complicating factor is the founding of the broader national People's Party in 1892, seemingly unaffiliated with the early People's Party in Washington. The views of this party would align with the later 1880s descriptions of the party, making it possible either that the Washington People's Party described in the 1880s was a separate party than the earlier one, or that over time the party had shifted from a Conservative to a more Progressive position. This would be supported by the official History of the Washington State Legislature, as it noted that in 1893 the People's Party merged with the local progressive Farmer's Alliance, whose national body had become the national People's Party a year prior. The third governor of Washington state, John Rankin Rogers, was elected as a member of the People's Party in 1897.


Civil War and rise of the Republican Party

While Washington territory was one of the least involved regions of the Union during the US Civil War, it nonetheless had a major impact on the territory. Despite anti-federalist sympathies and Democratic party dominance, there was never a strong secessionist movement in Washington state. While many were sympathetic to the cause of the Confederacy, the lack of slavery in the territory combined with its weariness after the Indian Wars gave it no real incentive to join ranks with the Confederates. Because of Washington's distance and complicated relationship with the war in general, it never sent a division into battle during the Civil War. This does not mean it was totally uninvolved though. The Washington Territory Volunteer Militia was formed by
Justus Steinberger Justus Steinberger, (c. 1825–1870) was Colonel of the 1st Regiment Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. Born in Pennsylvania, before the Civil War he was employed as agent for the Pacific Mail Steamship C ...
, who was able to recruit roughly two divisions from Washington civilians. The Volunteer soldiers who served in Washington did not fight against the Confederacy, but instead garrisoned the few posts in Washington that were not abandoned at the beginning of the war. They also protected communications routes between the western and eastern United States in Oregon and Idaho from the Indians and against the threat of foreign intervention on the Pacific coast by
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
that never materialized. On December 28, 1861, during the ongoing ''Trent'' Affair,
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of the
Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...
James Douglas wrote to
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (22 May 181118 October 1864), styled Earl of Lincoln before 1851, was a British politician and aristocrat. He sat in Parliament for South Nottinghamshire (1832–46) and fo ...
, arguing that Britain should seize the Washington Territory while the US was preoccupied with the Civil War. He reasoned this was possible because there were little to no US troops stationed in the region since most other units stationed there were off to war in the East, the territory's population was scattered, and there were only a few U.S. naval ships in the area. He also said the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and
Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
were powerful and could easily do the job, ending with a statement that "with
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
, and the line of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
in our hands, we should hold the only navigable outlets of the country—command its trade, and soon compel it to submit to Her Majesty’s Rule." British officials instead chose to pass on his proposal so as not to risk war with the United States. The muddled attitude of the Territory would be exemplified by attitudes of the former governors of the state. Former governor Fayette McMullen would go on to join the
Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...
and help fight with his southern Democratic brethren. Richard Golson would resign from office, refusing to serve under a Republican president, and would return to his family plantation and help them relocate their slaves and assets to
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.
Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represe ...
on the other hand would (somewhat surprisingly) give up political office and head back east to join the Union Army as a general. He was killed in action at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862, after picking up the fallen regimental colors of his old regiment, shouting "Highlanders, my Highlanders, follow your general!" Charging with his troops while carrying the banner of Saint Andrew's Cross, Stevens was struck in the temple by a bullet and died instantly. During this period there was also a political shift, as the state began moving away from the Democrats and to the growing Republican Party. This in part began after President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
appointed William H. Wallace as the first Republican Governor of the territory. Shortly thereafter Colonel Wallace received the Republican nomination for Congress. After Stevens had left the territory, his Democratic successor, Selucius Garfielde was generally disliked and seem as an opportunist. This led to a split in the Democratic Party between Garfielde and his opponents, allowing Wallace and the Republican Party to win control of the Territory. Union supporters were upset that the legislature had not adopted a strong stand in support of the Union. Party lines continued to deteriorate as the main single issue now was the Civil War. Republicans referred to Democrats as
Copperheads Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or eastern copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * '' Agkistrodon laticinctus'', or broad-banded copperhead, a pit viper species found in the southe ...
and the Republicans were in turn called
Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...
or Black Republicans by the Democrats. While on paper, the Democrats maintained substantial majorities in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, in reality, it was hard to tell where people stood and loyalties were continually shifting depending upon where one stood on the war,
abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
, and on location of the capital. Minor outbreaks of violence were commonplace, with Republican and Democratic newspaper publishers being shot multiple times during this period. In 1864 the elections returned another victory for the Democrats, but they were deeply divided and engaged in many public quarrels, injuring their popularity. This combined with the end of the war and the death of Lincoln would all contribute to their fall in popularity. In the election of 1865 the Republicans won their first victory in the Legislature, finally ending the era of Democratic dominance. The new southern president
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
(Lincoln's compromise vice president) tried to remove Republican governor William Pickering for his criticisms of how the Johnson administration was handling
reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
, offering a Democrat named George Cole as his replacement. Initially Pickering tried to fight this decision but eventually conceded. At this time, Washington was still very politically split, with the growing conflict between Conservative Republican and Radical Republican factions on Reconstruction causing them to narrowly lose their majority. The Democrats too remained split between the pro-Federalist Moderates and anti-Federalist Copperheads. In general though, the previously somewhat contentious stance of pro-Federalism had solidified and instead most controversy surrounded Reconstruction and President Johnson, which was much more split. While the extreme division led to an unproductive session of the Legislature, the one major achievement was the creation of a standardized education system. Early the next year when the National Congress finally reconvened, the majority Moderate Republican US congress removed Governor George Cole, who had been chosen independently by their archnemesis Andrew Johnson.


