Contested Boundaries - David J. Jepsen - E-Book

Contested Boundaries E-Book

David J. Jepsen

0,0
33,99 €

-100%
Sammeln Sie Punkte in unserem Gutscheinprogramm und kaufen Sie E-Books und Hörbücher mit bis zu 100% Rabatt.

Mehr erfahren.
Beschreibung

Contested Boundaries: A New Pacific Northwest History is an engaging, contemporary look at the themes, events, and people that have shaped the history of the Pacific Northwest over the last two centuries.

  • An engaging look at the themes, events, and people that shaped the Pacific Northwest – Washington, Oregon, and Idaho – from when only Native Peoples inhabited the land through the twentieth century.
  • Twelve theme-driven essays covering the human and environmental impact of exploration, trade, settlement and industrialization in the nineteenth century, followed by  economic calamity, world war and globalization in the twentieth.
  • Written by two professors with over 20 years of teaching experience, this work introduces the history of the Pacific Northwest in a style that is accessible, relevant, and meaningful for anyone wishing to learn more about the region’s recent history. A companion website for students and instructors includes test banks, PowerPoint presentations, student self-assessment tests, useful primary documents, and resource links: http://www.wiley.com/go/jepsen/contestedboundaries

Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:

Android
iOS
von Legimi
zertifizierten E-Readern

Seitenzahl: 861

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Bewertungen
0,0
0
0
0
0
0
Mehr Informationen
Mehr Informationen
Legimi prüft nicht, ob Rezensionen von Nutzern stammen, die den betreffenden Titel tatsächlich gekauft oder gelesen/gehört haben. Wir entfernen aber gefälschte Rezensionen.



Contested Boundaries: A New Pacific Northwest History

Contested Boundaries: A New Pacific Northwest History is an engaging, contemporary look at the themes, events, and people that have shaped the history of the Pacific Northwest over the last two centuries.

Bringing together the best features of a reader and a traditional textbook, this work features12 stand-alone essays that thematically capture the essential narratives of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, with features like timelines, illustrations, and sidebars that provide scholarly context.

Centered on the concept of “exclusion,” Contested Boundaries: A New Pacific Northwest History introduces the region's many different inhabitants – past and present – from Native Americans and women to Asian Americans and Hispanic peoples, and details the political, economic, and social barriers they encountered. It includes well-balanced, inclusive, up-to-date coverage of a variety of important issues for the region, including the environment, gender, ethnicity, and culture. A companion website for students and instructors includes test banks, PowerPoint presentations, student self-assessment tests, useful primary documents, and resource links.

Written by two professors with over 20 years of teaching experience, this work introduces the history of the Pacific Northwest in a style that is accessible, relevant, and meaningful for anyone wishing to learn more about the region's history.

DAVID JEPSEN is a former journalist and corporate marketing professional who has been writing professionally for 40 years. He holds a BA in Communications and a MA in History from the University of Washington. Since 2007, he has taught at Pierce College, the University of Washington Tacoma, and Tacoma Community College, where he is currently a member of the adjunct faculty, teaching both U.S. and Pacific Northwest history. His many writing awards include Honorable Mention for the 2006 Oregon Historical Society Joe Palmer Award for the article “Old-Fashioned Revival: Religion, Migration and a New Identity for Pacific Northwest at Mid-Twentieth Century” (2006).

DAVID NORBERG has taught Pacific Northwest history in Washington for nearly 14 years and currently is a full-time member of the history faculty and chair of the Social Sciences Division at Green River Community College, in Auburn, Washington. He holds a BA in History from the University of Washington and a MA in History from Western Washington University. His article, “The Ku Klux Klan in the Valley, a 1920s Phenomenon,” published by the White River Valley Museum, shed new light on the conservative backlash in the region following World War I.

Contested Boundaries

A New Pacific Northwest History

David J. Jepsen and David J. Norberg

This edition first published 2017

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permision to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of David J. Jepsen and David J. Norberg to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

Registered Office:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

Editorial Office

350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the authors shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for.

9781119065487 (hardback)

9781119065548 (paperback)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover images courtesy of the authors

To Jackie, who taught me how to listen.

To Kristine, Alex, and Niko, whose support and encouragement made this work possible.

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Authors' Biographies

Preface and acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: Clash of Cultures

1: Early Encounters: Three hundred years after Columbus, explorers stake claims, exploit riches and leave disease

Ships logs tell of a clash of cultures

British pursue “every branch” of Puget Sound

“Mean huts and wretched sheds” greet explorers

Understanding European misconceptions

Robert Gray braves entrance to Columbia River

Lewis and Clark arrive by land, 1804 to 1806

Meeting with Shoshone turns tense

Assessing the Corps of Discovery

Explore more

Notes

2: Trade Among Equals: Natives, British, and Americans jockey for control over land and resources

Slow beginning for fur trade

An “astronomical” tale

‘Single-minded’ pursuit of otter skins

Traders establish permanent presence in interior

Hudson's Bay Company takes charge

Aggressive tactics create “fur deserts”

British diversify beyond furs

HBC–Native relations – the ties that bind trade

From ‘bad to worse’ and the end of an era

Explore more

Notes

3: Making a Christian Farmer: Native Peoples, missionaries, and saving souls in “Oregon Country”

In search of a holy life

Seeking the “book of heaven”

Promising start in God's work

Protestants and Catholics compete for converts

A day of reckoning at Waiilatpu

Explore more

Notes

4: Building an American Northwest: To make it their own, American settlers redraw region's physical and cultural boundaries

Americans look West

Experiencing the Oregon Trail

Forging American institutions in Oregon

Taming a ‘wilderness’

Nothing settled – Indian reservations and war

Explore more

Notes

Important Dates and Events

Part II: People and Place

5: Riding the Railroad Rollercoaster: “Magician's rod” connected east with west, transforming everything it touched

