Editing Wisconsin Territory

{{Short description|Territory of the US between 1836–1848}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| conventional_long_name = Territory of Wisconsin
| common_name            = Wisconsin Territory
| nation                 = the [[United States]]
| subdivision            = [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|Organized incorporated territory]]
| event_start            = Organic Act effective
| date_start             = July 3
| year_start             = 1836
| event_end              = [[Wisconsin|Statehood of Wisconsin]]
| year_end               = 1848
| date_end               = May 29
| event1                 = [[Iowa Territory]] split off
| date_event1            = July 4, 1838
| p1                     = Michigan Territory
| flag_p1                = Flag of the United States (1837-1845).svg
| s1                     = Wisconsin
| flag_s1                = Flag of Wisconsin (1866-1913).png
| s2                     = Iowa Territory
| flag_s2                = US flag 30 stars.svg
| s3                     = Minnesota Territory
| flag_s3                = US flag 30 stars.svg
| image_map              = Wisconsinterritory.PNG
| image_coat             = Wisconsin Territory seal.jpeg
| image_symbol           =
| symbol_type            = Territorial seal
| image_map_caption      = Map of the Wisconsin Territory, 1836–1848
| capital                = [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]] (1838–1848)<br>[[Burlington, Iowa|Burlington]] (1837)<br>[[Belmont, Wisconsin|Belmont]] (July–December 1836)
| government_type        = Organized incorporated territory
| title_leader           = [[List of Governors of Wisconsin#Governors of Wisconsin Territory|Governor]]
| leader1                = [[Henry Dodge]]
| year_leader1           = 1836–1841
| leader2                = [[James Duane Doty]]
| year_leader2           = 1841–1844
| leader3                = [[Nathaniel P. Tallmadge]]
| year_leader3           = 1844–1845
| leader4                = Henry Dodge
| year_leader4           = 1845–1848
| leader5                = [[John Catlin (politician)|John Catlin]] ''(acting)''
| year_leader5           = 1848
| legislature            = Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Wisconsin
| native_name            =
| demonym                =
| today                  =
}}
The '''Territory of Wisconsin''' was an [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|organized and incorporated territory of the United States]] that existed from July 3, 1836,<ref>{{USStat|5|10}}</ref> until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was [[Admission to the Union|admitted to the Union]] as the State of [[Wisconsin]]. [[Belmont, Wisconsin|Belmont]] was initially chosen as the capital of the territory. In 1837, the territorial legislature met in [[Burlington, Iowa|Burlington]], just north of the [[Skunk River (Iowa)|Skunk River]] on the Mississippi, which became part of the [[Iowa Territory]] in 1838.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Strong|first1=Moses McCure|title=History of the territory of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1848.|date=1885|publisher=Democrat Printing Company|location=Madison|ol=14044833M}}</ref> In that year, 1838, the territorial capital of Wisconsin was moved to [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]].

==Territorial area==
The Wisconsin Territory initially included all of the present-day states of [[Wisconsin]], [[Minnesota]], and [[Iowa]], as well as part of [[the Dakotas]] east of the [[Missouri River]]. Much of the territory had originally been part of the [[Northwest Territory]], which was ceded by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] in 1783. The portion in what is now Iowa and the Dakotas was originally part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]], though a small fraction was part of a parcel ceded by Great Britain in [[Treaty of 1818|1818]], and was split off from the [[Missouri Territory]] in 1821 and attached to the [[Michigan Territory]] in 1834.

The portion that was formerly part of the [[Northwest Territory]] and which later became the state of Wisconsin was part of the [[Indiana Territory]] when this was formed in 1800. In 1809, it became part of the [[Illinois Territory]]; then, when [[Illinois]] was about to become a state in 1818, this area was joined to the [[Michigan Territory]]. Then the Wisconsin Territory was split off from Michigan Territory in 1836 as the state of [[Michigan]] prepared for statehood.<ref name="Wisconsin1921">{{cite book|author=State of Wisconsin|title=Wisconsin statutes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zL4oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2701|access-date=April 18, 2015|year=1921|publisher=Democrat Printing Co.|page=2701}}</ref> In 1838, the section of the territory to the west of the Mississippi became the [[Iowa Territory]].

