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21st Wisconsin Legislature 
Summary
The Twenty-First Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 8, 1868, to March 6, 1868, in regular session.
| 21st Wisconsin Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 Wisconsin State Capitol, 1863 | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Wisconsin Legislature | ||||
| Meeting place | Wisconsin State Capitol | ||||
| Term | January 6, 1868 – January 4, 1869 | ||||
| Election | November 5, 1867 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 33 | ||||
| Senate President | Wyman Spooner (R) | ||||
| President pro tempore | Newton Littlejohn (R) | ||||
| Party control | Republican | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 100 | ||||
| Assembly Speaker | Alexander M. Thomson (R) | ||||
| Party control | Republican | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assembly members were elected to a one-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 5, 1867. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 6, 1866.[1]
Major events edit
- February 24, 1868: The United States House of Representatives voted to impeach U.S. President Andrew Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act.
- April 29, 1868: General William Tecumseh Sherman brokered the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and the Plains Indians.
- May 26, 1868: In the United States Senate, the impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ended with a verdict of "not guilty".
- July 9, 1868: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the required three-fourths of U.S. states.
- July 27, 1868: The U.S. Expatriation Act of 1868 was enacted.
- August 11, 1868: U.S. Representative Thaddeus Stevens, a leader of the Radical Republican faction, died at Washington, D.C.
- October 10, 1868: An uprising in Cuba initiated Ten Years' War for Cuban independence from the Spanish Empire.
- October 28, 1868: Thomas Edison applied for his first patent, the electric vote recorder.
- November 3, 1868: Ulysses S. Grant elected 18th President of the United States.
- December 25, 1868: U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all American Civil War rebels.
Major legislation edit
- January 22, 1868: Joint Resolution declaring it to be the duty of the general government to protect American citizens in the enjoyment of all their rights as such while sojourning in foreign countries, 1868 Joint Resolution 1, endorsing the proposed federal Expatriation Act of 1868.
- February 6, 1868: An Act to punish frauds upon insurance companies, 1868 Act 14.
- February 19, 1868: An Act to abolish the office of bank comptroller, and transfer his duties to the state treasurer, 1868 Act 28.
- February 22, 1868: Joint Resolution defining the duty of the nation towards its native and adopted citizens, 1868 Joint Resolution 8, also relating to the proposed federal Expatriation Act of 1868.
- February 29, 1868: An Act to legalize dissections, 1868 Act 53.
- March 4, 1868: An Act to provide for the completion of the state capitol, 1868 Act 93.
- March 5, 1868: An Act to accept a grant of lands made to the state of Wisconsin by act of congress, to aid in the construction of the Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan ship canal and harbor, in the county of Door, to connect the waters of Green Bay with Lake Michigan, and to provide for the construction of the same, 1868 Act 105.
- March 6, 1868: Joint Resolution instructing senators and representatives in congress to preserve the equilibrium between the coordinate branches of government, 1868 Joint Resolution 23.
- March 6, 1868: An Act to authorize the state treasurer to close up the circulation of certain banks, and for other purposes, 1868 Act 144.
- March 6, 1868: An Act to transfer the war fund to the general fund and discontinue the war fund, 1868 Act 148.
- March 6, 1868: An Act to provide for establishing town libraries in this state, 1868 Act 174.
Party summary edit
Senate summary edit
Democratic: 15 seats
Republican: 18 seats
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Union | Republican | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Legislature | 11 | 20 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| 1st Session | 15 | 0 | 18 | 33 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 45.45% | 54.55% | |||
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 14 | 0 | 19 | 33 | 0 |
Assembly summary edit
Democratic: 41 seats
Republican: 59 seats
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Union | Republican | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Legislature | 26 | 74 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| Start of 1st Session | 41 | 0 | 59 | 100 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 41% | 59% | |||
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 32 | 0 | 68 | 100 | 0 |
Sessions edit
- 1st Regular session: January 8, 1868 – March 6, 1868
Leaders edit
Senate leadership edit
- President of the Senate: Wyman Spooner (R)
- President pro tempore: Newton Littlejohn (R)
Assembly leadership edit
Members edit
Members of the Senate edit
Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Twenty-First Wisconsin Legislature:[2]
Democratic: 15 seats
Republican: 18 seats
Members of the Assembly edit
Members of the Assembly for the Twenty-First Wisconsin Legislature:[2]
Democratic: 41 seats
Republican: 59 seats
Employees edit
Senate employees edit
- Chief Clerk: L. B. Hills[2]
- Assistant Clerk: John S. Wilson
- Bookkeeper: A. W. Wilson
- Engrossing Clerk: W. L. Abbott
- Engrossing Clerk: Joseph Copp
- Transcribing Clerk: David Schreiner
- Assistant Clerk: John S. Wilson
- Sergeant-at-Arms: W. H. Hamilton
- Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: S. M. Bond
- Sergeant-at-Arms' Porter: Thomas Goss
- Postmaster: Frank Leland
- Assistant Postmaster: J. S. Cavert
- Doorkeeper: Franklin Kelly
- Assistant Doorkeeper: W. G. McEwen
- Assistant Doorkeeper: Walter Cook
- Assistant Doorkeeper: Henry Taylor
- Assistant Doorkeeper: Thornton Thompson
- Fireman: Francis Downs
- Messengers:
- Robert B. McCord
- William Keyes
- Charlton Turner
Assembly employees edit
- Chief Clerk: Ephraim W. Young[2]
- Assistant Clerk: William M. Newcomb
- Bookkeeper: O. A. Southmayd
- Engrossing Clerk: Fred Dennett
- Enrolling Clerk: William A. Prentiss Jr.
- Transcribing Clerk: William H. Holt
- Assistant Clerk: William M. Newcomb
- Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles L. Harris
- Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Alex Stevens
- Postmaster: Luther Poland
- Assistant Postmaster: D. B. Crandall
- Doorkeepers:
- Henry Collins
- Frank Fletcher
- Thomas Healy
- Firemen:
- Nahum Bangs
- John Flood
- Porter: Edwin Glenn
- Speaker's Messenger: Frank Thompson
- Chief Clerk's Messenger: John J. Norton
- Messengers:
- Thomas A. Robbins
- T. W. Sutliff
- William H. Denison
- Charlie J. Johnson
- James Burke
- C. E. Conger
References edit
- ^ Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 217–219. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Legislative Department" (PDF). The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1868. pp. 167–168, 171–174. Retrieved November 4, 2021.