25th Wisconsin Legislature explained

25th Wisconsin Legislature
Body:	Wisconsin Legislature
Before:	24th
After:	26th
Chamber1:	Senate
Membership1:	33
Control1:	Republican
Chamber1 Leader2:	Charles G. Williams (R)
Chamber2:	Assembly
Membership2:	100
Control2:	Republican

The Twenty-Fifth Wisconsin Legislature convened from to in regular session.

This was the first legislative session after the redistricting of the Senate and Assembly according to an act of the previous session.

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 7, 1871. 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 8, 1870.^[1]

Major events

• January 1, 1872: Inauguration of Cadwallader C. Washburn as 11th Governor of Wisconsin.
• March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established as the first national park.
• May 22, 1872: President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Amnesty Act, restoring full civil rights to about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
• November 5, 1872: Ulysses S. Grant re-elected as President of the United States. Susan B. Anthony voted illegally in the election.

Major legislation

• February 6, 1872: Joint Resolution instructing our senators and requesting our representatives in congress to oppose the passage of a bill for the remission of import duties on building material to be used in rebuilding the burnt district of Chicago, 1872 Joint Resolution 1. Opposed the lifting of tariffs on foreign timber and building materials, a move that was contemplated to aide in the reconstruction of Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire.
• February 14, 1872: An Act to prohibit and prevent the carrying of concealed weapons, 1872 Act 7.
• March 5, 1872: An Act making election days legal holidays, 1872 Act 32.
• March 9, 1872: An Act to apportion the state of Wisconsin into congressional districts, 1872 Act 48. Wisconsin's congressional delegation grew from six to eight members.
• March 15, 1872: An Act to protect the use of the telegraph, 1872 Act 54. To outlaw the act of intercepting a telegraph intended for another recipient.
• March 21, 1872: An Act to amend section two of chapter one hundred and fifty-six of the general laws of 1871, entitled "an act to apportion the state of Wisconsin into senate and assembly districts," 1872 Act 70. Reconfigured the Monroe County Assembly districts.
• March 21, 1872: An Act authorizing cities and villages to establish free public libraries and reading rooms, 1872 Act 80.
• March 22, 1872: Joint Resolution to amend section three (3) of article eleven (11) of the constitution, 1872 Joint Resolution 11. Proposed an amendment to the state constitution to prohibit counties, municipalities, and school districts from going into debt.
• March 22, 1872: An Act to provide for the improvement of the capitol park, 1872 Act 93.
• March 23, 1872: An Act to submit to the people an amendment to article seven of the constitution, 1872 Act 111. Setting a referendum for an amendment to the state constitution expanding the Supreme Court from three to five justices. The referendum ultimately failed in the November 1872 general election.^[2]
• March 25, 1872: An Act to enable married women to transact business, make contracts, and sue and be sued, and to define the liabilities of husbands and wives, 1872 Act 155.

Party summary

Senate summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	14		19	33	0
1st Session	10		23	33	0
Final voting share
Beginning of the next Legislature	10		23	33	0

Assembly summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Ind.	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	40	3		57	100	0
1st Session	40	0		60	100	0
Final voting share
Beginning of the next Legislature	39	0		61	100	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 10, 1872March 26, 1872

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: Milton Pettit (R)
• President pro tempore: Charles G. Williams (R)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: Daniel Hall (R)

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Twenty-Fifth Wisconsin Legislature:^[3]

