Cowlitz County Unionists Declare Allegiance
Pro-Union citizens meet in Monticello to nominate local candidates and pledge loyalty to the Lincoln administration.
At a Convention of the Union men of Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, for the purpose of nominating officers for the various county and Territorial offices to be voted for at the next July election, and also to elect delegates to attend a Territorial Union Convention to be holden at Vancouver, W. T., May 25th, the following proceedings were had: A. S. Abernethy was elected President and Chas. McCall Secretary. The committee presented resolutions expressing attachment to the Federal Union and supporting the measures adopted by President Lincoln for the suppression of the rebellion. The convention nominated a full ticket, including Chas. McCall for Representative, J. S. Huntington, Sen. for Treasurer, and A. R. Burbank for School Superintendent.
“The nominees of this meeting shall be unconditional Union men, without an if, an and, or a but.”
This reflects the volatile political landscape of Washington Territory during the Civil War, where local conventions functioned as the primary mechanism for civic organizing. Much like today, these meetings were used to define 'unconditional' loyalty and align local representation with national party platforms.
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