Seattle Makes Its Case for Statehood
As the constitutional convention convenes in Olympia, Seattle’s delegates argue for the city’s readiness, its infrastructure, and its claim to statehood.
As the constitutional convention meets in Olympia, Seattle’s delegation is present to demonstrate the city's readiness for statehood. The delegation points to the city’s rapid growth, its planned waterworks, and the necessity for improvements in streets, sewerage, public buildings, and fire apparatus. Seattle’s leaders argue that the territory is ready to move forward into statehood and that the city has the resources to support its own civic needs.
“The unanimous opinion of the people of Seattle in favor of their petition, their reliance upon their ability to sustain any reasonable measure, and their sure resources that all must recognize, can all be dwelt upon.”
In 1889, Seattle was in the final push for statehood, aggressively lobbying to establish itself as the commercial center of the new Washington state. The rhetoric of 'growth' and 'infrastructure' mirrors the boosterism that defined Seattle’s later development during the Yukon Gold Rush and through the 20th century.
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