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
	Sheboygan		Sheboygan		Rep.
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee		Green Bay		Dem.
03	Milwaukee (Northern Part)		Milwaukee		Dem.
04	Monroe & Vernon		Viroqua		Rep.
05	Racine		Rochester		Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Half)		Milwaukee		Dem.
07	Dane (Eastern Part)		Dunn		Rep.
08	Kenosha & Walworth		Spring Prairie		Rep.
09	Iowa		Mineral Point		Rep.
10	Waukesha		Waukesha		Rep.
11	Lafayette		Darlington		Rep.
12	Green		Monticello		Rep.
13	Dodge		Horicon		Dem.
14	Sauk		Sauk City		Rep.
15	Manitowoc		Manitowoc		Dem.
16	Grant		Lancaster		Rep.
17	Rock		Janesville		Rep.
18			Fond du Lac		Rep.
19	Winnebago		Koro		Rep.
20			Marshfield		Dem.
21	Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca,		Waupaca		Dem.
22	Calumet & Southern Outagamie		Appleton		Dem.
23	Jefferson		Farmington		Dem.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk,		New Richmond		Rep.
25	Green Lake, Marquette, & Waushara		Princeton		Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)		Middleton		Rep.
27	Columbia		Columbus		Rep.
28	Crawford & Richland		Lone Rock		Rep.
29	Adams, Juneau, Portage,		Necedah		Rep.
30	Chippewa, Dunn,,				Rep.
31	La Crosse		La Crosse		Rep.
32	Buffalo, Clark, Jackson,		Modena		Rep.
33	Ozaukee & Washington		Ozaukee		Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Twenty-Fifth Wisconsin Legislature:^[3]

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
29	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Adams & Wood			Rep.	Grand Rapids
24	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk			Rep.	St. Croix Falls
02	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Dem.	Green Bay
	2			Rep.	Fort Howard
	3			Dem.	De Pere
32	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Buffalo			Dem.	Glencoe
22	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Calumet			Dem.	New Holstein
30	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Chippewa			Rep.	Chippewa Falls
32	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Clark & Jackson			Rep.	Black River Falls
27	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Columbia	1			Dem.	Portage
	2			Rep.	Fountain Prairie
	3			Rep.	Lowville
28	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Crawford			Dem.	Utica
07	text-align="left" rowspan="4"	Dane	1			Rep.	Pleasant Springs
	2			Dem.	Madison
26	3			Dem.	Black Earth
	4			Rep.	Oregon
13	text-align="left" rowspan="6"		1			Rep.	Elba
	2			Rep.	Beaver Dam
	3			Rep.	Oak Grove
	4			Dem.	Mayville
	5			Dem.	Rubicon
	6			Dem.	Shields
02	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Dem.	Sturgeon Bay
30	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Dunn & Pepin			Rep.	Lucas
	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Rep.
18	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Rep.	Metomen
	2			Rep.
20	3			Dem.	Eden
16	text-align="left" rowspan="4"		1			Rep.	Big Patch
	2			Rep.	Lancaster
	3			Rep.	Wingville
	4			Rep.	Patch Grove
12	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Green			Rep.	Sylvester
25	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Green Lake			Rep.	Markesan
09	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Iowa	1			Rep.	Arena
	2			Dem.	Mineral Point
23	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Jefferson	1			Rep.	Watertown
	2			Dem.	Lake Mills
	3			Rep.	Fort Atkinson
29	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Juneau			Rep.	New Lisbon
08	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Dem.	Kenosha
31	text-align="left" colspan="2"	La Crosse			Rep.	La Crosse
11	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Rep.	Benton
15	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Manitowoc	1			Rep.	Centerville
	2			Dem.	Maple Grove
	3			Dem.	Manitowoc
21	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Marathon			Dem.	Wausau
25	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Marquette			Dem.	Buffalo
03	text-align="left" rowspan="11"	Milwaukee	1			Dem.	Milwaukee
	2			Dem.	Milwaukee
06	3			Dem.	Milwaukee
	4			Rep.	Milwaukee
	5			Dem.	Milwaukee
03	6			Rep.	Milwaukee
06	7			Rep.	Milwaukee
	8			Dem.	Milwaukee
03	9			Dem.	Milwaukee
	10			Dem.	Milwaukee
06	11			Rep.	Oak Creek
04	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Monroe	1			Rep.	Rudd's Mills
	2			Rep.	Tomah
21	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Oconto			Rep.	Oconto
33	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Dem.	Ozaukee
	2			Dem.	Cedarburg
24	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Pierce			Rep.	River Falls
29	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Portage			Dem.	Plover
05	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Dem.	Racine
	2			Rep.	Yorkville
28	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Richland	1			Rep.	Ithaca
	2			Rep.	Marshall
17	text-align="left" rowspan="5"		1			Rep.	Footville
	2			Rep.	Janesville
	3			Rep.	Clinton
	4			Rep.	Newark
	5			Rep.	Janesville
14	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Sauk	1			Rep.	Sumpter
	2			Rep.	Delton
22	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Outagamie,,	1			Rep.	Dale
21	2			Dem.
	3			Rep.	Lind
01	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Dem.
	2			Dem.
	3			Rep.	Lima
24	text-align="left" colspan="2"	St. Croix			Rep.	Hudson
32	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Trempealeau			Rep.	Arcadia
04	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Vernon	1			Rep.	Jefferson
	2			Rep.	Viroqua
08	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Rep.	Delavan
	2			Rep.	Bloomfield
	3			Dem.	Whitewater
33	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Dem.	Cedar Creek
	2			Dem.	Schleisingerville
10	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Rep.	Summit
	2			Rep.	Brookfield Center
25	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Rep.	Aurora
19	text-align="left" rowspan="4"		1			Rep.	Oshkosh
	2			Dem.	Neenah
	3			Dem.	Omro
	4			Rep.	Rushford

