Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 5 |
| 1858 | 3 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 7 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 3 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 16 |
| 1876 | 45 |
| 1877 | 53 |
| 1878 | 29 |
| 1879 | 9 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 10 |
| 1883 | 42 |
| 1884 | 54 |
| 1885 | 64 |
| 1886 | 38 |
| 1887 | 31 |
| 1888 | 30 |
| 1889 | 110 |
| 1890 | 17 |
| 1891 | 80 |
| 1892 | 161 |
| 1893 | 129 |
| 1894 | 174 |
| 1895 | 189 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 9 |
| 1898 | 19 |
| 1899 | 36 |
| 1900 | 9 |
| 1902 | 4 |
| 1903 | 88 |
| 1904 | 83 |
| 1905 | 6 |
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 15 |
| 1909 | 98 |
| 1910 | 22 |
| 1911 | 20 |
| 1912 | 4 |
| 1914 | 18 |
| 1915 | 11 |
| 1916 | 30 |
| 1917 | 24 |
| 1918 | 4 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1923 | 5 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 2 |
| 1929 | 2 |
1,836 stories matching demand
- The Dairy Commissioner’s War on Adulterated Food
A Washington dairy official warns that fake honey, poisoned candy, oleomargarine and brewers’ grain are cheating farmers — and demands stronger pure-food laws.
- The Lease a Husband Had No Right to Sign
A Tacoma mercantile firm stopped paying $500-a-month rent, arguing the leased property was community property and the wives had never signed. Washington’s Supreme Court said the lease was not absolutely void—but the tenants had rights too.
- The Great Rebuilding: Seattle’s Post-Fire Lumber Rush
In the wake of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, the local lumber trade faces an unprecedented surge in demand as thousands rush to rebuild, signaling a massive shift in the city’s economy and labor market.
- City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision
A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.
- The Battle for Belltown's Fire Engine
A citizen's fiery demand that the city stop hoarding firefighting resources in the business district and grant the northern residents the protection they pay for.
- The Asparagus Boom: How Kennewick’s Green Gold Conquered the Market
Local dealers are overwhelmed by demand for Kennewick asparagus, with prices surging and supply falling short. Farmers warn that while the crop is plentiful, the quality of local 'grass' is driving a frenzy among buyers across the West.
- Double License, Double Trouble in Issaquah
When Gilman—now Issaquah—incorporated, its new council demanded a second liquor license from saloonkeepers who had already paid King County. The county prosecutor said he could not protect them or refund their money.
- The Price of Coal and the Cost of Labor
After shifting from Chinese laborers to white workers, mining companies find themselves in a standoff over wages that leaves miners idle and mines shuttered.
- The Struggle for Tacoma Avenue
When the city of Tacoma withheld payment from contractors Cadwell & Vesey, labor tensions boiled over into a stand-off, highlighting the recurring fight to ensure workers get paid for their toil.
- A Gavel, a Roar, and a Populist Ticket Born in Chaos
King County's People's Party convention at Turner Hall turned into a shouting, proxy-fighting, faction-splitting marathon—and buried Dr. J. Eugene Jordan and Jack McDonald on the way to nominating a ticket.
- The Seattle Silver Rebellion
A convention of delegates from the South and West met in Seattle to demand that the federal government restore silver to its rightful place alongside gold, signaling a growing populist resistance against Wall Street's control of the nation's currency.
- The Lumber Boom of 1887
Seattle's bustling mills are running night and day to keep up with the frantic demand for timber, driving labor wages and export prices to new heights.
- The City Hall Shake-up
A surprise removal of the water department head sparks a demand for accountability.
- The Miners at Newcastle Demand Fair Time
Workers at the Newcastle coal mine initiate a strike over wage-deduction schemes and travel time between the town and the pit.
- The Prohibition Party Names a Full Ticket — and a Woman-Suffrage Lawyer for Governor
Meeting in Tacoma, Washington’s Prohibitionists nominated Judge Roger S. Greene and adopted a platform demanding national prohibition, votes for women, labor arbitration and a Saturday half-holiday.
- The Grassroots Call for Statehood
Before Washington was a state, its residents organized informal, spirited conventions to demand entry into the Union.
- The Green Gold Rush: How Kennewick’s Asparagus Boom Became a Local Gold Mine
Local growers are realizing that with the right fertilizer and strict quality control, their valley's asparagus is commanding top prices and opening doors to eastern markets.
- The Lumber Industry's Long Wait for the Iron Horse
As Seattle's timber economy struggled under local isolation in 1893, local mill owners pinned their hopes for survival on the impending arrival of the Great Northern Railway.
- A Taxpayer Fights the Assessor for Six Years — and Loses
William Craswell petitions the county board to strike fraudulent assessments from the rolls and demands back the money already taken; the commissioners refuse, then set the rates for everyone else.
- Tacoma’s Sailor-Shipping ‘Blood Money’ Combine
Rival boarding-house keepers demanded fees from captains before they could ship a crew—until a new federal law threatened the whole arrangement.
- Washington Dairymen Declare War on a Seattle Butter Dealer
At a dairy convention, producers accuse a Seattle dealer of cold-storing eastern butter and mislabeling it to break the market—and call for an organized, public fight.
- The Courthouse Architect, the Commissioners, and a $458 Bill Nobody Wants to Pay
The man who designed Thurston County's new courthouse demands the rest of his fee; the commissioners say he broke his contract and has been paid enough.
- A Bible in Every Schoolroom? The Epworth League's Careful Campaign in Western Washington
Meeting in convention, Methodist delegates moved to demand Bible reading in the public schools — then softened the demand, and asked the legislature to put a constitutional amendment to a vote.
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- A Six-Dollar Rent Debt and a Diamond Ring Nearly Drowned Her in Lake Washington
Ethel Perkins, a lodger at a Third-and-Union boarding house, tried to end her life when her rent fell behind and a barber demanded his ring back. A stranger on the Madison street car caught her at the wharf's edge.
Also about this, in other words
- The False Doctrine of 'Supply and Demand'
A labor manifesto argues that using the 'cheapest man' to set wage standards is a race to the bottom that threatens the integrity of community and family life.
- The Man Who Demanded Ten Thousand Dollars from the Law
A local man convinced an electrical machine was ordering him to collect a massive payday from the county deputy.
- The Price of Staying Fed: A Frontier Debt
A legal notice from 1877 reveals the precarious reality of life in the Snohomish River Valley, where board, lodging, and dry goods could lead to a court summons for unpaid accounts.
- Western Railroads Demand Rate Hikes
Twenty major rail companies seek 'immediate relief' to cover rising labor and equipment costs.
- Hunger and the City Council
Tacoma’s unemployed protesters storm City Hall, forcing local leaders to prioritize local families for municipal public works.
- A Merchant's Plight: The Cost of Overstocking
A Snohomish businessman faces financial ruin after a bad season leaves his shelves full and his creditors at the door.
- The Price of Staying Fed: A Frontier Eviction Debt
A legal summons from 1878 captures the harsh reality of pioneer life, where unpaid boarding bills for food and lodging resulted in formal court action.
- Tacoma’s Unemployed Protest City Hall
Protesters confront the city council demanding immediate financial relief as economic instability deepens.