Unlimited opportunity, limited markets

Frenzy of railroad construction

Big ideas from flawed men

Marketing the “wasteland” as a “friendly place”

Making and breaking cities

Extraction industry finally on wheels

Not all is rosy in rail town

Panic exposes poor management

Explore more

Notes

6: Seeking Dignity in Labor: Entangled in class warfare, “Wobblies” struggle for First Amendment rights and equities in the workplace

Making sense of the Progressive Era

Divided union struggles for power

At the mercy of predatory “job sharks”

A rough and tumble lumber business

Arrest and expulsion in Aberdeen

Running the gauntlet in Everett

A parade of violence in Centralia

Looking for answers in a violent past

The beginning of the end

Explore more

Notes

7: Dismantling a Racial Hierarchy: Minorities fight for equality in a region grappling with diversity

African Americans – seeking haven from racial oppression

Early industrialization and demand for substitute labor

Chinese – the travails of life on “gold mountain”

The Tacoma Method – organized vigilantism at gunpoint

Clashing with “mongoloid races” in Idaho's goldfields

A century and a half of change

Explore more

Notes

8: Liberation in the West: In a society as unsettled as the land, women gain newfound recognition and rights

Women serve as the moral authority

Working-class labor in farm yard and factory

Challenging long hours and low pay

The dual challenge – female and minority

Chinese build a presence in a strange land

The Irish – moving beyond the domestic

African Americans – finding confidence and self-worth

Winning the franchise

Answering the “why” question

Explore more

Notes

Important Dates and Events

Part III: Crisis and Opportunity

9: Beyond Breadlines: The Great Depression, New Deal and the making of the “Federal West”

Returning to the not so “Roaring ‘20s”

Going from bad to worse

“Let's call this place Hooverville”

Out with the old, and in with the New Deal

Putting Americans to work in the city

Did the government create a “nation of softies”?

Pointing towards a new era

Explore more

Notes

10: Marching through Global Conflict: Region's strategic locale brings explosive growth, while erasing barriers for some and fencing others

The winds of war sweep across the Pacific Northwest

Northwest industries rise to the challenge

A critical shortage of workers breaks down barriers

Japanese Americans challenge new boundaries

From a World War to a Cold War

A changed Northwest?

Explore more

Notes

11: El Movimiento: Chicanos Unite to Improve Economic Standing: Rejecting second-class citizenship, Mexican Americans unite to improve economic standing and reclaim their identity

A rights movement that inspires others

Braceros, a world war and a war on poverty

Federal government enters the war on poverty

California's rising star shines on Yakima Valley

Workers fight the “slave bill” in Oregon

El Movimiento comes to campus

Changing how a university serves its minority communities

Radio KDNA links with itinerant audiences

Limited victories in Washington and Oregon

Explore more

Notes

12: The Fractured Northwest: Pocketbook politics compete with environmental preservation in a globalized economy

A new Northwestern economy

The big business of outdoor recreation

A region divided by uneven growth

Politics from left to right

Environmental politics: resources vs. recreation

An uncertain future

Explore more

Notes

Important Dates and Events

Bibliography

Index

EULA

List of Illustrations

Part I

Figure I.1

Natives in canoes, probably members of the Kwakwaka'wakw group of peoples, watch with interest as Captain George Vancouver's ship,

The Discovery

, lies grounded at Queen Charlotte Sound north of Vancouver Island in July 1792. The

Discovery

's consort, the

Chatham

, was unable to free the

Discovery

although it dislodged from the rocks at high tide. Image provided with permission from the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections (NA 3988).

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1

This illustration of Mt. Rainier at Admiralty Inlet on Puget Sound was sketched in 1792 by Midshipman John Sykes, not a trained artist, and likely redrawn by a professional artist for publication in in the 1798 Atlas to George Vancouver's Voyages. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 1.2

The American ship

Columbia

(foreground), under the command of Captain Robert Gray, encounters the British ships

Discovery

and

Chatham

under George Vancouver's command. Gray and Vancouver met April 29, 1792, and discussed the search for the illusive entrance to the “Great Oregon River,” later named the Columbia. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 1.3

Encounters between the Corps of Discovery and Native Peoples often involved a cultural exchange. In this Roger Cooke painting, Corps member Private Pierre Cruzatte plays the fiddle while others dance, much to the entertainment of their hosts. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 1.4

In 1905, Portland hosted the Lewis & Clark Centennial, a world's fair designed to bring business and workers to the city. Note the patriotic tone of the poster as Lewis and Clark march west arm-and-arm with the flag-draped Lady Liberty. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 1.5

An unidentified group of Native People play a stick game called “alcholoh.” During the summer, Natives enjoyed ball and stick games, foot races, and other competitive activities. Paul Kane oil on canvas

ca

1850. Image provided with permission from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Figure 1.6

Chinook lounging outside what is likely a temporary summer shelter. Most Chinook lived in substantial longhouses in winter. Mount Hood can be seen in the distance. Paul Kane oil on Canvas. Image provided with permission from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Figure 1.7

This larger-than-life portrayal of Sacagawea, which appeared on the cover of the novel

Sacajawea,

typifies her heroic legacy. In all likelihood it bears little resemblance to the real Sacagawea, who was 15 years old and six months pregnant when she joined Lewis and Clark. Book cover from

Sacajawea

by Anne Lee Waldo. Copyright © 1978. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1

Alexander Mackenzie looks a bit more like a gentleman than an explorer in this portrait printed in his “Voyages from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in the years 1789 and 1793.” His exploits paved the way for later expeditions and the rise of the Northwest fur trade. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 2.2

Colville chief See-pay, the “Salmon Chief” or “Chief of the Waters,” launched and organized his tribe's salmon harvest each season. He speared the first fish, directed placement of traps and oversaw construction of fishing platforms. Paul Kane oil on canvas. Image provided with permission from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Figure 2.3

