Editing Indiana Territory (section)

==Government==
The Indiana Territory's government passed through a non-representative phase from 1800 to 1804; a semi-legislative second phase, which included the election of lower house of the territorial legislature, that extended through the ongoing [[Northwest Indian War|hostilities with Native Americans]] and the [[War of 1812]]; and a final period, when the territory's population increased and its residents successfully petitioned Congress for statehood in 1816.<ref name=BR314>Barnhart and Riker, p. 314.</ref>

Under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance, the territorial government went through 3 phases prior to statehood:<ref name="BR267-70">Barnhart and Riker, pp. 267–70.</ref><ref>Madison, p. 32.</ref>

# During the non-representative phase of territorial government the U.S. Congress and after 1789, the president with congressional approval appointed a governor, secretary, and three judges to govern each new territory. Local inhabitants did not elect these territorial officials. This phase lasted from the territory's creation in 1800 until 1804.
# During the semi-legislative phase of government, the territory's adult males who owned at least fifty acres of land elected representatives to the lower house of the territorial legislature. In addition the Congress (and later the president with congressional approval) appointed five adult males who owned at least five hundred acres of land to the upper house of the territorial legislature from a list of ten candidates that the lower house submitted for consideration. The upper and lower houses could legislate for the territory, but the territorial governor retained absolute veto power. This phase began in 1805.
# When the territory reached a population of 60,000 free inhabitants, it entered the final phase that included its successful petition to Congress for statehood.

In 1803, when the Indiana Territory was formed from the remaining Northwest Territory after Ohio attained statehood, the requirement for proceeding to the semi-legislative phase of territorial government was modified. Instead of requiring the territory's population to reach 5,000 free adult males, the second phase could be initiated when the majority of territory's free landholders informed the territorial governor that they wanted to do so.<ref name="BR312">Barnhart and Riker, p. 312.</ref> In 1810 the requirement for voters to be landholders was replaced with a law granting voting rights to all free adult males who paid county or territorial taxes and had resided in the territory for at least one year.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, p. 360.</ref>

===Governors===
Because of William Henry Harrison's leadership in securing passage of the Land Act of 1800 and his help in forming the Indiana Territory in 1800, while serving as the Northwest Territory's delegate to the U.S. Congress, it was not surprising that President John Adams chose him to become the first governor of the territory. Presidents Adams, [[Thomas Jefferson]], and James Madison made a total of three appointments to the office of governor of the Indiana Territory between July 4, 1800, when the territory was officially established, and November 7, 1816, when [[Jonathan Jennings]] was sworn in as the first governor of the state of [[Indiana]].<ref name=GS18-40/><ref name=BR312/>

{{Main|List of Governors of Indiana}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!#!!Name!!Took office!!Left office!!Appointed by
|-
|1
|[[William Henry Harrison]]
|May 13, 1800 (appointed);<ref name=BR314/><br>January 10, 1801 (took office)<ref>Barnhart and Riker, p. 323.</ref>
|December 28, 1812 (resigned)<ref>Barnhart and Riker, p. 405.</ref>
|[[John Adams]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[James Madison]]
|-
|2
|[[John Gibson (Indiana)|John Gibson]]
|December 28, 1812 (appointed)<ref name=Gibson1>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 405–06.</ref><br>Acting governor: July 4, 1800 – January 10, 1801;<br>June 1812–May 1813<ref>Gugin and St. Clair, eds., pp. 28–31.</ref>
|March 3, 1813<ref name=Gibson1/>
|James Madison
|-
|3
|[[Thomas Posey]]
|March 3, 1813 (appointed); May 1813 (took office)<ref name=Gibson1/>
|November 7, 1816<ref>[[Jonathan Jennings]] was sworn into office as the first governor of the new state of Indiana on November 7, 1816. See Gugin and St. Clair, eds., p. 37.</ref>
|James Madison
|}

===Judicial court===
When the Indiana Territory was created, the Ordinance of 1787 made no provision for a popularly-elected territorial government in the non-representative phase of territorial government (1800 to 1804).<ref name="BR267-70"/> Instead of separate legislative and judicial branches of the territorial government, the U.S. Congress, and later, the president with congressional approval, had the authority to appoint a general court consisting of three territorial judges. The judges were initially appointed by the president who later delegated this authority to the territorial governor. Adams chose William Clarke, [[Henry Vanderburgh]], and John Griffin as the territory's first three judges. Following Clarke's death in November 1802, Thomas T. Davis was appointed as his replacement.<ref name=BR314-24>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 314, 317, and 324.</ref>