Anti-Asian violence

Due to increasing amounts of cheap Chinese labor replacing white labor throughout Washington, many of the growing progressive and
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
movements were deeply intertwined with anti-Asian sentiment. Asian people were seen as universally backwards and inferior, slave-like creatures who were being flooded into the country by wealthy business owners to put real Americans out of their jobs, despite the fact that many had arrived in the region at the same time or earlier than many of the White settlers. During this period, roughly from the mid-1880s to the late 19th century, anti-Asian hate crimes would dramatically increase, ultimately leading to the
mass deportation Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementary parti ...
of established
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
communities. In 1885 labor tensions led to a calculated Anti-Chinese riot in Tacoma wherein vigilante groups hundreds strong forcefully broke into the homes of any Asians who had not fled the city and brutally assaulted them. By the end of the three days of terror, all 700 Chinese Americans in Tacoma had fled, as their homes and businesses were reduced to ashes.Englesberg, Paul. (2014). Tacoma Anti-Chinese Riot of 1885. In ''Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History'' (Vol. 3, pp. 1063). Inspired by the success of the Tacoma Riot, Anti-Chinese Committees were formed throughout the territory. These organizations were led by the newly founded Washington Territorial Anti-Chinese Congress, who jointly declared that by the end of 1885 all Chinamen were to have left the city or face consequences. As they gained immense popularity they began to pool funds and catalog the Chinese residents throughout Seattle. In 1886 rioters associated with the
Knights of Labor The Knights of Labor (K of L), officially the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the largest American labor movement of the 19th century, claiming for a time nearly one million members. It operated in the United States as well in ...
and organized by the Anti-Chinese Congress began a violent riot in Seattle. Going door to door the Committees broke into Chinese owned homes and businesses, kidnapping Chinese residents with the intent of forcing all of them out of Seattle by train or ferry. Meanwhile, more unorganized mobs of angry White citizens began to ransack Chinese areas of the city and accost any Asians they could find. The city broke down into anarchy and governor Watson C. Squire ordered
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
. A militia called the Seattle's Rifles was quickly formed to deal with the rioters and protect the Chinese citizens who had been abducted from their homes and dragged out into the streets. This militia was led by future state governor and at that time current Seattle Sheriff
John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...
, who was sympathetic to the Knights of Labor but opposed the violent deportation of the Chinese, leading to his relatively centrist position on the affair. Coming into contact with a large mob holding 350 Chinese people in captivity, the Seattle Rifles attempted negotiation before forcefully barging through the crowd, taking the victims into custody, and arresting the leaders of the mob. Rioters tried to wrangle control of the rifles, leading to shots ringing out, whereafter two militia members and three rioters were seriously injured. The riot quickly spiraled into a gunfight. Amidst the fighting, the Seattle Rangers were mostly able to protect the Chinese citizens in their custody, but in the places they could not reach many Chinese people were successfully shipped out of the city. A few days later president
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
ordered Governor Squire to lift Martial Law, as most of the riots had ended, though illegal efforts to deport the Chinese continued (with some success). In the aftermath of the riots, none of the perpetrators would be charged, and the money that the courts allotted for damages to the Chinese citizens were never received. Both the city mayor and McGraw would be unseated in the next elections, primarily for their actions in helping the Chinese. Due to the increased animosity and tension, most Asian citizens in Washington territory would in the following months either migrate to more friendly cities or return to China.