Hudson's Bay Company recruitment flyers attracted a diverse, and at times motley, lot to the Pacific Northwest. The terms of the position reflect the hierarchical nature of the company. Workers had to accept a place as “servants” and bind themselves to a five-year contract working for aristocratic leaders like Sir George Simpson. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 2.4

Eager to trade with Britain's Hudson's Bay Company, Natives often gathered outside Fort Nisqually near what is now DuPont, Washington. The British artist Henry James Warre created this and other oil paintings while on a mission to spy on American interests in the region in 1845. Image provided with permission from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Figure 2.5

Colville salmon fishing at Kettle Falls near Colville in what is now northeast Washington. This oil on canvas is one of dozens by Canadian painter Paul Kane, who traveled throughout Oregon Territory from 1845 to 1848 to create a lasting record of Native Peoples. Image provided with permission from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Figure 2.6

Spokane Garry's life transcended profoundly different historical eras. Born in the era of the fur trade, he came of age when the Spokane Tribe worked with traders on a middle ground. Everything changed as American settlers moved into the region. Ultimately forced off his land by trespassing Americans, he died destitute. A monument to Garry can be found in Spokane's Chief Garry Park. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1

British artist Paul Kane drew these sketches of Protestant missionaries Narcissa and Marcus Whitman just a few months before they were killed at their mission at Waiilatpu near Walla Walla in 1847. Image reprinted with permission from the National Park Service and the Whitman Mission National Historical Site.

Figure 3.2

The St. Mary's Mission on the Bitterroot River near the current Idaho-Montana border drew thousands of potential converts. The tee-pees on the left in this Nicholas Point sketch show that many Flathead, Coeur d'Alene, and other Salish peoples set up semi-permanent residence on mission grounds. Image reprinted with permission from the Jesuit Archives Central United States.

Figure 3.3

Many Salish and other Native Peoples eagerly accepted the Holy Sacraments including communion. Here, artist Nicholas Point captures the solemnity of communion inside St. Mary's Church. The fact Salish helped decorate the mission, including weaving the mats on the floor and ceiling, underscores their emotional commitment to Christianity. Image reprinted with permission from the Jesuit Archives Central United States.

Figure 3.4

Catholic priests, whom the Natives called “Black Robes,” traveled throughout Oregon Country evangelizing at villages. Many set up temporary altars outdoors, administering communion and baptism to all willing people. Nicholas Point drawing reprinted with permission from the Jesuit Archives Central United States.

Figure 3.5

This 27-foot marble monument, erected in 1897 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Whitman tragedy, overlooks the 97-acre Whitman Mission National Historic Site, near Walla Walla, Washington. Reprinted with permission from David J. Jepsen.

Figure 3.6

Titled the “Return of the Hunter,” this Nicholas Point sketch illustrates the excitement of a Salish family who will soon have meat on the table. While the Northern reaches of what are now Idaho and Western Montana were rich in game, winters could be lean. Image reprinted with permission from the Jesuit Archives Central United States.

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1

A leading figure in Oregon's early history, Joel Palmer moved west in 1845. Palmer was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs and negotiated treaties in the 1850s. Perhaps a reflection of his Quaker roots, Palmer expressed sympathy for Natives, irritating settlers who eventually drove him from office. Image reprinted with permission from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library (Catalog No. OrHi 27903).

Figure 4.2

For decades, the men in this photograph were mistakenly identified as members of the Cowlitz Tribe. In fact, they hailed from the Warm Springs Reservation in Southern Oregon and served as scouts to the U.S. military during the Modoc War of 1872–1873 in Northern California. Conflict between Native Peoples existed long before the arrival of American settlers. As wars broke out, the United States actively sought to pit peoples against each other, as they sought to gain advantages over age-old enemies. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 4.3

The borders of the American Northwest had largely solidified by the time this map appeared in Johnson's Atlas in 1863, and it suggests that the dreams of American settlers were largely coming to fruition. Importantly, the formative nature of the era can still be seen here, as the final borders of Idaho had yet to be drawn in. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 4.4

This 1895 photograph of hop pickers in the Yakima region reveals the complex relationships that existed between Native Peoples and Americans who first established farms in the Oregon Trail period. Farmers needed laborers, and Natives relied on wage work to supplement their seasonal economy developed over thousands of years. Reprinted with permission from the Yakima Valley Museum.

Figure 4.5

Former Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens stands proudly in uniform in this 1861 lithograph. A West Point graduate, Stevens' controversial dealings with Native Americans plagued his career in the Pacific Northwest. He leapt to the Union's cause in the Civil War and died in 1862 in the Battle of Chantilly. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 4.6

Some 1,000 Nez Perce on horses thundered into the Walla Walla treaty council in 1855 and circled Isaac Stevens and other American dignitaries in this Gustavus Sohon watercolor. Clearly they hoped the dramatic entrance would intimidate Stevens and set the tone for negotiations. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 4.7

Superintendent of Indian Affairs Joel Palmer and Isaac Stevens, Washington's territorial governor (foreground) serve dinner to leaders of multiple tribes at the 1855 Walla Walla treaty council. It is doubtful this show of goodwill assuaged them as control of their lands lay at the heart of negotiations. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 4.8

Settlers often viewed Catholic missionaries with suspicion since many came from Canada or Europe and sometimes seemed too sympathetic towards Native Americans. Mother Joseph's tireless efforts to help the poor and promote social services endeared her to many and made her an icon in the region's history. Image reprinted with permission from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, U.S.-Ontario Province.

Part II

Figure II.1

“This log will cut 40,000 shingles,” boasted the photographer who snapped this shot of families standing on logs near Sedro-Woolley, Washington, in 1899. The photographer, Darius Kinsey, spent much of his career chronicling Washington's logging industry. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1

This image fails to reveal the extravagance of the Northern Pacific last spike ceremony near Helena, Montana Territory, on September 8, 1883. To celebrate “east meeting west,” the railroad paid travel costs for three hundred European guests, including members of British royalty, and former President Ulysses S. Grant, who spoke. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 5.2

To fill seats, railroads often promoted the region's “limitless” resources. The cover of this Oregon Railway and Navigation prospectus shows off the “three women of bounty.” Notice how each state is associated with the tools of their dominant industry. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 5.3

Pacific Northwest resident populations 1860–1920.

