Territory of Wisconsin
Organized incorporated territory of theUnited States
1836–1848
Territorial seal
Map of the Wisconsin Territory, 1836–1848
Capital	Madison (1838–1848) Burlington (1837) Belmont (July–December 1836)
Government
• Type	Organized incorporated territory
Governor
• 1836–1841	Henry Dodge
• 1841–1844	James Duane Doty
• 1844–1845	Nathaniel P. Tallmadge
• 1845–1848	Henry Dodge
• 1848	John Catlin(acting)
Legislature	Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Wisconsin
History
• Organic Act effective	3 July 1836
• Iowa Territory split off	July 4, 1838
• Statehood of Wisconsin	29 May 1848
Preceded by Succeeded by Michigan Territory Wisconsin Iowa Territory Minnesota Territory

TheTerritory of Wisconsin was anorganized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836,^[1] until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory wasadmitted to the Union as the State ofWisconsin.Belmont was initially chosen as the capital of the territory. In 1837, the territorial legislature met inBurlington, just north of theSkunk River on the Mississippi, which became part of theIowa Territory in 1838.^[2] In that year, 1838, the territorial capital of Wisconsin was moved toMadison.

The Wisconsin Territory initially included all of the present-day states ofWisconsin,Minnesota, andIowa, as well as part ofthe Dakotas east of theMissouri River. Much of the territory had originally been part of theNorthwest Territory, which was ceded byBritain in 1783. The portion in what is now Iowa and the Dakotas was originally part of theLouisiana Purchase, though a small fraction was part of a parcel ceded by Great Britain in1818, and was split off from theMissouri Territory in 1821 and attached to theMichigan Territory in 1834.

The portion that was formerly part of theNorthwest Territory and which later became the state of Wisconsin was part of theIndiana Territory when this was formed in 1800. In 1809, it became part of theIllinois Territory; then, whenIllinois was about to become a state in 1818, this area was joined to theMichigan Territory. Then the Wisconsin Territory was split off from Michigan Territory in 1836 as the state ofMichigan prepared for statehood.^[3] In 1838, the section of the territory to the west of the Mississippi became theIowa Territory.

In 1838, theIowa 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.^[4]

In 1850, 10 years after the end of theSecond Great Awakening (1790–1840), of the 341 churches withregular services in the Wisconsin, 110 wereMethodist, 64 wereCatholic, 49 wereBaptist, 40 werePresbyterian, 37 wereCongregationalist, 20 wereLutheran, 19 wereEpiscopal, and2 wereDutch Reformed.^[5]In the1840 United States census,22 counties in the Wisconsin Territory reported the following population counts:^[6]

The Wisconsin Territory as depicted on this 1835 Tourist's Pocket Map of Michigan, showing aMenominee-filledBrown 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 theNorthwest 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 awestern legislative council (theSeventh Michigan Territorial Council), which became known as theRump Council. This council was to meet inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, on January 1, 1836. However, because of the controversy between Michigan andOhio over the Toledo Strip, known as theToledo War, President Jackson removed Mason from office on August 15, 1835, and replaced him withJohn 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 theUpper Peninsula.^[7]

PresidentAndrew 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 presentLafayette County, on October 25, 1836.^[8] In 1837,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.^[9]

In 1846,Congress approved the Wisconsin Enabling Act, which was the first step on the road tostatehood for Wisconsin. Wisconsin would become the fifth state created out of the oldNorthwest 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 originalNorthwest Territory as defined by theNorthwest Ordinance of 1787.^[10]

Most members of Congress believed that such a state would be too large. They eventually accepted the argument ofStephen A. Douglas ofIllinois, 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 newstate of Wisconsin.^{[10][11]: 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.^[11]

When Wisconsin became a state on May 29, 1848, no provision was made for the section of land between theSt. Croix River and theMississippi 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.^[12]

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 congressJohn H. Tweedy officially tendered his resignation, thus vacating the seat. Secretary of StateJohn 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 byHenry H. Sibley on October 30.^[13][14]

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.^[15][16]

• John S. Horner 1836–1837
• William B. Slaughter 1837–1841
• Francis J. Dunn 1841
• Alexander P. Field 1841–1843
• George Rogers Clark Floyd 1843–1846
• John Catlin 1846–1848

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 atBelmont,Iowa County (now inLafayette County), on October 25, and adjourned December 9, 1836. The Council at that time had 14 seats, and was presided over byHenry Baird ofBrown County. There were 26 representatives; theSpeaker of the House wasPeter H. Engle ofDubuque County ("DubuqueCounty" at this time embraced all of the territory west of theMississippi 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 wasHoratio N. Wells ofMilwaukee, and the speaker of the 26-member House of Representatives wasTimothy Burns ofIowa County.^[17]

• Henry S. Baird 1836–1839
• Horatio N. Wells 1839–1841
• Mortimer M. Jackson 1841–1845
• William Pitt Lynde 1845
• A. Hyatt Smith 1845–1848

See alsoWisconsin Territory's at-large congressional district

• George Wallace Jones 1836–183824th Congress,25th Congress
• James Duane Doty 1839–184125th Congress,26th Congress
• Henry Dodge 1841–184527th Congress,28th Congress
• Morgan Lewis Martin 1845–184729th Congress
• John Hubbard Tweedy 1847–184830th Congress
• Henry Hastings Sibley 1848–184930th Congress

• Burlington Hawkeye
• James Clarke (Iowa politician)
• Governors of the Territory of Wisconsin
• Historic regions of the United States
• History of Wisconsin
• Territorial evolution of the United States

• Wisconsin State Historical Society, Turning Points, Wisconsin Territory
• John S. Horner Biography
• The Rump Council
• An Act establishing the Territorial Government of Wisconsin
• Toledo War information regarding Upper Peninsula of MichiganArchived August 20, 2006, at theWayback Machine

44°N90°W / 44°N 90°W /44; -90

• States and territories established in 1836
• States and territories disestablished in 1848
• Wisconsin Territory
• Former organized territories of the United States
• History of the Midwestern United States
• Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin
• Pre-statehood history of Minnesota
• Pre-statehood history of Iowa
• Pre-statehood history of North Dakota
• Pre-statehood history of South Dakota
• 1836 establishments in Wisconsin Territory
• 1836 establishments in the United States
• 1848 disestablishments in the United States
• Exclaves in the United States

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