Statehood and moderate era (1889–1895)

After the passage of the Enabling Act of 1889, Washington became the 42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889. The proposed state constitution, passed by a four-to-one ratio, originally included
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
and
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
, but both of these issues were defeated and removed from the accepted constitution. Women had previously been given the vote in 1883 by the Washington Territorial Legislature, but the right was rescinded in 1887 by the Washington Territorial Supreme Court as a response to female support of prohibition. Despite these initial defeats, women in the Pacific Northwest received the right to vote earlier than the rest of the country, with Washington passing a suffrage amendment in 1910. Prohibition followed in 1916, two years before the rest of the nation. Narrowly winning election, Republican Elisha P Ferry, former Territorial Governor from almost a decade earlier and
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
veteran took office as the first governor of Washington State. In the debate over whether Washington's land should be privatized or made public, with Western citizens preferring the former and Eastern citizens preferring the latter, Ferry tried to take a neutral stance. However his commission failed to resolve the dispute in the allotted time allowing the land to fall into the hands of corporations, which led to allegations that he was in the pocket of corporations. The same inference was drawn when Ferry called on the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
to put down a miners' strike. Following a costly fire, a local mining company had decided to cut expenses by replacing white mineworkers with black workers at lower wages. The longer the strike lasted, the more the employers saw the advantages of using black labor, and this became their standard policy. Proposals to regulate the railroads and an “Anti-Pinkerton” bill banning the employment of private union busters both were vetoed by temporary acting Governor Laughton, leading to increased support for Populist ideas. Upon his return to the capital Governor Elisha P Ferry essentially ignored the entire issue, leaving Laughton to be the scapegoat.In 1890, while nationally Democrats won in a landslide, in Washington their gains were only meager, and they remained the minority. During the 1880s Washington had become more and more prosperous, but the Eastern agricultural areas did not share in the prosperity of the cities. In part this was caused by the highly monopolized nature of the new railroads. In addition, rising economic issues led to a crash in 1893 which proved disastrous for the Washingtonian people. This caused a rise in Agrarian Populism throughout the state, and the populists within Washington, who had previously been only a tertiary factor in state/territorial politics began to grow into a defining element.


Early economy

Early prominent industries in the state included agriculture, lumber, and mining. In eastern Washington,
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
was a major hub of mining activity and the Yakima Valley was known for its apple orchards and wheat fields. The heavy rainfall to the west of the
Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
produced dense forests and the ports along Puget Sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the Douglas fir. In 1905, Washington State became the largest producer of lumber in the nation.
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
was the primary port for trade with Alaska and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. Other industries that developed in Washington include fishing, salmon canning, and mining. For an extended period of time, Tacoma was known for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including World War I and World War II and the
Boeing Company The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
became an established icon in the area.


The Populist explosion (1895–1904)

