Wisconsin

NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLE are known to have lived in Wisconsin since 10,000 b.c.e.; the first European to visit was the French explorer Jean Nicolet in 1634. A Jesuit mission was built, in 1671, at Green Bay and, gradually, a number of French traders started trading in the region. The British gained possession of the area at the Treaty of Paris in 1763, and permanent European settlement began soon afterwards. It became a part of the United States in 1783, and was a part of the Indiana Territory beginning in 1800. After the War of 1812, the Americans started organizing it, and an act of Congress on April 20, 1836 creating the Wisconsin Territory, which included not only what is now Wisconsin, but also Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota.

Belmont became the capital of the territory with an elected legislature. Wisconsin voting against the introduction of its “first” constitution in April 1847. In December of that year, another constitutional convention was called and, in March 1848, another referendum was ratified; Wisconsin attained statehood on May 29, 1848. The first governor was Nelson Dewey, a Democrat from Connecticut, who had been active in politics in Wisconsin since the early 1830s. He won the 1848 election at the age of 35, getting 19,538 votes to Whig John H. Tweedy's 14,449 votes. Dewey was re-elected two years later, with a much lower turnout, winning with 16,649 votes to Whig Alexander L. Collins's 11,317 votes. However, Dewey chose not to run for a third term in 1852, instead moving to the Wisconsin [Page 872]senate, and becoming a state senator 1854–55. The man elected to succeed Dewey was Leonard J. Farrell from Watertown, New York. Farrell lived in Madison, where he was a prominent member of the Whig Party. The next governor was a Democrat, William A. Barstow, and in the 1855 gubernatorial elections, Barstow was declared the winner by 157 votes, with Arthur MacArthur elected lieutenant governor. However, there were many allegations of electoral fraud and on March 21, 1856, Barstow was forced to resign with MacArthur becoming the acting governor for four days. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Republican candidate, Coles Bashford, who was declared to have won the election by 1,009 votes.