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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 2 |
10 stories matching explicit
- The Speaker’s Gavel Clash
In the Territorial House, a subtle procedural error leads to a public confrontation over how legislation is truly passed.
- The Feds Crack Down on Land Fraud
A new circular from the General Land Office warns settlers that 'speculation' is illegal and will be met with criminal prosecution.
- The Seattle Judge Who Stood Up to 'Professional' Idlers
When a woman shot her abusive husband in 1886, a Seattle judge refused to convict her, explicitly calling out a class of men who lived off the earnings of their wives' shame.
- The 1885 Fight to Protect the Workingman’s Tools and Bedding
A proposed territorial law sought to expand property exemptions from debt, shielding everything from a mechanic's tools to a family's bedding from creditors.
- The City’s Crackdown on Traveling Salesmen
In 1886, Seattle’s City Council passed a strict licensing ordinance to curb 'peddling' and hawking, requiring vendors to pay steep daily fees or face jail time.
- The President Intervenes for Chinese Merchants
President Cleveland challenges Congress to reconcile the restrictive Chinese Exclusion Act with the reality of international trade.
- The Case of the Missing Jury
A landmark Washington Territory court ruling challenges the legal status of women as jurors, debating whether 'civil disability' laws were ever intended to grant women the right to serve.
- The Trial of the Anti-Chinese Conspirators
A federal judge clarifies the legal bounds of anti-Chinese intimidation in King County, 1886.
- The City Hall That Wasn't: Seattle's 1882 Fire Engine Obsession
When faced with a choice between a new municipal center and a state-of-the-art steam fire engine, Seattle citizens chose the engine—prioritizing immediate safety over civic expansion.
- The Dream of a Seattle Ship Canal
Proposals to link Lake Washington, Lake Union, and the Puget Sound via canals promised to unlock vast timber and coal riches, but the path forward remains a tangled mess of congressional bills and engineering hurdles.