By 1892, the Populists were beginning to push through the roadblocks placed in front of them by the Moderate Republicans. The regulations vetoed by acting Governor Laughton, despite the protests of major lobbyists from the
Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
, were almost unanimously overridden and signed into law by the new Republican Governor
John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...
. The backlash to Laughton was so severe that the
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
passed a bill to abolish the position of
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
entirely, though it failed in the
senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. Despite these successes for the Populists, they remained a minority (if now a sizeable one) in the State Congress, and the Northern Pacific Railroad had managed to extract concessions from the Republicans, causing the failure of any bills directly trying to regulate the railroads. This would lead to a further rise in Populism, led by a young People's Party member named John Rogers. During the 1895 session, Rogers successfully passed the "Barefoot School-boy" act despite heavy resistance from urban liberals, and unsuccessfully opposed the creation of a state capitol as he believed it was a waste of money. As the national conversation around the silver and gold standard heated up, the dominant Republican Party fractured, with part of it forming the Silver Republicans, which was a more populist alternative to the Republicans. While many of the former Democrats within the People's Party viewed the Silver Republican Party with suspicion, other more pragmatic members convinced them to cooperate. Recognizing their popularity and shared interest, as well as their lack of ability to beat the Republicans individually, the People's Party, Silver Republican Party, and Democratic Party formed a fusion ticket despite great internal conflict. The People's Party dominated the House, having four times more seats than the second largest party the Republicans. John Rogers was also elected as the third governor of Washington State, making him the first and only third-party candidate to win such a high office in the state. Despite this amazing victory, the fusion proved unstable, and in many cases they were just as slow to make decisions as the Republicans had been. A cornerstone of the Populist platform, the creation of a Railroad Commission, failed in the House by one vote. With their main focus obstructed, their coalition grew increasingly unstable. With internal struggle rumors of corruption began to fly, and the People's Party began to turn on itself and view figures like Rogers with suspicion. Despite these failures, under Rogers the economy saw a revival, which actually worked against him, further shifting political opinion back to moderatism. By 1899 the Populist movement had effectively disintegrated, and failed to pass other proposals such as a
Georgist Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that people should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—includ ...
land value tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land (economics), land without regard to buildings, personal property and other land improvement, improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic efficiency, ec ...
and
female suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffrage was in effect during ...
. In a surprise for the Republicans, who were expecting and did receive a general sweep in the 1900 elections, Rogers who had formally switched parties and joined the Democrats, was re-elected as governor. This upset was not long to last though, as in 1901 Rogers unexpectedly died. The line of succession promoted the Lieutenant Governor, a Republican named Henry McBride into the office, but rather than reverse Rogers' reforms, McBride actually furthered them. As a progressive Republican, McBride also saw corporations and lobbyists as an impediment to the growth of the state, and strongly pushed for busting monopolies. Under McBride the Republican Party shifted into support of a Railroad Commission in order to separate the railroads from politics, and after the "hardest floor battle" in a decade, with his support the commission finally came into being. With these victories McBride was generally very popular, but his own Republican Party which was heavily supported by, and as many claimed controlled by the railroad companies, began to conspire in order to prevent his re-election. To this effect after an extended political struggle, the Republican Party voted not to renominate McBride for the 1904 elections. He would later be applauded by historians as one of the state's best governors. While in the short term, the Populist program was a failure and the fusion party quickly died, within twenty years almost all of their major points would become law. These points included the
direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...
of Senators,
initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...
,
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
and recall, a Railroad Commission, and municipal ownership of utilities.


Progressive era

The progressive force of the early 20th century in Washington stemmed partially from the women's club movement which offered opportunities for leadership and political power to tens of thousands of women in the Pacific Northwest region.


1920s

Bertha Knight Landes was elected mayor of Seattle in 1926, the first woman mayor of a major city in the United States. In 1924, Seattle's Sand Point Airfield was the endpoint of the first aerial circumnavigation of the world.


Great Depression

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
became the endpoint for two ultra-long flights from
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, USSR over the North Pole. The first of these flights were performed by
Valery Chkalov Valery Pavlovich Chkalov (; ; – 15 December 1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936). Early life Chkalov was born to a Russian family in 1904 in the upper Volga region, the town of Chkalovsk, Russia, Vasi ...
in 1937 on a
Tupolev ANT-25 The Tupolev ANT-25 was a Soviet long-range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber. First constructed in 1933, it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record-breaking flights. Development The ANT-25 was designed as the r ...
RD airplane. Chkalov was originally scheduled to land at an airstrip in nearby
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
but redirected at the last minute to Vancouver's Pearson Airfield. During the depression era, a series of
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
s were constructed along the Columbia River as part of a project to increase the production of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the
Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...
, the largest in the United States.


World War II

During World War II, the Puget Sound area became a focus for war industries with the Boeing Company producing many of the nation's
heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually Aerial bomb, bombs) and longest range (aeronautics), range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy ...
s and ports in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Bremerton,
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, and Tacoma available for the manufacturing of ships for the war effort. As the demand for labor and the number of young men drafted for service increased simultaneously, women entered the workforce in large numbers, recruited by local media. One-fourth of the laborers in shipyards were women, resulting in the installation of one of the first government-funded child-care centers in the workplace. In eastern Washington, the Hanford Works
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of the nation's
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
s. One of the atomic bombs (nicknamed '
Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the design of the nuclear weapon the United States used for seven of the first eight nuclear weapons ever detonated in history. It is also the most powerful design to ever be used in warfare. A Fat Man ...
' and dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945) was fueled by Hanford plutonium and was transported in Boeing B-29s, also designed in Washington State.