Figure 5.4

Seattle real estate broker Eshelman-Llewellyn Investment Company used Washington statehood in November 1889 to promote investment in Seattle. The list of more than 30 commodities available from the state underscores the theme of abundance. The umbrella under Uncle Sam's arm suggests Seattle was already known for its rain. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 5.5

An African American waiter serves apples to two passengers in a Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad dining car. The railroad greatly contributed to the region's diversity as thousands of African Americans and other minorities found jobs on the road. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 5.6

Jobs and land were not the only reasons people were drawn to the Pacific Northwest. This 1923 booklet promotes the region's many tourist attractions. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 5.7

Undated portrait of Great Northern President James Hill, who like many railroad tycoons, built a transportation empire but left in its wake a trail of financial mismanagement and unscrupulous business practices. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 6

Figure 6.1

As the cover of this IWW songbook shows, Wobblies used music to “fan the flames of discontent.” According to songwriter Joe Hill, a pamphlet “is never read more than once,” but a song is “learned by heart and repeated over and over …” Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 6.2

The cry for “One Big Union,” framed the IWW's Socialist-leaning platform whereby the common laborer, not managers or owners, would unite to control the workplace and American capitalism. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 6.3

Labor activist William H. Collins, whom police suspected of having shot at the Legionnaires on November 11, 1919, was not among the men eventually indicted and convicted for their role in the Armistice Day killings. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 6.4

Seated front/left in this 1915 portrait is Ralph Chaplin, an IWW newspaper editor and songwriter. Chaplin wrote “Solidarity Forever,” a pro-labor ballad that became the Wobbly theme song. Seated to Chaplin's left are his son Vonnie and wife Ruby. At center is IWW general secretary “Big Bill” Haywood. The Wobblies in the rear are unidentified. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 6.5

Traffic comes to a halt during the Seattle streetcar strike in November 1903. The local unit of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America demanded overtime pay and other concessions from the privately held Seattle Electric Company. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 6.6

The General Strike that shut down Seattle for five days in February 1919 began at the city's shipyards a month earlier. Here, thousands of striking workers jam the Skinner and Eddy yards. Among other grievances, they demanded a living wage and safer workplace. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 7

Figure 7.1

This 1892 handbill is similar to those posted throughout Tacoma prior to the Chinese expulsion in 1885. The 1892 meeting whereby citizens could express their opinion on the “Chinese question” was poorly attended. Apparently Tacoma's anti-Chinese sentiment had fizzled following the forced removal of hundreds of Chinese seven years earlier. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 7.2

Miners stop to pose for a photo in a Wilkeson coal mine in Pierce County, Washington, in 1913. In high demand to fuel the region's railroads, coal also fueled tensions between miners and owners over wages, work safety, and hiring African Americans during strikes.

Figure 7.3

The region's salmon industry, including this Kingfisher cannery in Bellingham, Washington, photographed in 1899, depended on Chinese labor. Thanks to improvements in handling and canning, Northwest salmon became a staple of the working class on the East Coast, Great Britain and Australia in early twentieth century. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 7.4

On February 7, 1886, armed men ushered about 350 Chinese to the Seattle waterfront, where 200 were loaded onto a San Francisco bound steamer, with the remainder spending the night on the docks. When police attempted to escort the Chinese back to their homes, a riot broke out in which a man was killed and five wounded. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 7.5

By 1900 European immigrants made up nearly a quarter of the Pacific Northwest population. Many were on their second stop in America, having initially settled in the Midwest. The availability of affordable farmland, and strong job growth in the extraction industries drew them even further west.

Source

: Data courtesy Washington State Historical Society. U.S. Bureau of the Census,

Census Reports, vol. 1 Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900

.

Figure 7.6

Ing “Doc” Hay practiced “pulsology” to treat the medical needs of the people of John Day and much of Southeastern Oregon. Image reprinted with permission from the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site.

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1

Two women carry picket signs to support workers striking over minimum wages near Multnomah County, Oregon, in 1913. The state legislature was considering a minimum wage bill to protect “the lives, health and morals of women and minor workers.” Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 8.2

Women packing salmon at the Pacific American Fisheries cannery in Bellingham, Washington, around 1905. Washington and Oregon eventually passed laws limiting the hours women could work on their feet. A “woman's physical structure” and “maternal functions,” the courts ruled, endangered her ability to produce “vigorous offspring.” Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 8.3

Native American women, like these picking hops near the White River Valley, Washington, around 1905, found work as pickers and other unskilled jobs throughout the Pacific Northwest. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 8.4

Beatrice Morrow Cannady of Portland, editor of the black-owned newspaper,

The Advocate

, devoted her life to building understanding and acceptance among the city's black and white communities. Image reprinted with permission from the

Oregonian.

Figure 8.5

This political cartoon graced the front page of

Votes for Women

, the Washington Equal Suffrage Association newspaper in 1910. Note the respectability and determination of the women in contrast to the men, portrayed as drunk and corrupt. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 8.6

Members of the Waitresses Association of Seattle participate in the 1912 Labor Day parade in Seattle. Arguing for a six-day work week in 1901, waitress union founder Alice Lord chided legislators, “You give even your horses one day's rest in seven.” Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 8.7

This 1920 James Griswold cartoon satirizes how women's suffrage turned men into hapless domestic slaves responsible for housekeeping and child care. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 8.8

Caroline Gleason of Portland devoted her life to social work, especially the needs of working women. Her research led to the Oregon Legislature passing a bill in 1913 to provide women a minimum wage and limit their working day. Image reprinted with permission from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, U.S.-Ontario Province.

