The City Under Martial Law: Seattle's 1886 Expulsion
A presidential proclamation from Grover Cleveland arrived in Seattle, authorizing the use of federal troops to suppress 'domestic violence' and restore order after anti-Chinese mobs took to the streets.
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.
Whereas, it is represented to me by the Governor of the Territory of Washington that domestic violence exists within the said Territory, and that by reason of unlawful obstructions and combinations, and the assemblage of evil-disposed persons, it has become impracticable to enforce by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States at Seattle, and at other points and places within said Territory, whereby life and property are threatened and endangered; and Whereas, in the judgment of the President, an emergency has arisen and is now presented which justifies and requires the use of military force to suppress domestic violence and enforce the faithful execution of the laws of the United States... Now, therefore, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of America, do hereby command and warn all insurgents and all persons who have assembled at or total within the said Territory of Washington for the unlawful purpose aforesaid, to desist therefrom and to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes on or before 6 o'clock in the afternoon of the 10th day of February instant.
“Whereas, it is represented to me by the Governor of the Territory of Washington that domestic violence exists within the said Territory... whereby life and property are threatened and endangered.”
This proclamation marks a dark chapter in Seattle’s labor history, where economic anxiety was weaponized into the state-sanctioned expulsion of Chinese residents. Today, the event remains a stark reminder of how civic instability and nativist rhetoric can dismantle the rights of marginalized neighbors.
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