Cold War

During the 1960s,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
became a center of the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. In 1962, Wing Luke was elected to the
Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...
, becoming the first
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
to hold office in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
. His open-housing ordinance faced serious resistance before ultimately prevailing, thereby preventing discrimination in the selling or renting of Seattle real estate. After his untimely death, the Wing Luke Museum would be opened in 1967 in his honor, displaying the culture, art, and history of Asian Americans. Meanwhile, tensions rose as white fishing companies continued to erode Native American fishing rights that had been established in earlier treaties. This led to a period known as the Fish Wars, wherein Native American activists fought for their rights to traditional fishing areas through "fish-ins" and other
protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
s. Among these activists was the
Nisqually Nisqually, Niskwalli, or Nisqualli may refer to: People * Nisqually people, a Coast Salish ethnic group * Nisqually Indian Tribe of the Nisqually Reservation, federally recognized tribe ** Nisqually Indian Reservation, the tribe's reservation in ...
environmental leader Billy Frank Jr., who led a decade long campaign for treaty rights and cooperative management of natural resources. These collective efforts led to a major victory in the landmark 1974 Boldt Decision by the
US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
, which reaffirmed the Native's right to fish in the areas designated by the treaties. In 2015,
President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...
posthumously awarded Billy Frank Jr. with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
, and in 2021 Governor Jay Inslee passed into law a bill replacing Washington's
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...
of Marcus Whitman in the
US Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
with a statue of Billy. Another prominent leader of the fish-in movement was Bernie Whitebear, a Native American activist who worked to revitalize Native culture, better Native health, and who was closely associated with the Kinatechitapi (or "All Indian") political group's efforts to occupy
Fort Lawton Fort Lawton was a United States Army Military base, post located in the Magnolia, Seattle, Washington, Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acre ...
(which was seen as having been built on rightful Native lands). Bernie was a member of Seattle's so called "
Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...
", a group of radical
minority rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements oft ...
activists composed of Whitebear, Asian American community leader Bob Santos, Latino teacher and activist Robert Maestas, and local politician and
Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...
member Larry Gosset.


Eruption of Mount St Helens

On May 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and eruptions, the northeast face of Mount St. Helens exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano. This eruption flattened the forests for many miles, killed 57 people, flooded the Columbia River and its tributaries with ash and mud and blanketed large parts of Washington in ash, making day look like night.


Contemporary Washington


Economy

Washington is well known for several prominent companies, the most notable of which are
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
,
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
,
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
,
Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...
, The Bon Marché,
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...
, and
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...
. Monopolies have a long history in the state. Bill Boeing's namesake company grew from a small airplane company in 1916 to the national aircraft and airline conglomerate of Boeing and United Airlines, which was subsequently broken up by anti-trust regulators in 1934.


Politics

Politics in Washington have been generally Democratic since the 1950s and 60s and President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
's election. The state's system of blanket primaries, in which voters may vote for any candidate on the ballot and are not required to be affiliated with a particular political party, was ruled unconstitutional in 2003. The party-line primary system was instituted for the 2004 presidential and gubernatorial elections. In 2004, voters elected Governor
Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American attorney and politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 22nd governor of Washington, from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...
into office, making Washington the first state to have a female governor and two female senators,
Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (, October 11, 1950) is an American politician serving in her sixth term as a United States senator from Washington (state), Washington, beginning her tenure in 1993, and is the state's Seniority in the United States Senate, ...
and
Maria Cantwell Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician who has been the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Washington House of Representatives from 19 ...
. Protests against the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
(WTO) in Seattle, sometimes referred to as the "Battle of Seattle", took place in 1999 when the WTO convened to discuss trade negotiations. Massive protests of at least 40,000 people included organizations such as NGOs involved in environment issues, labor unions, student groups, religious groups, and anarchists. On January 30, 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law legislation making Washington the 17th state in the nation to protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in housing, lending, and employment, and the 7th state in the nation to offer these protections to transgender people. Initiative activist Tim Eyman filed a referendum that same day, seeking to put the issue before the state's voters. In order to qualify for the November election, the measure required a minimum of 112,440 voter signatures by 5:00 p.m. June 6, 2006. Despite a push from conservative churches across the state to gather signatures on what were dubbed "Referendum Sundays," Eyman was only able to gather 105,103 signatures, more than 7,000 signatures short of the minimum. As a result, the law went into effect on June 7, 2006. The Washington legislature introduced more advanced converge of domestic partnerships in 2008.