Part III

Figure III.1

President Franklin Roosevelt visits the Grand Coulee Dam construction site, one of his more impactful New Deal projects on October 2, 1937. While the “Eighth Wonder of the World” created jobs, generated affordable electricity, and contributed to America's victory in World War II, it took a heavy toll in damage to the salmon habitat and Native American culture. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 9

Figure 9.1

The Second Ku Klux Klan rose to prominence throughout the nation in the 1920s and advocated a virulent mixture of racism, nativism, and anti-Catholic sentiments. Members of the Oregon Klan, pictured here, successfully backed a measure requiring all students to attend public school in 1922. Meant to shutter Catholic schools, the move backfired as the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately struck the law down in a precedent-setting decision three years later. Image reprinted with permission from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. (Catalog No. OEHI51012).

Figure 9.2

Officials at the Family Welfare Office in Tacoma staged this photograph in 1931, presumably, to tug at heartstrings and encourage aid to those facing dire straits. In the end, local services and charities simply could not keep up, and weary voters increasingly looked to the federal government for action. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 9.3

Shared poverty during the Great Depression broke down racial barriers in Seattle's Hooverville, which was far more diverse than the larger region. More than 97% of Washingtonians were white in 1930, but some 29% of Hooverville's residents were minorities. They managed the camps cooperatively. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 9.4

Raised by socialists, the artist Ronald Ginther took an active role in radical political movements and captured the spirit of the times in numerous watercolor paintings like this one of desperate men riding the rails and helping themselves to apples as they passed an orchard outside Oregon City, Oregon. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 9.5

Young men in the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps pose for the camera. While they may seem ambivalent in this photo, many readily embraced the opportunities found in the Corps and formed life-long friendships. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 9.6

United Air Lines and Works Progress Administration officials are all smiles as they prepare to board a flight celebrating ongoing work to expand the Snohomish County Airfield. Renamed Paine Field in 1941, this WPA project supported military efforts in World War II and the Korean War, and remains an important center for aviation. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 9.7

Buoyed by New Deal legislation protecting the right of workers to organize and strike, timber workers throughout the region launched a major strike in 1935. Tensions erupted into violence in Tacoma as the National Guard came in to break the strike. Here, guardsmen aid an “innocent man” caught up in the turmoil. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 9.8

The historic Northwest meets the emerging Northwest in this photograph of sheep crossing Grand Coulee Dam. While the dam redirected the region's economy, farming, fishing, logging, and mining remained prominent for generations to come. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 10

Figure 10.1

Eleven shipways (“ways”) are visible in this aerial view of the Henry J. Kaiser Shipyards in Portland, Oregon. The facility mostly produced cargo ships known as “Liberty” ships. By the war's end, Portland contributed more than 400 ships that supplied Allied soldiers fighting in Europe and Asia. Image reprinted with permission from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. (OrHi 68758).

Figure 10.2

Workers, both men and women, at the Seattle Boeing plant celebrate completion of the 5,000th B-17 “Flying Fortress” in 1944, and many added their signatures to mark the occasion. While they obviously celebrated the milestone, the line of waiting aircraft stood as a reminder that their work remained unfinished as the war raged on. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 10.3

While the Northwest took great pride in the ships and planes it produced during both world wars, it also yielded much needed lumber from its forests. U.S. soldiers served as loggers during World War I and the government aggressively recruited labor in World War II. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 10.4

Farmers in the Willamette River Valley, and throughout the region, found themselves desperately short of labor in 1943. Mrs. Mable Mack, pictured here, led the Women's Land Army in Oregon, where some 15,000 women helped to bring in the harvest and propel the Allies to victory. Image reprinted with permission from the

Oregonian

.

Figure 10.5

Volunteers with the American Red Cross pass out food and milk to African American soldiers in Washington State. For many, it was their first visit to the Pacific Northwest and more than a few decided to put down roots in the region once the war ended. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 10.6

Everyone was expected to do their part during the war by purchasing war bonds, conserving resources, or, as captured here, gathering scrap metal for weapons production. Beaming with pride, these young people expressed both patriotism and deep-seated anti-Japanese sentiments. Image reprinted with permission from the

Oregonian

.

Figure 10.7

Japanese Americans interned at Minidoka did what they could to form communities and provide needed services for their fellow internees. The demeanor of these “hospital workers” suggests a tight bond existed between them. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Figure 10.8

The wartime economy opened doors for African American women like Dorothy Williams, who trained on a belt sander at the Rainier Aircraft Training School in 1945. While the region welcomed additional labor, many resisted social change and African American women faced both racism and sexism on the job. Reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 11

Figure 11.1

These farmworkers, picking potatoes in Oregon in 1943, were among tens of thousands of “braceros” who emigrated from Mexico to the United States to address a labor shortage during World War II. Image reprinted with permission from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. (Catalog No: ORHI73286).

Figure 11.2

Built for migrant farmworkers during World War II, these one-room “minimum shelters,” in the Yakima Valley had no running water or indoor toilets. Under pressure from the state, hundreds of units like these were removed or destroyed in 1969 and 1970. Image reprinted courtesy of the

Yakima Herald Republic

Collection and the Yakima Valley Museum.

Figure 11.3

César Chávez (center) speaks to United Farmworkers supporters at a gathering in Yakima in December 1969. The California-based union organizer and labor activist helped farm workers throughout the Pacific Northwest address grievances with growers. Image reprinted courtesy of the

Yakima Herald Republic

Collection and the Yakima Valley Museum.

Figure 11.4

A group of unidentified migrant farmworkers make camp near Zillah, Washington, in 1970. During peak season, a housing shortage required many workers and their families to live in tents near the fields. Image reprinted courtesy of the

Yakima Herald Republic

Collection and the Yakima Valley Museum.

