Defending the Union in the Territory
As the Civil War ignites, an editorial calls on Thurston County residents to mobilize and reject neutrality.
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.
We regret to find that there are those of our citizens who can see no justification in the call of the Acting-Governor for the organization of the militia of this Territory. It has seemed to us that patriotism, prudence, and a due regard for the interests and safety of our people demanded of Gov. McGill nothing short of the course that he has seen fit to pursue. He asks merely for an organization of the militia to meet any requisition of the President of the United States, or the Governor of Washington Territory, to aid in maintaining the laws and integrity of the National Union. Are we of the Territory of Washington so isolated that we feel no interest in maintaining the integrity of our national honor? We believe that Gov. McGill, professing that loyalty due as a citizen and the Executive of our Territory, did only what it was his plain duty to do. In the issue presented, there can be no middle ground. He who is not for us is against us, and the man or set of men who refuse to aid the Federal authority in suppressing rebellion, in any shape it may assume, is guilty of treason.
“He who is not for us is against us, and the man or set of men who refuse to aid the Federal authority in suppressing rebellion, in any shape it may assume, is guilty of treason.”
This editorial reflects the intense, high-stakes pressure to choose a side during the early days of the Civil War in the Washington Territory. Today, this rhetoric of 'no middle ground' mirrors the hyper-polarized civic discourse that dominates local and national politics.
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