See also

*
Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...
*
Historic regions of the United States The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internatio ...
*
History of the west coast of North America The human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along the ice free coastal islands of British Columbia. This was followed by the develop ...
* History of Latinos in Washington State *
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
*
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
* Territorial evolution of Washington * Timeline of Washington (state) history *
Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
*
History of Seattle This is the main article of a series that covers the history of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, a city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, United States of America. Seattle is a major port city that has a history of b ...
and Timeline of Seattle


References


Further reading

*
Partial preview Partial may refer to: Mathematics *Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial ...
at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * *
Partial preview Partial may refer to: Mathematics *Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial ...
at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * * * On 19th century missionaries and native Americans. * * * Washington state's World's fairs were the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) and the 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle, and
Expo '74 Expo '74, officially known as the International Exposition on the Environment, Spokane 1974, was a world's fair held May 4, 1974, to November 3, 1974, in Spokane, Washington, in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States. It was the ...
in Spokane. * * * *
Partial preview Partial may refer to: Mathematics *Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial ...
at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * * * * * * *
Partial preview Partial may refer to: Mathematics *Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial ...
at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
.


Older studies

* . *
Volume 2
* Meany, Edmond S.
''History of the State of Washington''
New York: Macmillan, 1909.


Primary sources

* . Reprinted from the ''Washington Historical Quarterly'', 1918–1919.


External links

*
HistoryLink HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington (state), Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 23,000 weekly visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images. The non-profit historical organi ...
, , is an online encyclopedia of Washington state history. *
University of Washington Libraries: Digital Collections


302 images from the turn of the 20th century documenting the landscape, people, and cities and towns of Western Washington.

A web-based museum showcasing aspects of the rich history and culture of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula communities. Features cultural exhibits, curriculum packets and a searchable archive of over 12,000 items that includes historical photographs, audio recordings, videos, maps, diaries, reports and other documents.

101 images (ca. 1858–1903) collected and annotated by Thomas Prosch, one of Seattle's earliest pioneers. Images document scenes in Eastern Washington especially Chelan and vicinity, and Seattle's early history including the Seattle Fire of 1889.

Images (ca. 1880–1940) of Washington State, including forts and military installations, homesteads and residences, national parks and mountaineering, and industries and occupations, such as logging, mining and fishing.

A collection of writings, diaries, letters, and reminiscences that recount the early settlement of Washington, the establishment of homesteads and towns and the hardships faced by many of the early pioneers.
Secretary of State's Washington History website

Classics in Washington History
This digital collection of full-text books brings together rare, out of print titles for easy access by students, teachers, genealogists and historians. Visit Washington's early years through the lives of the men and women who lived and worked in Washington Territory and State.
Washington Historical Map Collection
The State Archives and the State Library hold extensive map collections dealing with the Washington State and the surrounding region. Maps for this digital collection will be drawn from state and territorial government records, historic books, federal documents and the Northwest collection.
Washington Historical Newspapers

Washington Territorial Timeline
To recognize the 150th anniversary of the birth of Washington, the State Archives has created a historical timeline of the Pacific Northwest and Washington Territory. With the help of pictures and documents from the State Archives, the timeline recounts the major political and social events that evolved Washington Territory into Washington State.
John M. Canse Pamphlet Collection
This collection includes booklets, pamphlets, and maps that detail the development of the regions, towns, and cities of the Pacific Northwest, especially Washington State.
Warren Wood Collection
This collection includes the glass negatives, photographs and appointment notebooks of Warren Wood, pioneer surveyor of the Pacific Northwest.
Spokane Historical
historical Spokane and Eastern Washington. * {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Washington (U.S. State) Washington