Figure 11.5

Supporters of the United Farmworkers union picket outside the Safeway Store in Yakima in 1974. For more than five years, the union led boycotts against Safeway and other grocers who sold nonunion grapes. Image reprinted courtesy of the

Yakima Herald Republic

Collection and the Yakima Valley Museum.

Figure 11.6

Ricardo García during interview with

Yakima Herald Republic

reporter in 1971.

Figure 11.7

Protesters stage a sit-down at the Seattle City Council meeting on July 25, 1963. Activists had been pressuring the city to address discrimination in housing for several months. The protesters are, from left, Delores Hall, 18; Jackie Ellis, 11; Infanta Spence, 20; and Susan Van Dong, 20. The councilman on the left, Charles M. Carroll, was tripped by protesters as he left the meeting. Image reprinted with permission from the Washington State Historical Society.

Chapter 12

Figure 12.1

Dressed in a clean suit, a worker oversees operations at a Micron Technology facility in Boise, Idaho. While it may not be as well-known as other Northwest technology companies, it is a global leader in semiconductor production and should be recognized alongside Microsoft, Amazon, and other regional icons. Image reprinted with permission from Micron.

Figure 12.2

While skyscrapers line the banks of the Willamette River in Portland, the abundance of trees reflect the efforts of Oregon's leaders, like former governor Tom McCall (1967–1975), to manage growth and preserve the natural environment, and it is fitting that this waterfront park bears McCall's name. Image reprinted with permission from David J. Jepsen.

Figure 12.3

The REI flagship store near downtown Seattle is nearly as much a destination as retail store. Boasting a 65-foot tall climbing wall, the store offers classes in climbing and other outdoor pursuits that fuel this ever-growing industry. Image reprinted with permission from David J. Jepsen.

Figure 12.4

Seattle's soaring skyscrapers and bustling waterfront, as seen from the waters of Elliott Bay, make the city's eye-popping growth in the recent past self-evident. Rising above everything else, the 76-story Columbia Center opened in 1985 and stands taller than any other building in the region. Image reprinted with permission from David J. Jepsen.

Figure 12.5

A Boeing P-8A Poseidon soars high over western Washington. While the region took a hit when Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2001, the aerospace industry remains a vital part of the region's economy. Image reprinted with permission from The Boeing Company.

Figure 12.6

Kshama Sawant presents a $500 check from her Solidarity Fund to support the Seattle teacher's strike in September 2015. The Seattle Education Association's strike led to higher wages, and concessions on student testing, teacher evaluations, overtime pay, and efforts to address racially skewed discipline and other equity issues. Photo by Clay Showalter.

Figure 12.7

Two young hikers make their way along the Snow Lake Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. The park's extensive trail system draws tourists from around the world and is so popular that a permit is required for overnight camping to limit effects on the environment. Image reprinted with permission from David Norberg.

Figure 12.8

Signs expressing vehement opposition to the Wild Olympics Bill, like these affixed to the Quinault Rain Forest Visitor Information Center, can be found all around the Olympic Peninsula. Some of the largest evergreen trees in the world stand tall just a few miles from this building along with popular hiking trails to Enchanted Valley and Low Divide. Image reprinted with permission from David Norberg.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

