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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 9 |
| 1886 | 17 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 54 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 34 |
| 1893 | 34 |
| 1894 | 32 |
| 1895 | 47 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
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| 1929 | 2 |
307 stories matching constitut
- The Birth Pangs of Washington’s Constitution
As the territory prepared for statehood in 1889, the local press scrutinized the new constitution, exposing the tension between civic optimism and the looming shadow of corporate greed.
- The Clerk Who Wasn't Invited to the Election
A judicial showdown in a bizarre constitutional struggle over whether an election for county clerk was actually legal.
- The Constitutional Right to Not Be Imprisoned for Debt
When local merchants tried to jail a man for unpaid loans to prevent him from leaving town, a Seattle judge put the state’s progressive constitution to the test.
- A Constitutional Challenge to City Plumbing Laws
A local plumber has been arrested for violating a new city ordinance requiring all practitioners to pass a formal examination.
- A Seattle Improvement Company Tried to Dispossess a Black Homeowner—He Cited the Constitution
S. H. Stone bought a lot in a 'high-class' residence addition. When white neighbors objected, the company moved to undo the sale—and his lawyer answered with the U.S. Constitution.
- The Forgotten Constitution: Seattle's 1889 Apathy
While Washington territory scrambled to establish statehood following the Great Seattle Fire, the public was so consumed by the disaster's aftermath that the upcoming constitutional convention went almost unnoticed.
- The Sermon and the Station: Seattle’s First Constitutional Clash
When the city allowed a church to use a decommissioned fire station for worship, it sparked a sharp constitutional debate between a secularist group and the Mayor.
- Seattle’s Labor Roots: Organizing for the State Constitution
In April 1889, as Washington prepared to become a state, Seattle trade unionists organized a convention to ensure the voice of the worker was enshrined in the new constitution.
- The City Could Still Take the Land
Judge Humes ruled that Seattle’s constitutional debt limit does not interfere with eminent domain, clearing the way for the Howell Street extension through the Ivey property.
- The Constitutional Debate on God and State
As Congress faces calls to insert a recognition of God into the Constitution, the Post-Intelligencer argues that the nation’s strength lies in its strict separation of church and state.
- The Constitutional Battle Over Free Trade
A lifelong Democrat breaks with his party's tariff stance, citing the nation's founding documents.
- A South Seattle Murder Case Becomes a Constitutional Test
Henry Craemer’s court-appointed lawyer argued that Washington could not try a capital case on a prosecutor’s information. Judge Humes said it could; Craemer pleaded not guilty and began hunting for an alibi witness lost in the Cascades.
- The Secret Scheme to Seize the Tide Flats
Prominent Seattle businessmen form an organization to lobby the constitutional convention for control of the waterfront.
- Seattle’s Fight Against Municipal Debt Limits
City leaders protest a state constitutional provision they claim will cripple local growth and infrastructure expansion.
- Constitutional Convention's Tide Land Committee Draws Lobbyists
As Seattle prepares for the constitutional convention, a fierce political tug-of-war erupts over the control of valuable tide lands.
- The Tide-Land Grab
As Washington prepares to become a state, newspaper editors fight a shadowy campaign by land speculators to seize public tidelands before the new constitution can protect them.
- Seattle's Elite Organize to Curb Political Patronage
A group of forty-six prominent citizens forms a Municipal League with the aim of stripping party politics from city administration and centralizing executive power.
- The Battle Over Corporate Power at Washington’s Constitutional Convention
As Washington delegates gathered to draft a new state constitution, a heated clash erupted over whether to explicitly restrain the influence of monopolies and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Price of Progress: Seattle’s Legal Tug-of-War Over Street Grades
In 1891, the city was forced to reckon with the constitutional requirement of paying damages to property owners before regrading streets, a lesson that paralyzed public works and exposed the city's precarious financial state.
- The Eight-Hour Day That Was Amended to Death
A bold proposal to limit public works labor to eight hours faces a grim fate in the Washington State Senate, where 'amendments' have stripped the bill of its power before it can even reach the House.
- The Integrity of John Kinnear: A Political Exit
After two terms in the legislature and a key role in the constitutional convention, one of King County’s most popular Republicans bows out of the governor’s race to keep the peace.
- Washington State Prepares for Prohibition
The state supreme court confirms that the prohibition law is constitutional, setting the stage for saloons to close their doors by the New Year.
- Labor Unions Shift Health Care Responsibilities
Seattle's Typographical Union votes to cut its internal sick-benefit clause, moving toward a regional relief organization model.
- Washington Territory Moves Toward a Constitutional Convention
Before Washington became a state, residents debated the necessity of a constitutional convention and the potential riches of federal land grants.
- The Battle for Elliott Bay
A railroad company is eyeing a constitutional clause to claim millions in tide lands, but the public says the water belongs to the people.