The Birth of the People's Party in King County
Third-party organizers convene in Seattle to challenge the status quo, demanding labor protections, women's suffrage, and the expulsion of Chinese laborers.
The convention of the People’s party, assembled at the Wheeler yesterday forenoon, to pass certain resolutions and platform, was a noisy affair. P.S. Wilson, of Newcastle, was elected Temporary Chairman. The chair appointed committees on credentials and order of business. The convention adopted a platform declaring for the rights of the many against the privileges of the few. Key planks included: protection for labor, abolition of competition from contract and convict labor, support for women's suffrage, taxation of all private property (including money and obligations), the exclusion of the Chinese, an employers' liability law, a law prohibiting child labor under 13, compulsory education, weekly payment of wages, and an eight-hour workday for underground workers. They also demanded sanitary inspections and the repeal of the gross earnings tax.
“We will maintain and defend the rights of the many against privileges for the few.”
This 1886 platform captures the volatile Populist movement in Washington, which mobilized against corporate monopolies and corruption. It is a stark reminder of the era's dual nature: demanding progressive labor rights and gender equality while simultaneously advocating for the violent exclusionary policies targeting Chinese residents.
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