1

Pages

xi

xii

xiii

xv

xvii

xviii

xix

xx

xxi

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

117

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

160

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

198

199

200

201

202

203

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

229

231

232

233

234

235

236

237

238

239

240

241

242

243

244

245

246

247

248

249

250

251

252

253

254

255

256

257

258

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

266

267

268

269

270

271

272

273

274

275

276

277

278

279

280

281

282

283

284

285

286

287

288

289

290

291

292

293

294

295

296

297

298

299

300

301

302

303

304

305

306

307

308

309

310

311

312

313

314

315

316

317

318

319

320

321

322

323

324

325

326

327

328

329

330

331

332

333

334

335

336

337

338

339

340

341

342

343

344

345

346

347

349

350

351

352

353

354

355

356

357

358

359

360

361

362

363

364

365

366

367

368

369

370

371

372

373

374

375

376

377

378

379

380

381

382

383

384

385

386

387

388

389

390

391

392

List of Illustrations

I.1  HMS

Discovery

grounded at Queen Charlotte's Island

1.1  Mt. Rainier from Admiralty Inlet

1.2  USS

Columbia

encounters HMS

Discovery

1.3  Members of Corps of Discovery entertain Puget Sound natives

1.4  Lewis & Clark Centennial poster

1.5  Native Peoples playing stick games

1.6  Chinook camped near Mt. Hood

1.7  Sacagawea

2.1  Alexander Mackenzie

2.2  Colville Chief See-pay

2.3  Hudson's Bay Company recruitment flyer

2.4  Fort Nisqually

2.5  Colville Peoples fishing at Kettle Falls

2.6  Chief (Spokane) Garry

3.1  Narcissa and Marcus Whitman

3.2  St. Mary's Mission

3.3  Salish Peoples receiving the Sacrament of Communion

3.4  Catholics and natives at an outdoor altar

3.5  Monument at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site

3.6  The “Return of the Hunter”

4.1  Joel Palmer

4.2  Army scouts from Warm Springs Reservation

4.3  Pacific Northwest map from 1863

4.4  Hop pickers in Yakima

4.5  Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens

4.6  Mounted Nez Perce circle Walla Walla Treaty Council

4.7  Nez Perce dining at Walla Walla Treaty Council

4.8  Mother Joseph

II.1  Families posing on logs in Sedro Woolley

5.1  Northern Pacific Last Spike Ceremony

5.2  Railroad prospectus promoting Pacific Northwest

5.3  Chart: Pacific Northwest population 1860–1920

5.4  Poster celebrating Washington statehood

5.5  Railroad dining car

5.6  Railroad poster promoting tourism in Pacific Northwest

5.7  James Hill

6.1  IWW Songbook cover

6.2  IWW “One Big Union” poster

6.3  Wanted poster

6.4  Group portrait of Ralph Chaplin and other labor activists

6.5  The 1903 Seattle streetcar strike

6.6  Seattle dockworkers on strike in 1919

7.1  Chinese expulsion poster

7.2  Miners at Wilkeson coal mine

7.3  Chinese workers at Bellingham salmon cannery

7.4  Seattle anti-Chinese riots

7.5  Chart: European immigration by country of origin 1900

7.6  Pulsologist Ing “Doc” Hay

8.1  Women picketing for minimum wage

8.2  Women packing salmon at Bellingham cannery

8.3  Native women picking hops

8.4  Beatrice Morrow Cannady

8.5 

Votes for Women

newspaper

8.6  Seattle Waitresses Union in Labor Day parade

8.7  Women's suffrage political cartoon

8.8  Caroline Gleason

III.1  President Franklin Roosevelt at Grand Coulee Dam

9.1  Ku Klux Klan at Oregon rally

9.2  Family Welfare publicity photo during Great Depression

9.3  Seattle Hooverville

9.4  Ronald Ginther painting of men stealing apples

9.5  Young men in Civilian Conservation Corps barracks

9.6  WPA publicity photo at Snohomish County Airfield

9.7  Violence at lumber workers strike in Tacoma

9.8  Herd of sheep crossing Grand Coulee Dam

10.1  Henry J. Kaiser Shipyards in Portland

10.2  Rollout of Boeing's B-17 “Flying Fortress”

10.3  U.S. Army poster promoting lumber workers

10.4  Women's Land Army recruiting poster

10.5  American Red Cross volunteers distributing food to soldiers

10.6  Scrap metal drive in Oregon

10.7  Japanese “hospital workers” at Camp Minidoka

10.8  Woman working at Rainier Aircraft Training Center

11.1  Braceros picking potatoes

11.2  Removal of condemned migrant worker housing

11.3  César Chávez speaking to labor organizers in Yakima

11.4  Migrant workers at camp near Zillah, Washington

11.5  Picketers outside Safeway store in Yakima, Washington

11.6  Ricardo García in 1971

11.7  Youth protesters at Seattle City Council meeting in 1963

12.1  Micron Technology worker in Boise, Idaho

12.2  Downtown Portland from Tom McCall Waterfront Park

12.3  REI flagship store in Seattle

12.4  Downtown Seattle from Elliott Bay

12.5  Boeing P-8A Poseidon

12.6  Kshama Sawant at Seattle teachers' strike

12.7  Hikers at Mount Rainier National Park

12.8  Signs protesting Wild Olympics Bill

Authors' Biographies

David J. Jepsen, a former journalist and corporate marketing professional, has been writing professionally for 40 years. He holds a BA in Communications and a MA in History from the University of Washington. He teaches Pacific Northwest and United States history at Tacoma Community College. He writes regularly for academic journals and history museums. David and his wife Jackie live in Gig Harbor, Washington. They have two grown daughters, Jillian and Danielle.

David J. Norberg teaches Pacific Northwest and United States history and is currently the social science division chair at Green River College in Auburn, Washington. He holds a BA in History from the University of Washington and a MA in History from Western Washington University. He periodically writes articles and gives public presentations for local history museums and historical societies. David lives in Tacoma with his wife Kristine and their two sons, Alex and Niko.

Carly Cross photo

Preface and acknowledgments

For much of my 40-year writing career, penning a book has long been a sought-after goal. A monograph, the staple of regional historians, or a modest collection of essays seemed achievable. I never dreamed my first book would be a survey of Pacific Northwest History. But a chance encounter at the Organization of American Historians 2013 annual meeting in San Francisco remade that dream.

Typical for such events, dozens of publishers filled an exposition hall to display their latest titles, while sales reps eagerly explained how theirs would enhance the learning experience in our classrooms. Amidst the din of hundreds of teachers and historians strolling through rows of exhibits, I chatted with a small group of Pacific Northwest historians and professors. We agreed that for all the great history on display, the publishers had failed to address our greatest need – an up-to-date text on regional history. After all, the last new one was released the year Ronald Reagan handed the presidential reins over to the first George Bush, and Booth Gardner occupied the governor's mansion in Olympia.

Some informal research demonstrated the need was bigger than I suspected. Nearly half of the roughly 100 colleges and universities in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho offer Pacific Northwest History at least once in a school year, often more. The remainder focus primarily on state history. Clearly a survey of regional history was sorely needed and long overdue, and I began to explore how I might fill this embarrassing gap in our offerings.

Fortunately, the history division at the publisher John Wiley & Sons saw the same need, and had been searching for an author as far back as 2012. So it's the contribution of Wiley and Sons that I must first acknowledge. Andrew Davidson, then Wiley's senior history editor, shared my vision for a new approach to a regional text, and entrusted the work to a relatively untested writer.

Andrew cautioned that such a hefty undertaking required multiple authors. While initially resistant to the idea, I set about finding a regional historian with the requisite writing skills and willingness to take on what amounted to a two-year commitment. That search led me to David Norberg, currently the social science division chair at Green River College in Auburn, Washington. Contested Boundaries is the byproduct of a true collaboration between Dave and me. Importantly, we share fundamental beliefs in what it takes to engage students. His chapters on the North American fur trade and early settlement era in the nineteenth century, and the Great Depression and World War II in the twentieth century reveal his exceptional research and writing talents. His work on the twelfth and last chapter, “The Fractured Northwest,” creates a telling snapshot of the region's most recent past, vital if we expect to connect with the rapidly growing number of students born in the twenty-first century.

