Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 15 |
| 1895 | 11 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 1 |
21 stories matching starv
- The Dog Tax That Barked Back: Seattle’s First Crackdown on Strays
In 1876, the City Council passed a law requiring every dog to wear a numbered collar and pay a tax—or face execution. The result? A chaotic hunt for unlicensed mutts and a grim new reality for the city's half-starved strays.
- The Forgotten Strike of 1877 in Snohomish
A radical labor meeting calls for an eight-hour day and government intervention, warning that starving workers 'don't reason' when pushed to the brink.
- The Tragedy of the Straddled Log
A valuable horse owned by Schwabacher Bros. & Co. is found dead in the woods after a bizarre and fatal encounter with a fallen tree.
- Seattle’s New Year Outlook: A Refuge from the Gilded Age
An 1877 editorial contrasts Seattle’s frontier promise with the labor riots and extreme inequality ravaging the rest of the nation.
- The Curse of the Golden Calf: Seattle’s Economic Anxiety in 1877
As banks tightened their grip on local capital, a Seattle editor warned that hoarding wealth—rather than investing in local industry and homes—was a dangerous path to ruin.
- The Beggar’s Plea: How an Old Man’s Tears Won a Judge’s Mercy
In a touching scene at the Snohomish County Courthouse, John Burner, a destitute laborer of 73 years, pleaded guilty to grand larceny not for greed, but because his starving family had no other way to eat.
- The New England Hotel's Ban
A local hotel owner strikes a blow against Chinese labor, signaling a rising tide of xenophobic economic policy in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- The Avarice of the Soil
An 1871 lecture on why farmers must stop starving themselves to save a few pennies.
- The Human Cost of the Seattle Labor Crisis
As unemployment rises in the late 19th century, Chinese laborers in Seattle face severe hardship as employers replace them with white workers during a period of economic depression.
- The Labor Crisis of 1878: Seattle’s Economic Anxiety
As unemployment rises in the Pacific Northwest, a local reader takes to the press to rail against the displacement of white laborers by Chinese workers, foreshadowing the intense economic tensions that would define the era.
- The Political Rings of Olympia
An editorial from 1872 exposes a 'carpet-bagger' political machine using public funds to bankroll a partisan newspaper and manipulate Territorial elections.
- The Intellectual Promise of Women in the Frontier
A bold 1877 editorial argues that forcing women into 'drudgery' and loveless marriages serves only to limit society, calling for full access to higher education and the professions.
- The Ghost of Tacoma's Original Downtown
Before the railroad turned Tacoma into a boomtown, the city's future was fought over by competing pioneers and land speculators.
- The Lure of the City and the Reality of Hard Times
A frontier editorial warns local farm families that the 'fancied comforts' of Seattle often end in unemployment and vice.
- The Labor Panic of 1877
A Seattle editorial weighs in on the xenophobic rumors of coal mine labor imports, framing the struggle between capital and the working class.
- The Struggle for the Northern Pacific Rails
As Congress debates extending the deadline for the Northern Pacific Railroad, local settlers face the double-edged sword of promised prosperity versus the loss of homestead land.
- The Fight for the Soil: Washington's Early Constitutional Crisis
An 1870s editorial argues that without strict land ownership caps, Washington Territory faces a future of feudalism and labor exploitation.
- The Vampire of Hard Times: Why Seattle's Banks Are Starving Its Growth
An editorial in the March 1877 *Seattle Intelligencer* blames the region’s economic stagnation not on a lack of enterprise, but on predatory lending rates that are strangling local industry.
- The Lumber Barons Are Starving Themselves: Why Puget Sound Should Be Feeding Its Own Cows
A local editorial argues that Washington’s reliance on imported dairy is an economic absurdity, urging farmers to switch from beef to Devon and Jersey cattle to capitalize on our unique climate.
- The Moss-Cloaked Giants of Bay Center
A teacher’s letter from the Pacific Northwest frontier describes a landscape of colossal trees and lush undergrowth, challenging the myth of the harsh pioneer struggle.