In 1838, the [[Iowa Territory]] was formed, reducing the Wisconsin Territory to the boundaries for the next ten years; upon granting statehood to Wisconsin, its boundaries were once again reduced, to their present location.<ref>Strong, Moses McCure. ''History of the Territory of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1848'' Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printers, 1885; pp. 67-266</ref>

In 1850, 10 years after the end of the [[Second Great Awakening]] (1790–1840), of the 341 churches with [[Church service|regular services]] in the Wisconsin, 110 were [[History of Methodism in the United States|Methodist]], 64 were [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]], 49 were [[Baptists in the United States|Baptist]], 40 were [[Presbyterianism in the United States|Presbyterian]], 37 were [[Congregationalism in the United States|Congregationalist]], 20 were [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], 19 were [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]], and
2 were [[Reformed Church in America|Dutch Reformed]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Selcer|first=Richard F.|editor-last=Balkin|editor-first=Richard|title=Civil War America: 1850 to 1875|year=2006|place=New York|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing|Facts on File]]|page=143|isbn=978-0816038671}}</ref>
In the [[1840 United States census]], [[List of counties in Wisconsin|22 counties in the Wisconsin Territory]] reported the following population counts:<ref>{{cite report|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|title=Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990|pages=183–185|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/population-of-states-and-counties-us-1790-1990/population-of-states-and-counties-of-the-united-states-1790-1990.pdf|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>
{| class=wikitable
! Rank
! County
! Population
|-
|1
|[[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]]
|5,605
|-
|2
|[[Iowa County, Wisconsin|Iowa]]
|3,978
|-
|3
|[[Grant County, Wisconsin|Grant]]
|3,926
|-
|4
|[[Racine County, Wisconsin|Racine]]
|3,475
|-
|5
|[[Walworth County, Wisconsin|Walworth]]
|2,611
|-
|6
|[[Brown County, Wisconsin|Brown]]
|2,107
|-
|7
|[[Rock County, Wisconsin|Rock]]
|1,701
|-
|8
|[[Portage County, Wisconsin|Portage]]
|1,623
|-
|9
|[[Crawford County, Wisconsin|Crawford]]
|1,502
|-
|10
|[[Green County, Wisconsin|Green]]
|933
|-
|11
|[[Jefferson County, Wisconsin|Jefferson]]
|914
|-
|12
|[[St. Croix County, Wisconsin|St. Croix]]
|809
|-
|13
|[[Washington County, Wisconsin|Washington]]
|343
|-
|14
|[[Dane County, Wisconsin|Dane]]
|314
|-
|15
|[[Calumet County, Wisconsin|Calumet]]
|275
|-
|16
|[[Manitowoc County, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]]
|235
|-
|17
|[[Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin|Fond du Lac]]
|139
|-
|18
|[[Winnebago County, Wisconsin|Winnebago]]
|135
|-
|19
|[[Sheboygan County, Wisconsin|Sheboygan]]
|133
|-
|20
|[[Sauk County, Wisconsin|Sauk]]
|102
|-
|21
|[[Dodge County, Wisconsin|Dodge]]
|67
|-
|22
|[[Marquette County, Wisconsin|Marquette]]
|18
|-
|
|Wisconsin Territory
|30,945
|-
|}

==History==
{{CSS image crop
|Image = Tourist's Pocket Map Of Michigan (Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1835).jpg
|bSize = 1500
|cWidth = 375
|cHeight = 1000
|oTop = 400
|oLeft = 120
|Location      = right
|Description   = The Wisconsin Territory as depicted on this 1835 Tourist's Pocket Map of Michigan, showing a [[Menominee]]-filled [[Brown County, Wisconsin|Brown County]], Wisconsin that spans the northern half of the territory
}}
There are irregularities in the historical timeline at the outset of the Territory. After Congress refused Michigan's petition for statehood, despite meeting the requirements specified in the [[Northwest Ordinance]], the people of Michigan authorized its constitution in October 1835 and began self-governance at that time. Yet, Michigan did not enter the Union until January 26, 1837, and Congress did not organize the Wisconsin Territory separately from Michigan until July 3, 1836.

Hoping to provide for some continuity in governance during that interim, acting Governor of the Michigan Territory, [[Stevens T. Mason]], issued a proclamation on August 25, 1835, that called for the election of a ''western'' legislative council (the [[Seventh Michigan Territorial Council]]), which became known as the ''Rump Council''. This council was to meet in [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]], Wisconsin, on January 1, 1836. However, because of the controversy between Michigan and [[Ohio]] over the Toledo Strip, known as the [[Toledo War]], President Jackson removed Mason from office on August 15, 1835, and replaced him with [[John S. Horner]]. Horner issued his own proclamation on November 9, 1835, calling for the council to meet on December 1, 1835 — giving delegates less than a month to learn of the change and travel to the meeting. This caused considerable annoyance among the delegates, who ignored it. Even Horner himself neglected to attend. The Council convened on January 1 as previously scheduled, but Horner, while reportedly intending to attend, was delayed by illness and in the Governor's absence the council could do little more than perform some administrative and ceremonial duties. For its concession to the Toledo Strip, Michigan was given the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan|Upper Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/WER0441.html|last=Schafer |first=Joseph |title=Wisconsin Historical Society Proceedings, 1920 |chapter=The Rump Council |location=Madison |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society |year=1920 }}</ref>

