Contested Boundaries

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: www.wiley.com/go/jepsen/contestedboundaries.  

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).

List of Illustrations xi

Authors’ Biographies xv

Preface and acknowledgments xvii

Introduction xix

Part I Clash of Cultures 1

1 Early Encounters 3

Ships logs tell of a clash of cultures 5

British pursue “every branch” of Puget Sound 6

“Mean huts and wretched sheds” greet explorers 8

Understanding European misconceptions 9

Robert Gray braves entrance to Columbia River 10

Lewis and Clark arrive by land, 1804 to 1806 13

Meeting with Shoshone turns tense 15

Assessing the Corps of Discovery 20

The time of the people 22

Sacagawea: heroism in perspective 27

Explore more 30

Notes 30

2 Trade Among Equals 35

Slow beginning for fur trade 36

An “astronomical” tale 36

‘Single-minded’ pursuit of otter skins 37

Traders establish permanent presence in interior 39

Hudson’s Bay Company takes charge 41

Aggressive tactics create “fur deserts” 42

British diversify beyond furs 44

HBC–Native relations – the ties that bind trade 46

From ‘bad to worse’ and the end of an era 50

Explore more 52

Notes 53

3 Making a Christian Farmer 59

In search of a holy life 60

Seeking the “book of heaven” 61

Promising start in God’s work 64

Protestants and Catholics compete for converts 66

A day of reckoning at Waiilatpu 74

Indian Removal Act of 1830 – a portent of trouble for Northwest natives 78

Beyond the written word – the drawings of Father Nicolas Point 79

Explore more 81

Notes 81

4 Building an American Northwest 87

Americans look West 87

Experiencing the Oregon Trail 89

Forging American institutions in Oregon 93

Taming a ‘wilderness’ 95

Nothing settled – Indian reservations and war 97

“Seeing the Elephant” – the Catherine Sager story 103

Mother Joseph – a Northwest builder 104

Federal boarding schools challenge cultural boundaries 106

Explore more 108

Notes 109

Important Dates and Events 115

Part II People and Place 117

5 Riding the Railroad Rollercoaster 119

Unlimited opportunity, limited markets 121

Frenzy of railroad construction 122

Big ideas from flawed men 124

Marketing the “wasteland” as a “friendly place” 125

Making and breaking cities 128

Extraction industry finally on wheels 131

Not all is rosy in rail town 133

Panic exposes poor management 135

James J. Hill: from empire builder to noxious weed 139

Cashing in on the Klondike Gold Rush 141

Explore more 143

Notes 143

6 Seeking Dignity in Labor 149

Making sense of the Progressive Era 151

Divided union struggles for power 152

At the mercy of predatory “job sharks” 153

A rough and tumble lumber business 155

Arrest and expulsion in Aberdeen 157

Running the gauntlet in Everett 158

A parade of violence in Centralia 160

Looking for answers in a violent past 163

The beginning of the end 165

R.D. Hume, “pygmy monopolist” on the economic frontier 169

Explore more 172

Notes 172

7 Dismantling a Racial Hierarchy 177

African Americans – seeking haven from racial oppression 179

Early industrialization and demand for substitute labor 181

Chinese – the travails of life on “gold mountain” 184

The Tacoma Method – organized vigilantism at gunpoint 186

Clashing with “mongoloid races” in Idaho’s goldfields 187

A century and a half of change 190

European immigration – overlooked stories of the American West 191

Doc Hay and generous medicine – a prescription for cultural acceptance 192

Explore more 194

Notes 194

8 Liberation in the West 197

Women serve as the moral authority 199

Working-class labor in farm yard and factory 200

Challenging long hours and low pay 204

The dual challenge – female and minority 205

Chinese build a presence in a strange land 207

The Irish – moving beyond the domestic 208

African Americans – finding confidence and self-worth 209

Winning the franchise 212

Answering the “why” question 216

Muller v. Oregon 218

Caroline Gleason – debunking the myths of women’s work 220

Explore more 222

Notes 222

Important Dates and Events 227

Part III Crisis and Opportunity 229

9 Beyond Breadlines 231

Returning to the not so “Roaring ‘20s” 232

Going from bad to worse 233

“Let’s call this place Hooverville” 234

Out with the old, and in with the New Deal 237

Putting Americans to work in the city 240

Did the government create a “nation of softies”? 243

Pointing towards a new era 244

Building the “Eighth Wonder of the World” 246

Explore more 249

Notes 249

10 Marching through Global Conflict 255

The winds of war sweep across the Pacific Northwest 256

Northwest industries rise to the challenge 257

A Critical shortage of workers breaks down barriers 262

Japanese Americans challenge new boundaries 266

From a World War to a Cold War 270

A changed Northwest? 272

Women for the defense 273

Maggie, Scoop, and the Federal Northwest 276

Explore more 278

Notes 279

11 El Movimiento: Chicanos Unite to Improve Economic Standing 287

A rights movement that inspires others 288

Braceros, a world war and a war on poverty 289

Federal government enters the war on poverty 292

California’s rising star shines on Yakima Valley 294

Workers fight the “slave bill” in Oregon 296

El Movimiento comes to campus 297

Changing how a university serves its minority communities 300

Radio KDNA links with itinerant audiences 302

Limited victories in Washington and Oregon 303

“Taking off the mask” 306

Movin’ on up…and outside the Central District 313

Explore more 316

Notes 316

12 The Fractured Northwest 321

A new Northwestern economy 322

The big business of outdoor recreation 324

A region divided by uneven growth 328

Politics from left to right 330

Environmental politics: resources vs. recreation 332

An uncertain future 335

From building to breaching dams 337

Standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 339

Explore more 341

Notes 341

Important Dates and Events 348

Bibliography 349

Index 367

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