The New Era: How Woman Suffrage Changed Seattle Politics
An eye-witness account of the 1884 election, where new female voters, juries, and a 'reformed' city hall signal a sea change in frontier culture.
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.
At Seattle, an informant said: 'We come to the first voting experiment with our new citizens in about three weeks—the occasion of our city election. We have a Mayor, Chief of Police, Assessor and nine Councilmen to elect. An entire change in the complexion of our city government is possible... The electioneering tactics of the candidates have begun. They go to all the church fairs, patronize the grab bags, buy chances for rings in the lottery cakes, and are seen pretty constantly at prayer meeting. They are now always to be found at church on Sundays, and give the loudest amens.' A saloon-keeper complained that as soon as women were placed on the Grand Jury, they indicted every saloon where women were kept. There isn't a public gambling place open in this city today; all the dealers were fined, jailed, and put under bonds. Seattle has become deeply religious. The sound of the church bell is heard instead of the orgies of sailors and loggers.
“They go to all the church fairs, patronize the grab bags, buy chances for rings in the lottery cakes, and are seen pretty constantly at prayer meeting.”
This 1884 report captures a moment of rapid civic disruption as women gained and briefly exercised the franchise, reshaping Seattle's political and moral landscape. Today's debates about civic reform and the influence of the electorate in Seattle continue to reflect this historical tension between a 'wide open' town and a 'reformed' city.
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