Washington’s Road to Statehood

The Case for Statehood

• Washington and Idaho increasingly pressed the federal government for statehood during the 1870s and 1880s.

• In 1889, thirty years had passed since Oregon became a state.

• No new states were added since Colorado became a state in 1876.

The Case for Statehood (cont.)

• Many Washingtonians believed that without statehood, their condition amounted to taxation without representation, a rallying cry used for the Revolutionary War one hundred years earlier.

Problems in the other “Washington”

• Anti-Chinese actions and sentiment in the mid 1880s might have given Congress the impression that Washington was too immature for statehood.

• If women were given the right to vote in Washington, it might set a “bad” precedent since women were not given the right to vote in other states.

More problems

• The territorial governor of Idaho was opposed to statehood because he feared that Idaho might be carved up and placed into other states such as Montana and Nevada.

• There was even a push to create an inland Northwest state called Jefferson that would incorporate Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon and Idaho.

Politics in Washington, D.C.

• The Democratic controlled Congress was reluctant to admit a state that would likely vote Republican giving additional Republican Senators to the U.S. Senate.

The Tide Turns

• In 1888, Republicans captured both the White House and Congress, paving the way for statehood.

• In 1889, Democrats in Congress dropped their delay tactics and allowed for the statehood admission process to continue for Washington, Montana, and the two Dakotas.

Washington’s Turn

• The condition of statehood required an agreement to the following conditions:– Adhering to a republican form of government,– Racial equality,– Religious Toleration,– Assumption of federal debts, and – Establishment of public schools.

Washington’s Constitution

• Comprised mainly of Republican farmers, Washington’s constitutional convention set out drafting a framework for governing the new state.

• The document was modeled after the U.S. Constitution and other state constitutions but also concerned itself with local issues such as water rights and livestock.

Washington’s Constitution (cont.)

• Compared to the U.S. Constitution, Washington’s constitution contained 25 articles with 245 subsections and totaling 30,000 words, making it seven times longer than the federal version.

• The paramount responsibility of Washington’s constitution and state government is the education of the state’s children.

Women’s Suffrage

• Women’s suffrage (the right to vote) was a hotly contested issue. In order to secure the necessary votes, the framers did what many modern lawmakers do when faced with a tough decision – delay the vote and let the public decide via a public vote after statehood.

Statehood Achieved

• By a special election on October 2, 1889 Washington approved the state constitution by a vote of 40,000 to 12,000.

• However, the women’s suffrage amendment lost by about the same margin.

• On November 11, 1889, Washington officially became a state.