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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 16 |
| 1887 | 59 |
167 stories
- The Siege of Tacoma: A City Divided by Hatred
While Seattleites marched through the rain to condemn Chinese residents, the city of Tacoma mobilized into an organized, exclusionary force that would soon see the forced removal of hundreds.
- The Day Tacoma Forced Out Its Chinese Neighbors
In a pre-planned act of collective expulsion, hundreds of residents marched through the rain to force the city's Chinese population to flee to Lakeview, marking a dark chapter in Pacific Northwest history.
- The Mob Rule That Swept Tacoma
While city leaders in Seattle urged calm, residents in Tacoma forcibly expelled the Chinese community, marking a dark escalation in the regional movement to purge Asian workers.
- Chinatown Ash and Ember: A City Under Siege
A devastating fire levels the Chinese quarter in Tacoma, leaving the community in ruins and stoking the fires of anti-Chinese agitation.
- The Mute Refugee of Tacoma
A Chinese man, caught in the crosshairs of local unrest, seeks refuge and dignity by claiming a past as a decorated American soldier.
- The 'Committee of Fifteen' and the Struggle Against Chinese Labor in Tacoma
An archival look at the exclusionary 1886 resolution that fueled the violent campaign to purge Chinese residents from Tacoma.
- The Smallholder’s Victory Against the Railroad Giant
In a landmark 1883 ruling, the General Land Office denied the Northern Pacific Railroad's claim to homestead land within Tacoma, protecting a local settler's right to his property.
- The Violent Expulsion of Chinese Workers from Tacoma
While Seattle officials debated the law, a vigilante mob in Tacoma took matters into their own hands, forcibly ejecting Chinese residents from the city.
- The Fallout of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions
A witness recounts the inhumane treatment of Chinese merchants who were brought back to Tacoma to testify after being violently displaced.
- Chinatown Destroyed by Suspicious Blaze in Tacoma
Twenty-five buildings consumed in a massive fire; arson suspected in the downtown quarter.
- The Land Grabbing Battle for Puyallup
A railroad-backed land company attempted to seize 18,000 acres of tribal land, painting it as 'waste' to displace the indigenous population.
- Vigilante Violence on the Tacoma Waterfront
A man is tarred and feathered by a mob of 'beachcombers' in a brutal display of frontier lawlessness.
- The Last Man Left Behind
A lonely figure in Tacoma navigates a hostile city after a systemic campaign of expulsion drove his neighbors into exile.
- The Campaign to Exclude Chinese Workers
In 1885, a newly formed committee of Seattle citizens launched an aggressive effort to purge Chinese labor from the city, circulating petitions to prevent property owners from leasing to Chinese residents.
- The Tacoma Method: How the Anti-Chinese Movement Turned to Violence
A brutal manifesto circulates in Tacoma, signaling the escalation of the anti-Chinese exclusion campaign.
- The Women of Washington Take Their Seats on the Jury
While critics claimed jury duty was 'disagreeable' for women, the first female jurors in Pierce County report they served willingly and effectively.
- The Myth of the Promised Land: 1885
A reader challenges the city's booster press, exposing the gap between industrial promises and the reality of a struggling population.
- Puyallup Families Finally Win Title to Their Land
While the President ordered land titles for the Puyallup people in 1884, a corrupt 'ring' of speculators held up the process to seize the property for profit.
- The Cannery Confrontation: Tacoma’s Labor Fight Over Chinese Workers
When an agent attempted to bring Chinese laborers to a Tacoma cannery in 1887, city officials clashed over the rule of law versus the intense public anti-Chinese sentiment.
- The Fight for Cheap Labor in the Pacific Northwest
In 1887, prominent Seattle and Tacoma business leaders sat down to argue over the 'necessity' of the Chinese exclusion movement and the future of regional trade.
- The Struggle for Tacoma’s 'Salvation'
A committee of business owners meets to address the proposal of re-introducing Chinese workers to a city that prided itself on their total expulsion.
- Sailors Sue the Ship Challenger Over Abuse at Sea
Eight sailors sue for wages and damages after allegedly being beaten with clubs and belaying pins during a voyage from Philadelphia to Tacoma.
- Forced Relocation at Puyallup
Government authorities move indigenous students to Oregon to hasten 'the civilizing process.'
- A Night of Terror in Tacoma
A massive blaze sweeps through a bustling downtown block, consuming businesses and revealing the precarity of the city's early fire defenses.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad's Coal Land Grab
Critics decry the President's support for the railroad’s expansion into coal lands against the public interest.