The Exclusionary Pledge of La Conner
A frontier town in the Swinomish Flats organizes a formal, collective boycott against Chinese residents, highlighting the intense racial tensions of the 1870s Pacific Northwest.
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.
The literary society of La Conner is not only doing a great work in town, but its influence is strongly felt over the whole Swinomish flats. The following agreement proves La Conner to be the pioneer town on the vexed Chinese question: 'We, the undersigned citizens of La Conner and vicinity, do hereby agree that we shall use every lawful means to discourage the introduction of Chinamen in our midst; and we further agree that we shall under no circumstances whatever employ Chinese as laundrymen, in our kitchens, workshops, as farm laborers or in any capacity whatever.' There was an attempt made to start a Chinese laundry in the place. The whole question was debated in the literary society, after which a copy of the above agreement was drawn up and circulated through the town, when over twenty-five residents signed it, being all to whom it was presented.
“We shall use every lawful means to discourage the introduction of Chinamen in our midst.”
This 1878 agreement captures the organized, grassroots nativism that defined territorial Washington during a period of economic instability. Today, the Swinomish Flats and La Conner are celebrated for their diverse history and strong Indigenous heritage, but this document serves as a stark reminder of the exclusionary policies that white settlers used to shape the demographic future of the region.
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