30th Wisconsin Legislature explained

30th Wisconsin Legislature
Body:	Wisconsin Legislature
Before:	29th
After:	31st
Chamber1:	Senate
Membership1:	33
Control1:	Republican
Chamber1 Leader2:	William Hiner (R)
Chamber2:	Assembly
Membership2:	100
Control2:	Republican

The Thirtieth 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 odd-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 odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 7, 1876. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 2, 1875.^[1]

Major events

• January 29, 1877: President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Electoral Commission Act to attempt to settle the disputed 1876 United States presidential election.
• March 2, 1877: The Compromise of 1877 secured the election of Rutherford B. Hayes, resolving the disputed 1876 United States presidential election.
• March 4, 1877: Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes as the 19th President of the United States.
• May 6, 1877: Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux surrendered to United States troops in Nebraska.
• July 16, 1877: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 lead to rioting in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
• September 5, 1877: While in captivity, Chief Crazy Horse was killed by an American soldier.
• November 6, 1877: William E. Smith elected Governor of Wisconsin.
• November 29, 1877: Thomas Edison demonstrated his phonograph for the first time.

Major legislation

• January 31, 1877: Joint Resolution agreeing to an amendment of section four of article seven of the constitution of the state of Wisconsin, 1877 Joint Resolution 1. Confirmed a constitutional amendment adding two seats to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to be chosen at the Spring 1878 election.
• February 16, 1877: Joint Resolution relating to the coinage of silver, 1877 Act 3.

Party summary

Senate summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	6	4	2		21	33	0
1st Session	8	0	3		22	33	0
Final voting share
Beginning of the next Legislature	10	0	2		21	33	0

Assembly summary

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)							Total
	Dem.	Ref.	Soc.	Gbk.	Ind.	Lib.R.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	35	11	0	0	1	1		52	100	0
Start of 1st Session	33	5	0	0	0	1		61	100	0
From Jan. 31	32							62
Final voting share
Beginning of the next Legislature		41	0		1		13	0	0	45	100	0

Sessions

• 1st Regular session: January 10, 1877March 8, 1877

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: Charles D. Parker (D)
• President pro tempore: William Hiner (R)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: John B. Cassoday

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Thirtieth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
	Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, & Shawano		Kewaunee		Rep.
02	Brown		Green Bay		Dem.
03	Racine		Racine		Rep.
04	Crawford & Vernon		Viroqua		Rep.
05	Milwaukee (Northern Part)		Milwaukee		Rep.
06	Milwaukee (Southern Part)		Milwaukee		Dem.
07	Milwaukee (Central Part)		Milwaukee		Dem.
08	Kenosha & Walworth		Kenosha		Rep.
09	Green Lake, Marquette,		Berlin		Rep.
10	Waukesha		Waukesha		Rep.
11	Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, Taylor,		Grand Rapids		Rep.
12	Green & Lafayette		Monroe		Rep.
13	Dodge		Fox Lake		Dem.
14	Juneau & Sauk		Baraboo		Rep.
15	Manitowoc		Manitowoc		Dem.
16	Grant		Beetown		Rep.
17	Rock		Janesville		Rep.
18			Fond du Lac		Rep.
19	Winnebago		Oshkosh		Rep.
20			Osceola		Dem.
21	Marathon, Portage,		Waupaca		Lib.R.
22	Calumet & Outagamie		Appleton		Dem.
23	Jefferson		Jefferson		Lib.R.
24	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk,		Ashland		Rep.
25			Madison		Rep.
26	Dane (Western Part)		Middleton		Lib.R.
27	Adams & Columbia		Portage		Rep.
28	Iowa & Richland				Rep.
29	Buffalo, Pepin,		Galesville		Rep.
30	Dunn,,				Rep.
31	La Crosse		La Crosse		Rep.
32			Melrose		Rep.
33	Ozaukee & Washington		Farmington		Dem.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Thirtieth Wisconsin Legislature:^[2]

