About
This collection comprises citizen petitions written to the legislatures of the Wisconsin Territory and later the State of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1891. At the time, petitions were the only direct means for citizens to communicate with the government.
From requesting dams, roads, and money to build schoolhouses, to recording views on slavery, suffrage, and statehood, these petitions reveal what settlers wished to achieve for their communities, and the ways in which they hoped to connect Wisconsin to the expanding commerce and intellectual life of the United States. These petitions are mostly handwritten in blue and iron gall ink; most petitions comprise a title page, the petition itself, and signature pages.
For more information about this Collection, visit its Online Finding Aid and View the Online Collection.
The work of flattening, scanning, and describing these petitions was funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC) of the National Archives.
Works
Remonstrance against lowering the prices that printers can charge for legal printing work
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against moving the county seat of Dodge County
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against obstructing the channel at the South Branch of the Fox River
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against organizing Washington County for judicial purposes.
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against organizing Winnebago County
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against passing a bill that would tax Fond du Lac County residents for funds to build a new court house
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against passing a law relative to the county seat of Racine County
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against passing any laws that would allow for suspension of specie payment
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against passing Assembly Bill no. 125 related to mills and mill dams
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against passing Assembly Bill No. 221 A about railroad freight and delivery
Collaboration is restricted.