Changes from the 24th Legislature

New districts for the 25th Legislature were defined in 1871 Wisconsin Act 156, passed into law in the 24th Wisconsin Legislature.

Senate redistricting

Summary of changes

• 17 Senate districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
• The Dane County district boundaries were slightly redrawn and renumbered (7, 26).
• Dodge County went from having two senators to one (13).
• Fond du Lac County went from having one senator to two (18, 20).
• Kenosha and Walworth counties were combined into one district (8).
• La Crosse County became its own senate district (31), after previously having been in a shared district with Vernon county.
• The Milwaukee County district boundaries were slightly redrawn and renumbered (3, 6).
• Outagamie County was split between two multi-county districts (21, 22).
• Ozaukee and Washington counties were combined into one district (33).
• The old multi-county 32nd Senate district was split into two districts (30, 32).

Senate districts

Dist.	24th Legislature	25th Legislature
1	Sheboygan County	Sheboygan County
2	Brown, Door, Kewaunee counties	Brown, Door, Kewaunee counties
3	Ozaukee County	Northern Milwaukee County
4	Washington County	Monroe, Vernon counties
5	Northern Milwaukee County	Racine County
6	Southern Milwaukee County	Southern Milwaukee County
7	Racine County	Eastern Dane County
8	Kenosha County	Kenosha, Walworth counties
9	Adams, Juneau, Monroe counties	Iowa County
10	Waukesha County	Waukesha County
11	Eastern Dane County	Lafayette County
12	Walworth County	Green County
13	Lafayette County	Dodge County
14	Sauk County	Sauk County
15	Iowa County	Manitowoc County
16	Grant County	Grant County
17	Rock County	Rock County
18	Western Dodge County	Western Fond du Lac County
19	Manitowoc County	Winnebago County
20	Fond du Lac County	Eastern Fond du Lac County
21	Winnebago County	Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca, Northern Outagamie counties
22	Calumet, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano counties	Calumet, Southern Outagamie counties
23	Jefferson County	Jefferson County
24	Green County	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, counties
25	Columbia County	Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara counties
26	Western Dane County	Western Dane County
27	Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Wood counties	Columbia County
28	Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Dallas, Douglas, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix counties	Crawford, Richland counties
29	Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara counties	Adams, Juneau, Portage, Wood counties
30	Crawford, Richland counties	Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin counties
31	La Crosse, Vernon counties	La Crosse County
32	Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Trempealeau counties	Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, Trempealeau counties
33	Eastern Dodge County	Ozaukee, Washington counties

