Evan Smith: Happy Admission Day
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
COMMENTARY / Evan Smith
Happy Admission Day
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy birthday, Washington.
Today is the 120th Anniversary of Washington’s admission to the Union as the nation’s 42nd state.
On this day in 1889, Washington residents got the statehood they had sought since Washington became a territory in 1852.
On becoming a territory, residents sought to influence decision-makers by naming the territory’s two largest counties after President-elect Franklin Pierce and Vice President-elect Rufus King. They got statehood; it just took 37 years.
When Washington Territory separated from Oregon, residents considered naming it Columbia Territory but rejected the name to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia. Instead, they chose the name Washington and got the same confusion.
Yes, it’s also Veteran’s Day, the 91st anniversary of the end of World War I.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy birthday, Washington.
Today is the 120th Anniversary of Washington’s admission to the Union as the nation’s 42nd state.
On this day in 1889, Washington residents got the statehood they had sought since Washington became a territory in 1852.
On becoming a territory, residents sought to influence decision-makers by naming the territory’s two largest counties after President-elect Franklin Pierce and Vice President-elect Rufus King. They got statehood; it just took 37 years.
When Washington Territory separated from Oregon, residents considered naming it Columbia Territory but rejected the name to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia. Instead, they chose the name Washington and got the same confusion.
Yes, it’s also Veteran’s Day, the 91st anniversary of the end of World War I.
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