The 'Man of Destiny' Faces a Cold Reception in Olympia
Isaac I. Stevens attempts to rally local Democrats, but finds his political influence waning as the territory grapples with a nation on the brink of civil war.
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.
It was thought by some that the man of destiny, Isaac I. Stevens, would scarcely attempt to address the citizens of Thurston county for fear of unpleasant questions. Contrary to expectation, on Saturday, May 4th, he arrived in Olympia. About 12 o'clock, the Democratic County Convention convened in the lower hall of the Capitol. Stevens commenced a speech consisting of a rehash of what we have heard for four years—what 'me and Lane' have done. Stevens took the whole credit for obtaining war debt payments and the Pacific Railroad bill. He also spent much time praising his own public services. When it came to the question of secession, his auditors were left confused. He famously nailed the charge of being a secessionist by saying, 'I a secessionist! I a secessionist!! I a secessionist!!!' and dropped the subject. He did not say he never had been one, but he did say he was not in favor of enforcing the Federal laws, even while admitting the Cotton States were technically in the Union.
“He nailed the charge of being a secessionist by the following stirring rhapsody: 'I a secessionist! I a secessionist!! I a secessionist!!!'”
Isaac I. Stevens, who served as the first Governor of Washington Territory, was a towering political figure whose legacy is still debated due to his role in the Indian Wars. The political posturing in this 1861 report highlights the intense, often performative, nature of Territorial politics during the existential crisis of the American Civil War.
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