Even double-teaming the narrative we needed support from many corners. If Contested Boundaries finds a long-term home in the classroom, it will be in large part due to fellow historians who willingly shared their time and expertise in reviewing chapters. In addition to adding clarity and balance, they often moved us to rethink what by then had become well-entrenched positions. Our heart-felt thanks go to John Findlay and James Gregory at the University of Washington; Peter Boag and Karen Blair, retired, Washington State University; Patricia Killen, Gonzaga University; Coll Thrush, University of British Columbia; Dan Bush, Green River College; Drew Crooks, independent historian and author; Ed Echtle, independent researcher and historian; David Nicandri, retired director, Washington State Historical Society (WSHS); Ed Nolan, head of special collections at WSHS; and Feliks Banel, producer and historian. A special note of thanks to Stephanie Lile at Bering Street Studios and the University of Washington Tacoma, whose editing skills and well-honed instincts helped put the final touches on an evolving narrative.

The authors and publisher would like to extend special thanks to the Washington State Historical Society for providing us affordable access to their vast collection of photos and images. We share their goal of engaging students, teachers, and the community in bringing to life the colorful histories of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest. To view more WSHS images or visit the Washington State History Museum go to http://www.washingtonhistory.org/.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the mentorship and longtime support of two University of Washington professors. On the Tacoma campus, Mike Allen provided guidance early in my graduate studies, and confirmed that a 50-something student could indeed succeed in a second career. In Seattle, John Findlay's contributions to regional history extend far beyond his many books and essays. A generation of aspiring historians owe their careers to Professor Findlay. He taught me how to think and write like an historian. He urged me to look past the headline stories and see the subtle nuances that give regional history depth and context.

David Norberg wishes to thank his colleagues at Green River College for their numerous suggestions, encouragement and support: Ed Echtle, friend and fellow historian, who shaped his thinking on the region's past; and Alan Gallay, grad school advisor, whose reminder that he should enjoy his work profoundly affected his research and teaching style.

Finally, both David Norberg and I would like to thank our families for patiently tolerating (most of the time) our prolonged absences while we buried ourselves in libraries and museums or flailed away on our keyboards. To borrow from the politicos, publishing a book takes a family.

Introduction

During Captain George Vancouver's two-month exploration of Puget Sound in spring 1792, he dispatched crews in longboats to chart and map the Sound and pursue the “termination of every branch no matter how small it might appear.”1 On the evening of May 22, a crew under the leadership of Lieutenant Peter Puget was camped on the beach near present day Steilacoom when a contingent of 30 or more Natives approached in six dugout canoes.

By now, three weeks into their exploration, the British had accepted the constant presence of curious Native Peoples. But this visit felt different. There were no women and children among them, and the men were armed with bows. Alarmed, Puget's men grabbed their muskets and darted for cover behind trees. One of the British, likely Puget, stepped forward, drew a line in the sand, and thrust out his hands, signaling the Natives to stop. They hesitated, and appeared briefly to argue among themselves, before returning to their canoes. A peaceful end to a potentially fatal incident.

On January 2, 2016, two and a quarter centuries after Vancouver's expedition, another incident did not end so amicably. Angered over the way in which the Federal Government controlled Western lands, two dozen armed ranchers and anti-government protesters occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon. The standoff ended 41 days later with 25 arrests and the death of one militant, LaVoy Finicum, a 55-year-old Arizona cattle rancher. Finicum, who had acted as spokesmen for the militants throughout the occupation, was shot by police during a roadside incident outside the wildlife refuge.

So goes the history of the Pacific Northwest. From Puget drawing a simple line in the sand, to more complex lines drawn by federal regulation, the region offers a rich history of people contesting boundaries set down by others. Boundaries came in all sizes and shapes. International, territorial, and state boundaries gave the region shape but with only minimal intrusion on people's daily lives. Others were writ in code and proved more intrusive: Indian reservations, racial exclusion laws, bans on women voting and wartime internment restricted people's freedom and access to society. Others still were abstruse, persistent, and harder to contest: cultural dominance, racism, class conflict and homophobia – all variations on that line in the sand. Not all barriers were drawn in black and white. Competing interests sometimes resulted in erecting obstacles for some that opened doors for others. Grand Coulee Dam and other hydroelectric projects emasculated a mighty river, destroyed a salmon habitat and harmed a native culture. Yet what boosters called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” created thousands of jobs, opened millions of acres of farmland for irrigation and supplied the region with affordable electricity for generations – a clear case of one group's boundary being another's opportunity.

Contested Boundaries: A New Pacific Northwest History conceptualizes the region's past under the umbrella of Contest. It's a collection of stories about people contesting the political, economic, and social barriers that blocked their path to equality: Native Peoples, African Americans, Asians, women, unskilled workers of all races, and others. We follow them across the centuries as they struggle to hurdle one boundary after another during settlement, industrialization, economic calamity, world war and globalization.

Our coverage is mostly confined to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. This choice may seem arbitrary but practical reasons dictate we define the region narrowly. The question of where it begins and ends remains open to debate. In addition to the trio of states, some historians include western Montana, southwest British Columbia, Alaska and even Northern California. Others eschew political boundaries altogether, using the geography of the North Pacific Slope to define “Nature's Northwest.”2 More lyrically, the writer Timothy Egan argues the Pacific Northwest is “wherever the salmon can get to.”3 But for our purposes, the debate is mostly academic and irrelevant because wherever one draws the lines, the stories vary only in detail. The legacy of contest and exclusion prevailed throughout the North American West, or as one historian called it, a “contest for property and profit” combined with “a contest for cultural dominance.”4

A brief note on structure is appropriate here. Contested Boundaries is a hybrid that merges an edited collection of essays with elements of a traditional text. Rather than offering a text-like narrative in strict chronological order, Contested Boundaries features 12 stand-alone chapters covering the time from when only Native Peoples inhabited the land through the end of the twentieth century. Largely derivative in nature, they provide a synthesis of the superb historical scholarship in regional history published over the last 40 years. We cannot tell every story, and therefore must omit important ones. But we have tried to capture the essential narratives that collectively leave the reader with a vivid picture of the region's past, and importantly, eager to explore further. Historical timelines and brief sidebars highlighting ancillary people and events help to fill potential gaps in our coverage.

Contested Boundaries