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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 6 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
57 stories matching sanction
- The Perils of Planting: A Warning to Yakima Valley Orchardists
A local agricultural expert debunks state-sanctioned advice on walnut cultivation, warning farmers against the financial ruin of planting untried varieties.
- The Riot of 1886: Seattle’s Dark Chapter of Exclusion
A state-sanctioned mob forces Chinese residents from their homes, leading to martial law and a bloody confrontation at the wharf.
- Congress Opens Puyallup Reservation Lands to Private Sale
A federal decision ends long-standing ambiguity, allowing the Puyallup people to sell or lease their allotted lands and subjecting the property to taxation.
- The Election of 1876: When Seattle Held Its Breath
As the U.S. Congress deadlocked over the disputed Hayes-Tilden election, the frontier town of Seattle processed the national anxiety through the lens of political 'vultures' and the hope for a peaceful transition.
- The Forgotten Radicalism of 1880s Seattle
When an influential Washington territorial politician argued that land monopolies were a threat to labor and that women's suffrage was the only path to a fair society.
- The $100,000 Gamble: Yesler’s Great Lottery
To fund a mountain road, Seattle pioneer Henry Yesler turned to a massive, state-sanctioned lottery, putting his own saw mill and downtown lots on the line.
- Seattle Voters Weigh Annexation in 1891 Special Election
Seattle prepares to redraw its boundaries, drafting a massive list of local citizens to man the polls for a city expansion that would fundamentally reshape the region.
- The Pickle Works vs. The Union
A Seattle manufacturer is targeted by the Western Central Labor Union for employing a 'scab' bricklayer as their company president.
- The Bitter Battle for the Yakima Depot
A railroad official defends the controversial move of the townsite to North Yakima, dismissing long-standing charges of corruption and 'outrage'.
- The Kittitas Range War
Armed settlers and their wives confront a canal company to defend their family farms from state-sanctioned land seizure.
- The Futility of the Gallows
One month after Seattle's first judicial execution of a white man, the local press questions whether state-sanctioned violence actually deters crime or simply breeds contempt for the law.
- The Great Dakota Exodus: 100 Settlers Arrive in Seattle
As the rest of the country heads west, a steady stream of homesteaders from the plains is turning north to the Puget Sound, bringing new life to the young city.
- The Fight Over Seattle's 'Wild and Visionary' Boulevard Plan
A citizen raises alarms over the city's costly early attempts to expand public parks and infrastructure, accusing local real estate speculators of driving the vision.
- Judge Hanford Shields Northern Pacific Wages From the Garnishment Knife
Receivers win authority to issue certificates and pay employees directly, blocking creditors from attaching railroad paychecks.
- Tacoma Votes to Take the Power Back
Mayor Linck urges a city-owned plant as Tacoma goes to the polls against the private power monopoly.
- The Diseased-Poultry Swindle
A Yakima agricultural editor traces how sick birds moved from farmyards to city markets—and demands that the governor and legislature clean up the trade.
- The Political Infighting Within Seattle’s Labor Movement
A blistering letter to the editor exposes internal power struggles and corruption allegations within the Knights of Labor, revealing the fractious state of turn-of-the-century worker politics.
- The Republican Party Fights Over Who Gets Counted
Seattle Republicans revolted against a county apportionment that gave rural precincts outsized delegate power, organizing a new club and threatening an indignation meeting.
- Seattle Packs a Theater to Mourn Frederick Douglass
A month after the great abolitionist's death, the city's Black community fills the Seattle Theater with music, prayer and eulogy — and hears him compared to Washington and Lincoln.
- Governor McGraw Refuses to March for Free Silver
Invited to send three delegates to a Salt Lake City convention, Washington’s governor writes a blunt refusal—and says 16-to-1 coinage is not a popular doctrine in this state.
- A Missing Word Nearly Derailed Bellingham's First City Election
Washington's Supreme Court ruled that Whatcom and Fairhaven could hold a combined city election in December 1903, reading past a clerk's drafting error to honor the legislature's intent.
- The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal
Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.
- A Federal Injunction Kills the Northern Pacific Strike Before It Starts
As receivers slash wages 3 to 5 percent, a Milwaukee judge bars the railroad brotherhoods from ordering a walkout—and the order is being extended 'to cover this state,' binding Northern Pacific men all along the line to Seattle.
- The Taxpayer Who Couldn’t Sue the State
Washington’s Supreme Court dismisses the Agricultural College case, ruling that a private resident cannot halt state spending in equity—only the attorney general can.
- The Bear That Wasn't: Seattle’s War Department Scandal
A federal court of inquiry clears the city of corruption but exposes a bizarre military blunder involving refrigerated beef and embalmed meat during the Spanish-American War.