The Argument for Washington Statehood in 1883
An editorial from the Pacific Chronicle argues that the territory’s rapid growth and wealth entitle it to immediate admission to the Union.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Legislature of Washington Territory met at Olympia on the 1st. As the sessions are biennial, it probably is, and surely ought to be, the last of a Territorial Legislature in Washington. That Territory is better qualified, by reason of population, property and immediate future prospects, for the condition of Statehood than several States now in the Union, and much better than Oregon, Nevada, Florida, Colorado and Nebraska were when they came into the Union. The message of Governor Newell to this Legislature is at hand. It opens with the boast that 'For manifest reasons we are about to assume a foremost position in the affairs of the world.' This is true beyond extent. Washington Territory has 27,000,000 acres of land of the very best quality found on this continent. The total assessed value of property is over $44,000,000. It has enough representative population now to entitle it to one Representative in Congress. It has the natural resources to insure a steady and rapid increase in wealth. Such a Territory should be admitted into the Union as a State upon application.
“The Territory now contains all the civil and political paraphernalia of an enlightened State.”
In 1883, the argument for statehood hinged on the territory's economic 'boosterism' and the rapid extraction of natural resources. It took another six years for Washington to finally achieve statehood in 1889.
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