Washington Territory. Governor (1853-1857 : Stevens)

Isaac I. Stevens was born near Andover, Mass., in 1818. Though often in poor health, he worked as a farm hand until his appointment to West Point, where he graduated first in the class of 1839. He entered the Engineering corps and served with distinction with the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Later he was called to action during the Mexican War and was wounded during the taking of Mexico City in 1848. He emerged from the Mexican War with the rank of brevet major. When Washington Territory was established by Congress on 2 Mar. 1853, Pres. Franklin Pierce appointed Stevens to be the first governor of the new territory on 17 March. In addition to his duties as governor, Stevens also took on the responsibilities of making peace with the Indians as he traveled overland to Washington, and he also agreed to determine the feasibility of a northern railroad route to the Pacific. Stevens did not arrive in Olympia until 28 Nov. 1853, having been occupied in the intervening months in making an exhaustive survey of possible routes for the transcontinental railway.

Stevens was only thirty-five years old at the time of his appointment, the youngest as well as perhaps the brightest man to serve as Washington's territorial governor. He was extremely active in the affairs of the Territory and devoted much of his time to making treaties with the Indians as far east as Montana, in his capacity as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. U.S. governmental policy at the time was that prior to the settlement of new territory, the Indians' rights to the land must be settled, so that the lands not claimed by the Indians in the treaties could be opened to white settlement. To this end, Stevens concluded ten treaties with the various Indian tribes so that peaceful, large scale white immigration could begin. Due to misunderstandings as to the meaning of the treaties on the part of the Indians and flagrant violations of the treaty territories by white miners, war broke out in 1855. The Indian Wars lasted until 1858, with considerable bloodshed, and atrocities committed by both whites and Indians. Several controversies arose out of the war, including the military role of Stevens as Commander-in-Chief of the Territorial Militia as opposed to the role of the U.S. Army, the right of Stevens to declare martial law, and the hanging of Leschi, one of the Indian leaders.

From his first messages to the legislature, it was evident that Stevens had visions of greatness for Washington, but two basic problems had to be dealt with before Washington could grow and prosper. First, the Indians had to be pacified and settled in specific areas, since white settlement could not take place with the Indians roaming at will. Second, transportation facilities needed to be improved to encourage settlers to come to the new territory. The Indian problem was settled, if not amicably, by 1858, throughout most of the territory. In regard to transportation, Stevens's idea was to establish a transcontinental railroad into the territory along a northern route. Stevens produced a comprehensive survey which demonstrated the feasibility of a northern railroad route from the headwaters of the Mississippi to Puget Sound. Unfortunately, events forestalled the construction of the northern railroad line for many years to come. The lack of a railroad or even proper wagon roads kept immigration to a minimum. Only the hardiest pioneers were willing to take the northern fork of the Oregon trail and settle in Washington, postponing Stevens's splendid visions for Washington's future. He sought to take his message to Congress, and in 1857 he was elected Washington Territory's delegate to Congress. He served in that capacity for two terms, lobbying for Washington, until the beginning of the Civil War.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Stevens, always an army officer at heart, rushed into the fray. He served as a major general in the Union Army with distinction, and died leading his troops at the Battle of Chantilly in 1862.