Senate District	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
27	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Adams			Rep.	Friendship
24	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas,			Rep.	Prairie Farm
02	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Brown	1			Rep.	Green Bay
	2			Rep.	Fort Howard
	3			Dem.	Morrison
29	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Buffalo & Pepin	1			Rep.	Fountain City
	2			Rep.	Durand
22	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Calumet			Dem.	Harrison
11	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Chippewa			Dem.	Chippewa Falls
	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Rep.	Neillsville
27	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Columbia	1			Rep.	Caledonia
	2			Rep.	Columbus
04	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Crawford			Dem.	Marietta
26	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Dane	1			Ref.	Springdale
25	2			Rep.	Oregon
	3			Rep.	York
13	text-align="left" rowspan="4"		1			Dem.	Horicon
	2			Dem.	Lomira
	3			Rep.	Burnett
	4			Dem.	Elba
01	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Door			Dem.	Sturgeon Bay
30	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Dunn			Rep.	Menomonie
	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Dem.
18	text-align="left" rowspan="4"		1			Rep.	West Rosendale
	2			Rep.	Waupun
	3			Rep.	Fond du Lac
20	4			Dem.	Calumet
16	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Rep.	Platteville
	2			Rep.	Lancaster
	3			Rep.	Castle Rock
12	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Green	1			Rep.	New Glarus
	2			Rep.	Spring Grove
09	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Green Lake			Rep.	Markesan
28	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Iowa	1			Dem.	Avoca
	2			Rep.	Mineral Point
32	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Jackson			Rep.	Black River Falls
23	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Jefferson	1			Dem.	Watertown
	2			Rep.	Lake Mills
	3			Dem.	Erfurt
14	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Juneau	1			Rep.	Lyndon
	2			Rep.	New Lisbon
08	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Rep.	Somers
01	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Dem.	Carlton
31	text-align="left" colspan="2"	La Crosse			Dem.	Hamilton
11	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Rep.	Argyle
	2			Dem.	Shullsburg
15	text-align="left" rowspan="3"	Manitowoc	1			Dem.	Cato
	2			Ref.	Kossuth
	3			Rep.	Manitowoc
21	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Marathon			Dem.	Wausau
09	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Marquette			Dem.	Westfield
05	text-align="left" rowspan="12"	Milwaukee	1			Dem.	Milwaukee
07	2			Dem.	Milwaukee
	3			Dem.	Milwaukee
	4			Rep.	Milwaukee
06	5			Rep.	Milwaukee
05	6			Rep.	Milwaukee
07	7			Rep.	Milwaukee
06	8			Dem.	Milwaukee
				Rep.	Milwaukee
05	9			Rep.	Milwaukee
	10			Dem.	Granville
06	11			Dem.	New Coeln
32	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Monroe	1			Dem.	Sparta
	2			Rep.	Tomah
01	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Oconto & Shawano			Rep.	Shawano
22	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Outagamie	1			Dem.	Appleton
	2			Dem.	Seymour
33	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Ref.	Port Washington
30	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Pierce			Rep.	River Falls
21	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Portage			Rep.	Stockton
03	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Rep.	Racine
	2			Rep.	Waterford
28	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Richland	1			Dem.	Sextonville
	2			Rep.	Marshall
17	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Rep.	Beloit
	2			Rep.	Janesville
	3			Rep.	Cooksville
14	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Sauk	1			Rep.	Loganville
	2			Rep.	Dellona
20	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Ref.
	2			Lib.R.
	3			Rep.	Lima
24	text-align="left" colspan="2"	St. Croix			Ref.	Hudson
29	text-align="left" colspan="2"	Trempealeau			Rep.	Osseo
04	text-align="left" rowspan="2"	Vernon	1			Rep.	Coon Prairie
	2			Rep.	Stark
08	text-align="left" rowspan="3"		1			Rep.	Bloomfield
	2			Rep.	Sharon
	3			Rep.	La Grange
33	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Dem.	Hartford
	2			Dem.	Farmington
10	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Rep.	Waterville
	2			Dem.	Menomonee Falls
21	text-align="left" rowspan="2"		1			Rep.	Baldwin's Mills
	2			Rep.	New London
09	text-align="left" colspan="2"				Rep.	East Oasis
19	text-align="left" rowspan="4"		1			Dem.	Oshkosh
	2			Rep.	Neenah
	3			Rep.	Oshkosh
	4			Rep.	Poygan

Changes from the 29th Legislature

New districts for the 30th Legislature were defined in 1876 Wisconsin Act 343, passed into law in the 29th Wisconsin Legislature.

