The 1st Wyoming Territorial Legislature was a meeting of the

Wyoming Legislature The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 60-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 30-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at th ...

that lasted from October 12 to December 10, 1869. This was the first meeting of the territorial legislature following the creation of the

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The bou ...

by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

History

Creation

On July 25, 1868, the United States Congress approved the Wyoming Organic Act which created the Wyoming Territory with land from the

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and Idaho territories. At the time of the territory's formation there were four counties; Albany,

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

, and Laramie counties. On September 2, 1869, the first legislature elections were held where the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

won all of the seats in the Council and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Formation

The first session of the Wyoming territorial legislature occurred from October 12, to December 10, 1869. The upper house Council met in the Thomas McLeland Building and the House of Representatives met in the Arcade Building in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne ...

. On October 12, John H. Howe, Chief Justice of the

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the ...

, inaugurated the twenty-one members of the territorial legislature. William H. Bright was selected to serve as the President of the Council and S. M. Curran was selected to serve as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Council convened with two members missing, W. S. Rockwell and George Wilson Jr., who would later arrive on October 15 and October 27. The House of Representatives convened with five members missing, with four of them arriving by November 23, but Representative J. M. Freeman never arrived.

Legislation

During the legislative session legislation giving women the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

was introduced by William Bright in the Council. On December 6, 1869, Council voted seven to two in favor and the House of Representatives voted seven to four in favor. On December 10, Governor John Allen Campbell signed the legislation into law. Amalia Post, a leader in the woman suffrage movement, was largely instrumental in having the franchise granted women in Wyoming Territory by the 1st Wyoming Territorial Legislature. The legislature passed legislation renaming Carter County to Sweetwater and created Uinta County.

History

Creation

Formation

Legislation

Membership

Council

Members of the Wyoming Council

House of Representatives

Members of the Wyoming House of Representatives

References

Notes