President [[Andrew Jackson]] appointed Henry Dodge Governor and Horner Secretary. The first legislative assembly of the new territory was convened by Governor Dodge at Belmont, in the present [[Lafayette County, Wisconsin|Lafayette County]], on October 25, 1836.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/wi/state/wihist-2.htm |title=History of Wisconsin – Chapter 2 – Wisconsin as a Territory<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=February 10, 2008 |archive-date=October 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012083614/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/wi/state/wihist-2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1837, [[Burlington, Iowa|Burlington]], Iowa, became the second territorial capital of the Wisconsin Territory. The next year, the Iowa Territory was created and the capital was moved to Madison.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://iagenweb.org/history/soi/soi31.htm|last1=Mahan |first1=Bruce E. |last2=Gallaher |first2=Ruth A. |title=Stories of Iowa for Boys and Girls |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan |year=1931 }}</ref>

=== Wisconsin Enabling Act ===
In 1846, [[United States Congress|Congress]] approved the Wisconsin Enabling Act, which was the first step on the road to [[Admission to the Union|statehood]] for Wisconsin. Wisconsin would become the fifth state created out of the old [[Northwest Territory]]. Representing the expressed intent of the Wisconsin territorial legislature, [[Morgan Lewis Martin]], Wisconsin's territorial delegate to Congress, initially argued that the proposed state should incorporate all remaining land in the original [[Northwest Territory]] as defined by the [[Northwest Ordinance]] of 1787.<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal|last=Lass|first=William E.|date=Winter 1987|title=Minnesota's Separation from Wisconsin: Boundary Making on the Upper Mississippi Frontier|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20179067|journal=Minnesota History|volume=50|issue=8|pages=309–320|jstor=20179067}}</ref>

Most members of Congress believed that such a state would be too large. They eventually accepted the argument of [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of [[Illinois]], chairman of the House Committee on Territories, that Congress was not bound by the Northwest Ordinance, and passed legislation allowing a sixth state to be formed from the remnant of the Northwest Territory excluded from the new [[Wisconsin|state of Wisconsin]].<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=Wingerd|first=Mary Lethert|title=North Country: The Making of Minnesota|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8166-4868-9|location=Minneapolis}}</ref>{{Rp|176}} However, subsequent bills in 1847 and 1848 to organize a new "Territory of Minasota" were rejected on the grounds that "Minasota" did not have anywhere near the 5,000 free adult males required for legal territorial status.<ref name=":11" />

===Wisconsin Territory after Wisconsin became a state===
When Wisconsin became a state on May 29, 1848, no provision was made for the section of land between the [[St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota)|St. Croix River]] and the [[Upper Mississippi River|Mississippi River]] which had previously been organized as part of Wisconsin Territory.  Additionally when Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846, no provision was made for official organization of the remainder of what had been Iowa Territory.<ref>{{cite book|title=2013 – 2014 Minnesota Legislative Manual (Blue Book) |year=2013 |publisher=Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State |location=Saint Paul, Minnesota |page=50 |chapter=Chapter 2 — Founding Documents |chapter-url=http://www.sos.state.mn.us/2013_MN_legislative_manual/chapters/chapter_2-charters_laws_and_founding_documents.pdf |url=http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1744 |access-date=August 19, 2014 |format=PDF }}</ref> 

In the summer of 1848, residents in the area organized themselves and called a series of meetings.  As these meetings commenced, the most recent territorial delegate to congress [[John Hubbard Tweedy|John H. Tweedy]] officially tendered his resignation, thus vacating the seat.  Secretary of State [[John Catlin (politician)|John Catlin]] went to Stillwater, Minnesota, and in the capacity of acting governor of the territory issued writs for a special election to fill the seat, which was won by [[Henry Hastings Sibley|Henry H. Sibley]] on October 30.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shortridge |first=Wilson P. |date=August 1919 |title=Henry Hastings Sibley and the Minnesota Frontier |url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-20160312 |journal=Minnesota History Bulletin |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=115–125 |access-date=August 19, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin |url=https://archive.org/details/historyracinean00cogoog |access-date=August 25, 2014 |year=1879 |publisher=Western Historical Company |location=Chicago |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyracinean00cogoog/page/n53 55]–56}}</ref>