Acting as the combined judicial and legislative government, the territorial governor and the three judges adopted the laws to govern the territory. In addition to working with the territorial governor on legislative issues, the territorial judges presided over the general court. When the Indiana Territory entered the semi-legislative phase of government in 1805, the legislature gradually became the dominant branch, and the judges focused on judicial matters.<ref name=BR314-24/><ref name="Dunn, p. 215">Dunn, p. 215.</ref> In 1814, as the territory progressed toward statehood, three circuit courts were established. Governor Posey appointed [[Isaac Blackford]], [[Jesse Lynch Holman]], and [[Elijah Sparks]] as presiding judges over the circuit courts. [[James Noble (senator)|James Noble]] was appointed to replace Sparks following Sparks' death in early 1815.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, p. 425.</ref>

===Legislature===
[[File:Indiana Territory 1812.jpg|thumb|A map of the Indiana Territory in 1812 displaying notable places and battles in the [[War of 1812]]]]

When the Indiana Territory entered its semi-legislative phase of government, territorial inhabitants were allowed to elect representatives to the lower house of its [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislature]]. President Jefferson delegated the task of choosing the five members of the Legislative Council (upper house of the legislature) to the governor, who chose from a list of ten candidates provided by the lower house.<ref name = e170>{{cite book |author=Logan Esarey  |title=A History of Indiana |pages=170–72 |year=1915| publisher=W. K. Stewart Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oTEUAAAAYAAJ&q=A+History+of+Indiana+Esarey&pg=PP1 }}</ref><ref name=BR345-46>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 345–46, and p. 345, note 2.</ref>

After the formation of the new legislative body, each county in the territory was granted the right to elect representatives to the House of Representatives (the legislative assembly's lower house). The lower house initially included seven representatives: one from Dearborn County, one from Clark County, two from Knox County, two from St. Clair County, and one from Randolph County.<ref name = e170/><ref name=BR345-46/> The territorial legislature met for the first time on July 29, 1805.<ref name=BR347-51>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 347, 351.</ref> Governor Harrison retained his veto powers as well as his general executive and appointive authority, while the legislative assembly had the authority to pass laws, subject to the governor's approved before they could be enacted. The change in territorial governance also removed the territorial judges' legislative powers, leaving the territorial court with only its judicial authority.<ref name = e170/><ref name=BR345-46/>

In 1809, after the Indiana Territory was divided to create the Illinois Territory, the U.S. Congress altered the makeup of the territorial legislature. The members of the House of Representatives continued to be elected by the territorial inhabitants and were apportioned in relation to each county's population, but membership in the five-member upper house (Legislative Council) was also by popular vote and apportioned among the territory's counties. Harrison County, established in 1808 from portions of Knox and Clark counties, elected one representative to the lower house; Clark and Dearborn counties each had two representatives; and the more populated Knox County had three.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, p. 356.</ref><ref>Buley, v. I, p. 62.</ref> This bicameral legislative structure remained unchanged for the remainder of the territory's existence.

===Congressional delegation===
{{Main|Indiana Territory's At-large congressional district}}

Territorial delegates to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] could attend congressional sessions with the right to debate, submit legislation, and serve on committees, but they were not permitted to vote on legislation.<ref>Funk, p. 201</ref> When the Indiana Territory entered its second phase of governance, the territory's legislative assembly elected [[Benjamin Parke]] as its delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. [[Jesse B. Thomas]] was appointed to the post following Parke's resignation in 1808.<ref name=Thomas>{{cite web| title =Thomas, Jess Burgess, (1777 - 1853) | work = Biographical Directory of Congress | publisher =United States Congress | url = http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000171 |access-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref> Congress approved a law in 1809 that allowed the territory's inhabitants to choose a delegate to Congress in a territory-wide election.<ref>Buley, v. I, p. 61.</ref> [[Jonathan Jennings]] defeated Thomas Randolph, the territory's attorney general and Harrison's chosen candidate, in a highly contested race to become the territory's first popularly-elected representative to the U.S. Congress. Jennings was reelected to the post in 1811, 1812, and 1814, prior to his election as the first governor of Indiana in 1816.<ref>{{cite book|author=Randy K. Mills |title=Jonathan Jennings: Indiana's First Governor |publisher=[[Indiana Historical Society]] Press |location=Indianapolis|year= 2005|pages=97–98; 104–5; and 156 |isbn=978-0-87195-182-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=William Wesley Woollen |title=Biographical and Historical Sketches of Early Indiana|publisher=Ayer Publishing |year=1975 |page=32 |isbn=0-405-06896-4}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Delegate
! Years
! Party
|-
| [[Benjamin Parke]]
| December 12, 1805 – March 1, 1808
| none
|- {{Party shading/Democratic-Republican}}
| [[Jesse B. Thomas|Jesse Burgess Thomas]]
| October 22, 1808 – March 3, 1809
| [[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Democratic-Republican]]
|-
| [[Jonathan Jennings]]
| November 27, 1809 – December 11, 1816
| none
|}