Senate redistricting

Summary of changes

• 10 Senate districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
• Brown County became its own senate district (2), after previously having been in a shared district with Door and Kewaunee counties.
• The Dane County district boundaries were slightly redrawn and renumbered (25, 26).
• Milwaukee County went from having 2 districts to 3 (5, 6, 7).
• Green and Lafayette counties were combined into one district (12).
• Fond du Lac County's eastern district was combined with Manitowoc County as one district (20).
• Pierce County was removed from the 24th district and added to a new district with Eau Claire and Dunn counties (30).

Senate districts

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

Assembly redistricting

Summary of changes

• 45 Assembly districts were left unchanged (or were only renumbered).
• Adams County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Wood County.
• Chippewa County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Taylor County.
• Columbia County went from having 3 districts to 2.
• Dane County went from having 4 districts to 3.
• Dodge County went from having 6 districts to 4.
• Door County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Northern Kewaunee County.
• Dunn County became its own Assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Pepin County.
• Juneau County went from having 1 district to 2.
• Ozaukee County went from having 2 districts to 1.
• Rock County went from having 5 districts to 3.

Assembly districts

County	Districts in 29th Legislature	Districts in 30th Legislature	Change
Adams	Shared with Wood	1 District
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	3 Districts	3 Districts
Buffalo	1 District	2 shared with Pepin
Burnett	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Polk
Calumet	1 District	1 District
Chippewa	Shared with Taylor	1 District
Clark	Shared with Jackson	Shared with Lincoln, Taylor & Wood
Columbia	3 Districts	2 Districts
Crawford	1 District	1 District
Dane	4 Districts	3 Districts
Dodge	6 Districts	4 Districts
Door	Shared with Northern Kewaunee	1 District
Douglas	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Polk	Shared with Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Polk
Dunn	Shared with Pepin	1 District
Eau Claire	1 District	1 District
	3 Districts	4 Districts
Grant	4 Districts	3 Districts
Green	1 District	2 Districts
Green Lake	1 District	1 District
Iowa	2 Districts	2 Districts
Jackson	Shared with Clark	1 District
Jefferson	3 Districts	3 Districts
Juneau	1 District	2 Districts
Kenosha	1 District	1 District
Kewaunee	Divided between Door and Brown	1 District
La Crosse	1 District	1 District
Lafayette	1 District	2 Districts
Manitowoc	3 Districts	3 Districts
Marathon	1 District	1 District
Marquette	1 District	1 District
Milwaukee	11 Districts	11 Districts
Monroe	2 Districts	2 Districts
Oconto	1 District	Shared with Shawano
Outagamie	Divided between Shawano and own district	2 Districts
Ozaukee	2 Districts	1 District
Pepin	Shared with Dunn	2 shared with Buffalo
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	2 Districts	2 Districts
Rock	5 Districts	3 Districts
Sauk	2 Districts	2 Districts
Shawano	Shared with Northern Outagamie & Eastern Waupaca	Shared with Oconto
Sheboygan	3 Districts	3 Districts
St. Croix	1 District	1 District
Taylor	Shared with Chippewa	Shared with Clark, Lincoln, Wood
Trempealeau	1 District	1 District
Vernon	2 Districts	2 Districts
Walworth	3 Districts	3 Districts
Washington	2 Districts	2 Districts
Waukesha	2 Districts	2 Districts
Waupaca	Shared with Shawano & Northern Outagamie	2 Districts
Waushara	1 District	1 District
Winnebago	4 Districts	4 Districts
Wood	Shared with Adams	Shared with Clark, Lincoln, & Taylor

External links

• 1877: 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 . 239-241 . January 21, 2022 .
2. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin . State of Wisconsin . 1877 . Bashford . R. M. . https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1877/reference/wi.wibluebk1877.i0022.pdf . Official Directory . 445–488 . January 21, 2022 .