The Sixth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 12, 1853, to April 4, 1853, in regular session. They reconvened from June 6 to July 13 to sit as a court of impeachment for

Wisconsin Circuit Court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal case ...

Judge Levi Hubbell. This was the first legislative session after the expansion and

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

of the Senate and Assembly. The Senate grew from 19 to 25 seats; he Assembly grew from 66 to 82 seats. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assemblymembers were elected to a one-year term. Assemblymembers and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 2, 1852. 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 4, 1851, or were elected in the 1852 election for a newly created district and were serving a one-year term.

Major events

* March 4, 1853:

Inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

as the 14th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. * March 5, 1853:

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

voted to impeach Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Levi Hubbell. * July 11, 1853: Judge Levi Hubbell was acquitted in a trial of impeachment in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

. * September 21, 1853:

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Timothy Burns died in office. * November 8, 1853:

William A. Barstow William Augustus Barstow (September 13, 1813December 13, 1865) was an American businessman, politician, and public administrator. He was the third governor and second Secretary of State of Wisconsin, and served as a Union Army officer during the ...

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

Major legislation

* February 11, 1853: Act to divide the County of

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

and create the County of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

1853 Act 8
* February 16, 1853: Act to incorporate the County of Shawanaw
1853 Act 9
* March 4, 1853: Act to incorporate the

State Historical Society of Wisconsin The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

1853 Act 17
* March 7, 1853: Act for the division of the county of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and the creation of the county of Ozaukee
1853 Act 21
* March 14, 1853: Act to divide

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

, and create the counties of

Pierce Pierce may refer to: Places Canada * Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia United States * Pierce, Colorado * Pierce, Idaho * Pierce, Illinois * Pierce, Kentucky * Pierce, Nebraska * Pierce, Texas * Pierce, We ...

and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

1853 Act 31
* March 19, 1853: Act to organize a Seventh Judicial Circuit, and to provide for the election of a Judge thereof
1853 Act 40
* March 19, 1853: Act to provide for contesting elections of members of the Senate and Assembly
1853 Act 41
* March 25, 1853: Act providing for the Geological Survey of the State
1853 Act 47
* April 2, 1853: Act providing for the organization of Joint Stock Companies
1853 Act 68
* June 6, 1853: Act to amend article four of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

1853 Act 95
to change state senate terms from two years to four years. This act was eventually put to a referendum in 1854, where it was defeated by a 2-to-1 margin. * July 6, 1853: Act to divide the county of

, and create the counties of Buffalo and

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

1853 Act 100
* July 6, 1853: Act to submit to the people the

question A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammar, grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are inte ...

of a Prohibitory Liquor Law
1853 Act 101
* July 12, 1853: Act to provide for the

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

in the first degree, and to abolish the

penalty of death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

1853 Act 103
With this act, Wisconsin became the first U.S. state to abolish the death penalty.

Party summary

Senate summary

Assembly summary

Sessions

* 1st Regular session: January 12, 1853 – April 4, 1853 * Special Impeachment session: June 6, 1853 – July 13, 1853

Leaders

Senate leadership

* President of the Senate: Timothy Burns, Lieutenant Governor (Until his death, September 21, 1853) * President pro tempore: Duncan Reed

Assembly leadership

* Speaker of the Assembly:

Henry L. Palmer Henry Lynde "Harry" Palmer (October 18, 1819May 6, 1909) was an Americans, American lawyer and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He was the 6th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembl ...

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Sixth Wisconsin Legislature (25): WI Senate Partisan Map 1853

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Sixth Wisconsin Legislature (82): WI Assembly Partisan Map 1853

Employees

Senate employees

* Chief Clerk: John K. Williams * Sergeant-at-Arms:

Thomas Hood Thomas Hood (23 May 1799 – 3 May 1845) was an English poet, author and humorist, best known for poems such as " The Bridge of Sighs" and "The Song of the Shirt". Hood wrote regularly for ''The London Magazine'', ''Athenaeum'', and ''Punch''. ...

Assembly employees

* Chief Clerk: Thomas McHugh * Sergeant-at-Arms: Richard F. Wilson

Changes from the 5th Legislature

The most significant structural change to the Legislature between the 5th and 6th sessions was the reapportionment and redistricting of legislative seats. The new districts were defined i
1852 Wisconsin Act 499
passed into law in the 5th Wisconsin Legislature.

Senate redistricting

Summary of changes

* 12 districts were simply renumbered without border adjustments. * Waukesha County went from having one senator to two (9, 10). * Rock County went from having one senator to two (17, 18). * Washington County went from having one senator to two (3, 4)—the territory comprising the 3rd district became a separate county, Ozaukee, during the 6th Legislature. * Columbia County became its own senate district (25), after previously having been in a shared district with Adams, Marathon, Marquette, Portage, Sauk, and Waushara. * Fond du Lac and Winnebago counties became separate senate districts (20, 21), after previously having been in a shared district with Waupaca. * Adams, Marquette, Sauk, and Waushara counties became a senate district (23). * Calumet, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan counties became a senate district (1), separating from the previous vast multi-county northeast district. * Brown, Door, Marathon, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage, and Waupaca counties constituted the new multi-county northeast district (2).

Senate districts

Assembly redistricting

Summary of changes

* Columbia County went from having 1 district to 2. * Dane County went from having 3 districts to 5. * Dodge County went from having 5 districts to 6. * Fond du Lac County went from having 2 districts to 4. * Grant County went from having 4 districts to 5. * Iowa County went from having 1 district and 1 shared district with Richland to having 2 districts. * Jefferson County went from having 3 districts to 5. * Lafayette County went from having 2 districts to 3. * Marquette and Waushara counties went from sharing 1 district to sharing 2 districts. * Milwaukee County went from having 7 districts to 9. * Racine County went from having 3 districts to 4. * Richland County became its own assembly district, after previously having been in a shared district with Iowa County. * Rock County went from having 5 districts to 4. * Walworth County went from having 5 districts to 6. * Washington County went from having 5 districts to 4—the eastern 2 districts became Ozaukee County during the 6th Legislature. * Waukesha County went from having 5 districts to 4.

Assembly districts

References

External links

{{Wisconsin legislatures 1853 in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Wisconsin legislative sessions