When Sibley went to Washington to take his seat in Congress, he was not immediately recognized. Only after a long political battle was he allowed to take his seat on January 15, 1849.  For a period of time, there were simultaneously representatives in Congress from both the State of Wisconsin and the Territory of Wisconsin, an unprecedented situation.  Sibley made it his first order of business to push through the statute necessary to establish the Territory of Minnesota, which occurred on March 3, 1849.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sibley |first=Henry H. |date=1880 |title=Reminiscences of the Early Days of Minnesota |url=https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesofe00siblrich |journal=Minnesota Historical Collections |access-date=August 18, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams |first=John Fletcher |date=1894 |title=Henry Hastings Sibley: A Memoir |url=https://archive.org/details/henryhastingssib00willrich |journal=Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |volume=6 |pages=257–310 |access-date=August 19, 2014 }}</ref>

==Secretaries of Wisconsin Territory==
* [[John S. Horner]] 1836–37
* [[William B. Slaughter (politician)|William B. Slaughter]] 1837–41
* [[Francis J. Dunn]] 1841
* [[Alexander P. Field]] 1841–43
* [[George Rogers Clark Floyd]] 1843–46
* [[John Catlin (politician)|John Catlin]] 1846–48

==Legislature==
The Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory consisted of a council (equivalent to a senate) and representatives. The first session of the First Legislative Assembly convened at [[Belmont, Wisconsin|Belmont]], [[Iowa County, Wisconsin|Iowa County]] (now in [[Lafayette County, Wisconsin|Lafayette County]]), on October 25, and adjourned December 9, 1836. The Council at that time had 14 seats, and was presided over by [[Henry S. Baird|Henry Baird]] of [[Brown County, Wisconsin|Brown County]]. There were 26 representatives; the [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker of the House]] was [[Peter H. Engle]] of [[Dubuque County, Iowa|Dubuque County]] ("Dubuque [[County (United States)|County]]" at this time embraced all of the territory west of the [[Mississippi River]] and north of the latitude of the south end of Rock Island).

The last session of the assembly was the second session of the Fifth Legislative Assembly, which convened February 7, and adjourned March 13, 1848.  The president of the 13-member council was [[Horatio N. Wells]] of [[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]], and the speaker of the 26-member House of Representatives was [[Timothy Burns (Wisconsin politician)|Timothy Burns]] of [[Iowa County, Wisconsin|Iowa County]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1882|editor-last=Heg |editor-first=J. E.|title=The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1882 |location=Madison |publisher=Wisconsin Secretary of State|year=1882 |pages=161, 174}}</ref>

==Attorneys General of Wisconsin Territory==
* [[Henry S. Baird]] 1836–39
* [[Horatio N. Wells]] 1839–41
* [[Mortimer M. Jackson]] 1841–1845
* [[William Pitt Lynde]] 1845
* [[A. Hyatt Smith]] 1845–48

==Congressional delegates==
:''See also {{ushr|Wisconsin Territory|AL|}}
* [[George Wallace Jones]] 1836–1838 [[24th Congress]], [[25th Congress]]
* [[James Duane Doty]] 1839–41 [[25th Congress]], [[26th Congress]]
* [[Henry Dodge]] 1841–45 [[27th Congress]], [[28th Congress]]
* [[Morgan Lewis Martin]] 1845–47 [[29th Congress]]
* [[John Hubbard Tweedy]] 1847–48 [[30th Congress]]
* [[Henry Hastings Sibley]] 1848–49 [[30th Congress]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Michigan|Iowa|United States|History}}
* [[Burlington Hawkeye]]
* [[James Clarke (Iowa)]]
* [[List of Governors of Wisconsin|Governors of the Territory of Wisconsin]]
* [[Historic regions of the United States]]
* [[History of Wisconsin]]
* [[Territorial evolution of the United States]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-014 Wisconsin State Historical Society, Turning Points, Wisconsin Territory]
* [http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/horner_biography.htm John S. Horner Biography]
* [http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/WER0441.html The Rump Council]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=005/llsl005.db&recNum=47 An Act establishing the Territorial Government of Wisconsin]
* [http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/toledo_war.html Toledo War information regarding Upper Peninsula of Michigan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820132210/http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/toledo_war.html |date=August 20, 2006 }}

{{Territories of the United States}}
{{coord|44|N|90|W|display=title}}

[[Category:Wisconsin Territory| ]]
[[Category:Former organized territories of the United States]]
[[Category:History of the Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Iowa]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of North Dakota]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of South Dakota]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in Wisconsin Territory]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1848 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Exclaves in the United States]]