The Fight Over Who Can Vote: Half-Breeds and the 1854 Legislature
A heated debate erupts in the Council over whether 'half-breeds' should be granted the elective franchise, revealing deep tensions over literacy, race, and colonial control.
In the Council session on Saturday, April 22, 1854, Mr. Yantis spoke in favor of a bill regarding elections and the mode of supplying vacancies. Mr. Bradford advocated for the rights of those who had been excluded, saying he regretted not pushing for a 'full' bill earlier, but that the current bill met his views as it answered the purpose of the petition. Mr. Sayward moved to amend the act to extend the franchise to 'half-breeds' who could 'speak the English or any civilized tongue,' striking out the requirement to read and write. Mr. Balch opposed the amendment, arguing it would defeat the bill's intent to restrict voting to cases of individual merit. Mr. Miles introduced an amendment to remove penalties for judges admitting half-breeds, alleging that many who signed the original petition did not understand what they were signing. Mr. Catlin argued against allowing this class to vote, citing the confusion of the petitioners as proof of their unsuitability. The Council eventually voted to kill the bill, and a motion to reconsider was defeated 5 to 4.
“Three dollars per day for members of the legislature is a direct bribe for property to govern the territory.”
This debate over 'literacy tests' and who is deemed 'civilized' enough to vote is a foundational moment in Washington's early governing history. The language used in 1854 mirrors the exclusionary rhetoric that would later shape the territory's restrictive election laws and its long history of legislating Indigenous dispossession.
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