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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1880 | 9 |
21 stories matching libel
- A Sailor's Crushed Hand and the Ship That Had to Answer for It
A seaman's right hand was crushed aboard the bark Cambridge at Port Blakely. He sued in Seattle for unpaid wages and $5,000 in damages, dragging the vessel into federal court.
- The Newspaper War of 1878
Before the digital age, Seattle's editors fought their battles in court and print, trading accusations of corruption and forgery.
- The Man Who Crushed His Hand: A Seaman’s $3,000 Fight for Justice in Seattle
In the early days of Washington Territory, a sailor named Robert Johnson sued a ship’s captain and his vessel after a workplace accident left him permanently disabled. It was one of the first major labor lawsuits heard in the new federal court.
- A Crippling Debt: The Maritime Fight for Justice
After a seaman's hand was crushed working on the bark Cambridge, a legal battle for unpaid wages and damages unfolds in the Seattle District Court.
- The Crew of the 'Tidal Wave' Strikes for Back Pay
After the American bark 'Tidal Wave' terminated its voyage at Port Madison, fourteen sailors filed a legal action against the ship's owners to recover unpaid wages, lodging, and return expenses.
- The Rotten Beef Scandal of 1872
When a local market was accused of selling diseased meat, the ensuing war of words revealed the thin line between journalism and extortion in early Seattle.
- The Wild West of Washington Journalism
When the courts declared they had no power to punish libel, Seattle editors went to war with their pens—and their reputations.
- The Puppet Editor's Expensive Betrayal
A cautionary tale of a local 'figurehead' editor who was used by power brokers to spread libel, only to be abandoned when the lawsuits started arriving.
- The Port Townsend Sewer of Defamation
A small-town attorney attempts to build a media empire on vitriol and libel, only to be dismantled by the Governor he targeted.
- The Price of a Seaman's Hand
A mariner sues for $3,000 in damages, claiming gross negligence led to a permanent injury aboard a ship docked at Port Blakely.
- The Governor and the Libel Suit: A Battle for Political Character
When Governor Elisha P. Ferry sued the 'Democratic Press' for accusing him of selling pardons, he ignited a fierce debate about the limits of press freedom and the nature of public character.
- The Abandoned Crew of the Bark Northwest
Thirteen mariners petition the federal court in Seattle for their unpaid wages after a grueling voyage from San Francisco to Port Madison.
- Abandoned at the Docks: The Crew of the Bark Northwest Sues for Wages
Thirteen mariners, stranded in Seattle after their voyage to Port Madison, take their employer to court to recover months of unpaid labor.
- The Crew of the 'Tidal Wave' Demands Their Due
After being discharged in Port Madison without full pay, fourteen mariners have filed a legal claim against the American bark 'Tidal Wave' in Seattle.
- The Forgotten Mariners of Puget Sound
Two sailors sue for unpaid wages in 1880, revealing the rough, transient life of the maritime labor force that powered Seattle's early economy.
- The Deserted Crew of the Bark Northwest
Thirteen mariners sue for back wages and passage home after their vessel’s voyage abruptly ends at Port Madison.
- The Stranded Crew of the 'Tidal Wave'
Fourteen mariners take the US Marshals to court in Seattle to claim unpaid wages after being abandoned in Port Madison.
- The Ghost Ship in the Harbor: A Legal Drama of Unpaid Labor
A US Marshal’s notice reveals the desperate struggle for wages aboard the vessel 'Clipper,' abandoned in the waters of Puget Sound in 1880.
- The Brutal Politics of the 1878 Press
A Seattle editor rails against 'poisoned shafts of calumny' after a local newspaper attacks prominent citizen H.G. Struve, labeling the lawyer a 'deserter' and a 'perjurer.'
- A Frontier Political Vendetta Over Voting Rights
A decade-old shooting incident in Oregon returns to haunt a Seattle man, sparking an unusual legal battle over his right to cast a ballot.
- The Unwritten Laws of Seattle’s Press
When a local paper targeted young women in its columns for 'assuming social superiority' at a dance, a vigilante citizen took matters into his own hands.
Also about this, in other words
- The Territorial Auditor and the Slander Machine
When the Walla Walla Statesman accused a prominent territorial official of being a fugitive felon, it sparked a local crisis in journalistic ethics and public reputation.