Overview of Citizen Petitions, Remonstrances, and Resolutions
Wisconsin Citizen Petitions
What is a petition?
Petitioning the government has a long traditiion in European government and traveled to the United States with early colonists. Early settlers in Wisconsin continued the tradition, and by 1836 the Wisconsin Territorial Goverment recieved its first petition. Petitioning remains a method for citizens to express opinions to the legislature. Petitons are used support, reject, and suggest changesthe legal decisions and policies that affect communities.
Petition for territorial road
Petition for building a territorial road in Dubuque and Muscatine Counties
Handwritten and printed petitions became popular as white settlers flocked to Wisconsin in the nineteenth century. The rapid growth of urban communities demanded the expansion of local government structures, public infrastructure, and formal policies concerning social issues and economic concerns. Petitions were a specific way settlers could exert direct influence on their legislatures about these issues.
Petition topics changed in response to political, social, and economic developments. From the 1830s until Wisconsin’s entry into the Union, citizens largely focused on the legal business of formalizing civic structures and establishing the state. In contrast, in the later half of the century, major factors like the expansion of railroads galvanized Wisconsin communities to submit petitions, while industrial development accelerated the need for ports and roads, which were widely supported by large numbers of citizens. Citizens also remained responsive to sweeping social movements such as suffrage, abolition, and temperance, often compiling extensive petitions advocating their positions.
Why write petitions?
Until the nineteenth century, white settlement in Wisconsin was sparse and centered almost solely on the fur trade and military posts at Green Bay, LaPointe, and Prairie du Chien. However, with westward migration increasing after the War of 1812, exploitation of the lead region, and the dispossession of Wisconsin Indians via treaties and overwhelming military force, Wisconsin’s population swelled from a mere 11,000 to over 305,000 between 1836 and 1850. The resulting rapid growth of settlements and industries transformed the region and stipulated a substantial expansion of civic government, infrastructure, and public policy.
The citizens of Wisconsin did not remain passive during this period of intense societal change. Citizens insisted on shaping local and state decisions and policies, and did so by ardently petitioning the legislature to pass, amend, and repeal public and private laws.
Who wrote petitions?
Any resident of Wisconsin could petition the Territorial, and later state, government. The Citizen petition collection includes petitions from white men and women, men and women from several Native American tribes, Black men, and European immigrants. All these groups identified themselves when petitioning, it is possible other, non-identified groups are represented.
Petition to Governor Farwell
Petition addressed to Governor Leonard J. Farwell concerning the lack of qualifications of the present state Emigrant Agent View the original source document: WHI 38573
Many perspectives, experiences, and cultures were visible and represented in citizen petitions. Despite disparities in suffrage and access to legal aid, race and gender were not barriers to petitioning the legislature. Black men submitted several petitions to the legislature advocating for African-American suffrage. Disability rights advocates successfully petitioned for money to fund schools for Deaf and disabled citizens and citizens who could not speak English out loud. Immigrants petitioned regularly for public and private laws and were featured as signers on miscellaneous petitions in large numbers. White women petitioned for divorce, legal adoption, and name changes at an equal ratio to white men and submitted an overwhelming majority of the petitions for temperance laws.
What were the goals of petitions?
Citizens petitioned the Legislature to pass public and private laws on a vast multitude of topics. Public laws addressed local concerns like the construction of roads, harbors, dams, schools, and health institutions, as well as hot-button issues like liquor licensing, drafting a state constitution, water rights and navigation, railroad development and regulation, adultery laws, the Bennett Law, and the Milwaukee and Rock River canal lands conflict. Individual citizens regularly petitioned the Legislature for private laws supervising name changes, divorces, questions of inheritance, and other aspects of personal life.
What major events influenced petitions?
Petitions reflect the major events of the 19th century in Wisconsin. Petition project staff developed a timeline of major events and many overlap with events represented in the petition collection.
Visit Turning Points in Wisconsin history
What did petitions accomplish?
Citizens wrote petitions, remonstrances, and resolutions to communicate their desires, truths, and uncertainties. Citizens used petitions to advocate for the causes they considered for personal and public benefit, or protest against decisions they found damaging to their communities. Petition-writing realized citizens’ desire to cultivate a just and moral society.
Learn More
View Wisconsin Citizen Petitions, 1836-1880
Learn More from Other Institutions
GovInfo: Public and Private Laws
Have Questions?
Email govarc@wisconsinhistory.org to get answers to your questions about citizen petitions.