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Significant autograph telegram signed as president, signed “Benj. Harrison,” one page, 7.75 x 8, November 4, 1889. Handwritten telegram to Miles C. Moore, Governor of the Washington Territory, providing clear instructions for the territory's admission into the Union. In full: "Section Eight of the Enabling Act requires that the Governor shall certify 'a copy of said Constitution' &c. The copy sent is duly certified by the Secretary. Send another certified by you, and attested by the Secretary with the seal attached." Affixed to a slightly larger sheet and in fine condition.
In 1889, Congress passed the Enabling Act permitting Washington Territory, along with Montana and the Dakotas, to draft state constitutions and form governments as a condition for statehood. Section 8 of that Act required the territorial governor to certify a copy of the new state constitution to the president for approval. Moore’s earlier submission lacked his signature, which President Harrison flagged as insufficient, prompting this telegram instructing him to send another certified copy with the proper attestations before statehood could be proclaimed.
On the very same day, November 4th, in response to the president’s instructions, Moore sent Harrison 'a copy of the Constitution of the State of Washington, certified in the manner prescribed in your telegram of this date, attested by the Secretary, with the seal of the Territory attached.' Washington’s constitution had been ratified by voters in October 1889, and following the corrected certification, President Harrison issued the formal proclamation admitting Washington to the Union on November 11, 1889. This letter thus captures a pivotal bureaucratic moment in the expansion of the United States under Harrison’s administration and exemplifies the precise constitutional requirements that governed territorial transition to statehood in the late 19th century.
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