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 | 1 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 9 |
| 1876 | 26 |
| 1877 | 29 |
| 1878 | 18 |
| 1880 | 6 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 40 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 41 |
| 1886 | 24 |
| 1887 | 23 |
| 1888 | 21 |
| 1889 | 53 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 45 |
| 1892 | 108 |
| 1893 | 115 |
| 1894 | 121 |
| 1895 | 152 |
| 1897 | 8 |
| 1898 | 10 |
| 1899 | 26 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 43 |
| 1904 | 29 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1908 | 13 |
| 1909 | 57 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 18 |
| 1917 | 4 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
1,135 stories matching objection
- The Delegate Who Stalled the State’s Legal Progress
How a stubborn stand on woman suffrage paralyzed Washington Territory’s legislative agenda in the halls of D.C.
- A Midnight Council Fight Over Rails, Rubbish and Residency
Newport's council spent a long May evening weighing a railroad franchise, ordering alleys cleaned, and questioning whether one of its own members actually lived in town.
- A Church Scandal Erupts in a Seattle Libel Trial
M. H. Nichols stood accused of criminally libeling Presiding Elder T. B. Ford. The defense spent the day trading rumors, old grudges, and one complaint about the prosecutor's booming voice.
- The Smuggler's Shield: How a Seattle Customs Chief Defended Himself in Tacoma
In the height of the 1888 opium smuggling scandal, Chief Inspector Gardner takes the stand in Tacoma, claiming he was set up by political rivals to cover his own failures.
- The Oil Men’s Last Stand: Seattle’s Battle Over Fire Safety and Corporate Power
In March 1889, a proposed ordinance to ban oil storage within city limits sparked a fierce standoff between the Board of Trade and powerful petroleum interests. While the city pushed for safety, the oil dealers argued the rules were discriminatory and economically impossible, setting the stage for a legal battle that would define Seattle’s industrial future.
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- A Valley Drowns Every Spring—and One Farmer Wants a Better Dike
A correspondent warns that the Pend Oreille freshet has wrecked $50,000 worth of Calispel Valley crops—and argues the proposed diking districts are too piecemeal to save the basin.
- The Fight to Build Washington's Capitol—and the Man Who Wanted It in Puyallup
A state commission says the capitol can be finished debt-free, but a rival town's booster has other ideas.
- The Northern Hotel Shooting: A Gambler’s Self-Defense Trial
Paul J. Page stands trial for killing Harry Fraser over a dice game at the Northern Hotel, while his lawyers drag the dead man’s gambling life into court.
- Who Polices the Strikers?
Everett labor leaders demand transparency after discovering private companies were deputizing their own strike-breakers as law enforcement.
- A $10,000 Railroad Check and a Whispering Campaign in Olympia
In 1895, Washington's legislature gathered to choose a U.S. senator, and the Seattle press heard that the Southern Pacific had put $10,000 behind one candidate.
- The Cake-Walk Controversy: When Morality Met Modernity in Bellevue
A local violinist’s moral objection to a high school charity dance nearly sparked a riot, dividing the town between tradition and progress.
- Fairhaven Objects to Whatcom Annexation Over Debt
Booster leaders argue that merging with Whatcom would be 'death' to Fairhaven’s budding identity and prosperity.
- A Wife's Testimony Was Enough: Supreme Court Reverses Divorce Denial
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that a wife's own account of cruelty and habitual drunkenness could justify a divorce, reversing a lower court that had dismissed Nellie Lee's case.
- A Plan to Move Indigenous People to San Juan Island Stirs a Border Dispute
A Victoria proposal to resettle Native people on disputed San Juan Island draws a sharp warning from Washington Territory.
- 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 Yesler Will Case: A Dead Millionaire, a Missing Will, and a Widow on Trial
In a Seattle courtroom, prosecutors argue that Mrs. Yesler conspired to destroy her husband's will—while defense lawyers call the case a web of speculation and newspaper rumor.
- Land Speculation or Lifeline? The Fight Over Seattle’s Lake Washington Canal
Senator Squire battles Southern committee members and rumors of a land grab to keep Seattle’s canal in the federal river and harbor bill.
- Governor McGraw Says No to Cheap Textbooks and a Cascade Road
Washington’s governor vetoes a state textbook scheme and a Naches Pass road appropriation, warning that both would waste public money—and that cheap books are not the same as good ones.
- The Forgotten Panic Over 'Pauper Immigration'
An 1887 editorial reveals how Seattle's civic leaders—and the nation—framed foreign labor as a social and financial 'drain,' echoing the xenophobic rhetoric of modern political debates.
- The Fight for Indigenous Names on Territorial Maps
A territorial legislator argues that replacing English place names with Indigenous ones will stop mail from being misdirected and honor the region's history.
- Aberdeen Keeps the Lights On, Three Months at a Time
When the electric company threatened to shut down the plant, citizens and city officials scraped together a temporary guarantee to keep Aberdeen lit.
- A Legislature in the Homestretch: Saloons, Gambling and a Fight Over Pledges
With days left in Olympia, Washington lawmakers weigh local option, an anti-racetrack law, a sweeping criminal code and a bill aimed at unions and suffragists.
- Brawl in the U.S. Land Office
A legal dispute over a homestead claim near Avondale erupts into a violent physical confrontation between rival attorneys in a federal courtroom.
- A Seattle League Wants Workers to Share the Profits—and the Losses
In the wake of labor unrest, a new Seattle group of employers and union men proposes profit-sharing as a cure for strikes, pointing to a company town in Illinois as proof it can work.
Also about this, in other words
- The Riotous Push for Exclusion
A massive, chaotic anti-Chinese protest in Tacoma turns violent, drowning out local leaders who argue for the legal rights of Chinese merchants.
- Labor Leader Takes the Stand Against Court Injunctions
Ernest P. Marsh, representing Everett laborers at the national convention, details the fight to defend free speech and the right to boycott amidst the Buck Stove and Range case.
- The Saloon Fight Moves to Court: Petition Signatures Challenged
A Valley saloonkeeper tries to block Pend Oreille County’s local-option election, claiming the petition lacks enough valid voters and that many signatures are not genuine.
- An Insult to the Convention: A Political Schism in Yakima
A candidate for County Auditor takes public offense after his party central committee replaces him on the ticket without his consent.
- The House Outraged by Labor Delegation's Insult
A legislative body faces a standoff after an inflammatory address from a labor delegation over proposed anti-strike legislation.
- The Judge Who Stood Up to the Injunction
A local Everett judge delivers a fiery defense of the right to strike and critique of the 'injunction' as a tool against labor organization.
- A City Councilman Fights Back After Late-Night Arrest
Alderman Dr. J. Eugene Jordan demands that his colleagues condemn the ‘un-American’ manner of his recent police apprehension.
- The Old Song of Reactionary Politics
A 1891 editorial draws a biting parallel between resistance to child protection laws in India and the stalling tactics of anti-progressives in the American West.