Assembly redistricting

Summary of changes

• Adams and Wood counties became a combined district, Wood had previously been in a shared district with Marathon County, Adams had previously been its own Assembly district.
• Brown County went from having 2 districts to 3.
• Chippewa County became its own assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Dunn.
• Dane County went from having 5 districts to 4.
• Dodge County went from having 4 districts to 6.
• Eau Claire County became its own assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Pepin County.
• Fond du Lac County went from having 6 districts to 3.
• Grant County went from having 5 districts to 4.
• Jefferson County went from having 4 districts to 3.
• La Crosse County went from having 2 districts to 1.
• Lafayette County went from having 2 districts to 1.
• Milwaukee County went from having 10 districts to 11.
• Richland County went from having 1 district to 2.
• Washington County went from having 3 districts to 2.
• Waukesha County went from having 3 districts to 2.

Assembly districts

County	Districts in 24th Legislature	Districts in 25th Legislature	Change
Adams	1 District	Shared with Wood
Ashland	Shared with Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk
Barron	Shared with Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk
Bayfield	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Burnett, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Burnett, Douglas, Polk
Brown	2 Districts	3 Districts
Buffalo	1 District	1 District
Burnett	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk
Calumet	1 District	1 District
Chippewa	Shared with Dunn	1 District
Clark	Shared with Jackson	Shared with Jackson
Columbia	3 Districts	3 Districts
Crawford	1 District	1 District
Dane	5 Districts	4 Districts
Dodge	5 Districts	6 Districts
Door	Shared with Kewaunee	Shared with Northern Kewaunee
Douglas	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Polk
Dunn	Shared with Chippewa	Shared with Pepin
Eau Claire	Shared with Pepin	1 District
Fond du Lac	6 Districts	3 Districts
Grant	5 Districts	4 Districts
Green	2 Districts	1 District
Green Lake	1 District	1 District
Iowa	2 Districts	2 Districts
Jackson	Shared with Clark	Shared with Clark
Jefferson	4 Districts	3 Districts
Juneau	1 District	1 District
Kenosha	1 District	1 District
Kewaunee	Shared with Door	Divided between Door and Brown
La Crosse	2 Districts	1 District
Lafayette	2 Districts	1 District
Manitowoc	3 Districts	3 Districts
Marathon	Shared with Wood	1 District
Marquette	1 District	1 District
Milwaukee	10 Districts	11 Districts
Monroe	1 District	2 Districts
Oconto	Shared with Shawano	1 District
Outagamie	1 District	Divided between Shawano and own district
Ozaukee	1 District	2 Districts
Pepin	Shared with Eau Claire	Shared with Dunn
Pierce	1 District	1 District
Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas
Portage	1 District	1 District
Racine	2 Districts	2 Districts
Richland	1 District	2 Districts
Rock	5 Districts	5 Districts
Sauk	2 Districts	2 Districts
Shawano	Shared with Oconto	Shared with Northern Outagamie & Eastern Waupaca
Sheboygan	3 Districts	3 Districts
St. Croix	1 District	1 District
Trempealeau	1 District	1 District
Vernon	2 Districts	2 Districts
Walworth	3 Districts	3 Districts
Washington	3 Districts	2 Districts
Waukesha	3 Districts	2 Districts
Waupaca	1 District	Shared with Shawano & Northern Outagamie
Waushara	1 District	1 District
Winnebago	3 Districts	4 Districts
Wood	Shared with Marathon	Shared with Adams

External links

• 1872: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature

Notes and References

1. The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin . State of Wisconsin . 1882 . Heg . J. E. . https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1882/reference/wi.wibluebk1882.i0011.pdf . Annals of the Legislature . 226–228 . November 20, 2021 .
2. News: No Increase of Supreme Judges . . November 23, 1872 . 1 . November 20, 2021 . .
3. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin . State of Wisconsin . 1872 . Turner . A. J. . Andrew Jackson Turner . https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1872/reference/wi.wibluebk1872.i0021.pdf . Official Directory . 436–470 . November 20, 2021.