===Other high officials===
In addition to the territorial governor and three judges, the office of secretary was established in 1800. Governor Harrison appointed a treasurer and attorney general in 1801 as the only additional government officials during the territory's non-representative phase of government.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Donald Carmony | volume =39 | issue =3 | pages =242 |date=September 1943| title =Indiana Territorial Expenditures, 1800–1816 |journal=Indiana Magazine of History |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/7438|format=PDF|access-date=July 24, 2018}}</ref> During the second phase, the office of territorial auditor was combined with the office of territorial treasurer. The territory also had a chancellor during most of this period.<ref>Carmony, pp. 255–56, 259.</ref>

'''Secretary'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!#!!Name!!Took office!!Left office!!Party!!Hometown!!Notes
|-
|1
|[[John Gibson (Indiana)|John Gibson]]
|July 4, 1800
|November 7, 1816
|Democratic-Republican
|[[Knox County, Indiana]]
| Gibson also served as acting governor of the Indiana Territory (July 4, 1800 – January 10, 1801, and June 1812–May 1813) and officially as territorial governor (December 28, 1812 – March 3, 1813)<ref>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 405–06; Gugin and St. Clair, eds., pp. 28–31.</ref>
|}

'''Auditor'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!#!!Name!!Took office!!Left office!!Hometown!!Notes
|-
|1
|[[William Prince (Indiana)|William Prince]]
|1810
|1813
|[[Vincennes, Indiana]]
|<ref>The office of auditor was created by Congress in 1809 and filled in the next general election</ref>
|-
|2
|[[Davis Floyd]]
|1813
|1814
|[[Corydon, Indiana]]
|
|}

'''Treasurer'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!#!!Name!!Took office!!Left office!!Hometown!!Notes
|-
|1
|[[General Washington Johnston]]
|1813
|1814
|[[Vincennes, Indiana]]
|
|-
|2
|[[Davis Floyd]]
|1814
|1816
|[[Corydon, Indiana]]
|
|}

'''Attorney General'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!#!!Name!!Took office!!Left office!!Hometown!!Notes
|-
|1
|[[Benjamin Parke]]
|1804
|1808
|[[Knox County, Indiana]]
|
|-
|2
|[[John Rice Jones]]
|1808
|1816
|[[Clark County, Indiana]]
|
|}

===Territorial finances===
During the non-legislative phase, the federal government paid the salaries of the governor, the three-member judicial council, and the territorial secretary, which cost about $5,500 per year. In addition, a small fund of approximately $200 covered other expenses such as printing, postage, and rent. The federal government did not provide funds for any additional governmental offices such as the treasurer and attorney general. Salaries for these officials were paid from the territory's treasury.

In the semi-legislative phase, the federal government paid the salaries of the territorial governor, judges, and secretary at a cost of approximately $6,687 per year. The territorial treasury was responsible for funding legislative expenses, as well as the salaries of the treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and chancellor. The territorial treasurer also paid operational expenses such as printing, rent, stationery, and other supplies and services. These expenses were estimated to cost $10,000 per year.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 432–33.</ref><ref>Bennett, ed., p. 11.</ref>

Revenue for the territory was limited, with the primary source of funds coming from the sale of federal lands. Other revenue came from the collection of duties, licenses, and excise taxes. In 1811 property taxes collected from landowners were based on the numbers of acres and its rating; previously, these taxes were based on land values. Taxes were also collected for territorial counties to use. After 1815 taxes were levied on some types of manufactured goods to provide additional funds for the territorial government.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 413, 433–34.</ref>

Territorial revenue fell to critical levels due to the War of 1812, when many of the territory's taxpayers were unable to pay what they owed, and their land reverted to the federal government. Financial issues also caused the movement for statehood to be delayed until after the war's end. At one point during 1813, for example, the balance in territory's treasury was a meager $2.47. To increase the treasury, tax levies were modified and new forms of revenue were established. These changes included reductions in some taxes, increases in others, and implementing licensing requirements for some types of business ventures in order to stabilize revenue. William Prince, the first territorial auditor, was also blamed for the territory's revenue shortage because he had failed to collect taxes from two territorial counties.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 414–15, 421.</ref>

Growth of territory's population helped improve its financial situation through the collection of various taxes, including property taxes and taxes on sale of public lands. However, governmental expenses also increased as new counties and towns were formed, causing the need for new governmental offices and further increases in the government's overall size.<ref>Barnhart and Riker, pp. 421–23, 442.</ref>