1885 Editorial Urges Chinese Exclusion in Washington Territory
A committee of Seattle citizens formalizes their campaign to purge the city of Chinese laborers, framing their economic anxiety as a struggle for the 'Caucasian race.'
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.
In reviewing the late events happening in our city and elsewhere in the territory, relative to the Chinese question, we feel constrained to present our views to the public, relying upon the justice and integrity of our motives to encompass the success of a movement which we believe to be eminently patriotic. We feel assured that with a hearty and sincere cooperation on the part of the people, we will peacefully solve the vexed question and aid in preserving our country for the Caucasian race. There are none so ignorant but will acknowledge that the subject involves grave questions of public economy. We unhesitatingly pronounce the question an 'irrepressible conflict.' The laborers of the Pacific Coast States and Territories are the first to feel and foresee the encroachments of the Mongolian against the sacredness of this institution; the Chinaman is in direct competition with him as a breadwinner. We scorn and contemn those who question our loyalty or our attachment to the laws of our country. We do not and will not countenance violation of law, but we ask that our fellow citizens join us in untiringly seeking and exercising all lawful means to accomplish the end. We therefore appeal to our fellow citizens to give us united support in all lawful means to rid the land of the Chinaman. The solution of the question is in this: Neither hire nor patronize the Chinaman; neither hire nor patronize those who do.
“The toiling people upon this question are in the front now... it is over them that the curse of Chinese immigration first casts its blighting shadow.”
This text captures the virulent rhetoric of the 1885 anti-Chinese movement in Seattle, a period of exclusionary labor politics that culminated in the 1886 expulsion of the Chinese community. It serves as a stark reminder of how economic insecurity has historically been weaponized to target and scapegoat marginalized groups in the Pacific Northwest.
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