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Constitution of Wisconsin

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Rejected Constitution of the State of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It establishes the structure and function of state government, describes the state boundaries, and declares the rights of state citizens. The Wisconsin Constitution was written at a constitutional convention held in Madison, Wisconsin in December 1847 and approved by the citizens of Wisconsin Territory in a referendum held in March 1848. Wisconsin was admitted to the United States on May 29, 1848. Although it has been amended over a hundred times, the original constitution ratified in 1848 is still in use. This makes the Wisconsin Constitution the oldest U.S. state constitution outside of New England. Only Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island use older constitutions. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... The Constitution of the United States of America A constitution is a system, often codified as a written document, that establishes the rules and principles whereby an organization or political entity is governed. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states which have membership of the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42°30N to 47°3N  - Longitude 86°49W to 92°54W Population  Ranked... Nickname: Mad Town or Mad City Location of Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin Municipality City Incorporated 1848  - Mayor Dave Cieslewicz Area    - City 136. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Wisconsin Territory became an organized territory of the United States by an act of U.S. Congress passed on April 20, 1836 which went into effect on July 3, 1836. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A constitutional amendment is a change to the constitution of a nation or a state. ... In the context of the United States of America, a state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the U.S. Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,359 sq mi (24,239 km²)  - Width 68 miles (110 km)  - Length 190 miles (305 km)  - % water 3. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 45th  - Total 9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)  - Width 80 miles (130 km)  - Length 160 miles (260 km)  - % water 3. ... Official language(s) None (English de facto; French is also an administrative language) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Providence Largest city Providence Area  Ranked 50th  - Total 1,214* sq mi (3,144* km²)  - Width 37 miles (60 km)  - Length 48 miles (77 km)  - % water 32. ...

The current Wisconsin Constitution contains a brief preamble and fourteen articles detailing the state government, its powers, and its limitations.

Creation of the Wisconsin Constitution

Although Wisconsin continues to use the original constitution ratified as Wisconsin achieved statehood, the current constitution is the second document to be proposed as the state constitution. In 1846, the residents of Wisconsin Territory first voted to apply for statehood, and they elected 124 representatives to meet in Madison to author a state constitution. These delegates, most of them elected as Democrats, met in the fall of 1846 to write the constitution. However, the document they produced by December 1846 contained several provisions which were deemed radical at the time. The document give married women the right to own property and allowed for a public referendum to settle the issue of African American suffrage. In addition, Edward G. Ryan, the delegate from Racine, Wisconsin, introduced a section to the constitution that prohibited all commercial banking in Wisconsin. Not ready to accept some of these provisions, the public rejected the first proposed constitution in a referendum and elected a second delegation to write a constitution which would be more acceptable to the people. 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Racine is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, along Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River[1]. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 81,855. ...

The second constitutional convention produced a much more conservative document that lacked the controversial progressive clauses in its predecessor. The second draft constitution was mute on the controversial issues of women's property rights. It gave suffrage only to white male citizens over the age of twenty one and American Indians that had been made citizens of the United States, but gave the legislature the ability to extend suffrage to other groups through laws approved by public referendum. The issue of banking was put to a public vote; citizens could decide for themselves whether or not the state legislature could pass laws allowing banking after the constitution was ratified. The second proposed constitution was finished in December 1846, and was approved by the public in March 1848. During the same election, voters also chose to allow the legislature to charter banks. Shortly after the referendum, the state constitution was ratified by the United States Senate and put into effect with the election of the first state officials. A Hupa man. ...

Provisions of the current Wisconsin Constitution

Declaration of Rights

The first article of the Wisconsin constitution outlines the legal rights of state citizens. In addition to reaffirming the rights guaranteed in the United States Bill of Rights, Article I of the Wisconsin Constitution offers additional guarantees to its citizens. Among these are sections which prohibit imprisonment for debt, guarantee resident aliens the same property rights as citizens, affirm that the military is subordinate to civil authorities, allow for the use of state owned school buildings by civil and religious organizations during non-school hours, and guarantee the right of citizens to hunt and fish. Image of the United States Bill of Rights from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration The United States Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. ...

Legislature

The Wisconsin Legislature is described in Article IV of the Wisconsin Constitution. It is divided into two houses, the Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin State Senate. The constitution sets forth the method of electing legislators and gives their terms as two years for representatives to the assembly and four years for senators. It allows bills to originate in either house, and gives each house the ability to amend bills already passed by the other. In addition, the Wisconsin Constitution outlines certain limitations to the power of the legislative branch of government. The state legislature is prohibited by the constitution from authorizing gambling, although amendments have introduced numerous exceptions to this rule including an allowance for bingo games held by certain non-profit organizations and a state lottery. The legislature is also prohibited from passing legislation affecting certain private business, such as voting to change a person's name. The Wisconsin Legislature, based in Madison, is bicameral and is composed of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin Senate. ... The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. ... The Wisconsin State Senate, based off of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly. ... The term gambling has had many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. ... Bingo Bingo is a game of chance where randomly-selected numbers are drawn and players match those numbers to those appearing on 5x5 matrices which are printed or electronically represented and are known as cards. ... A lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. ...

Executive Branch

Article V of the Wisconsin Constitution describes executive office in the state, providing for a governor and lieutenant governor who are elected jointly to four year terms. The constitution also outlines the powers and duties of the executive branch. The governor of Wisconsin is given command of the state's military forces and empowered to pardon convicts. The Wisconsin Constitution also allows the governor to veto bills passed by the state legislature. The governor is also given line-item veto power over bills of appropriation, allowing the executive to cut out certain parts of legislation. The constitution does, however, prohibit the governor to create a new word in a bill by objecting to certain letters. Rejected bills or portions of bills are then returned to the legislative house where the bill originated, where a vote from two thirds of the members can override the veto. A governor or governour (archaic) is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the Head of state; furthermore the title applies to officials with a similar mandate as representatives of a chartered... A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In government, the line-item veto is the power of an executive to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, usually budget appropriations, without vetoing the entire legislative package. ...

Article V also sets forth a line of succession for the governor should he resign, be removed, or die. In the absence of a governor, executive power is transferred to the lieutenant governor, and in cases where both the governor and lieutenant governor are unable to fulfill executive responsibilities, these powers are transferred to the Wisconsin Secretary of State. Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States. ...

Article VI of the Wisconsin Constitution describes other administrative positions, providing for a secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney general to be elected to four year terms. This article also describes rules for various elected officials on the county level. A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ...

Judicial Branch

The Wisconsin Constitution outlines the state's judicial branch in Article VII, granting judicial power in the state to a unified Wisconsin Supreme Court consisting of seven justices elected to ten year terms. The justice who has been serving longest is given the powers of chief justice. In addition to the supreme court, the constitution provides for the Wisconsin Circuit Courts, which each have districts prescribed by the legislature with borders following county boundaries. An intermediary body between the supreme court and the circuit courts, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, is also established in the state constitution. Finally, the legislature is granted power to form municipal courts with jurisdiction over individual cities, villages, and towns in the state. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth- or other countries with an Anglosaxon type of justice, such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, the Supreme... The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the state of Wisconsin, above the Wisconsin Circuit Courts but below the Wisconsin Supreme Court. ...

Article VII of the Wisconsin Constitution also describes the process for impeaching and trying state officials. A majority of members in the state assembly can vote to impeach a civil officer. The state senate is then given the power to conduct a trial of the impeached official. If two thirds of the senators present vote to convict the officer, the convicted party is removed from office and made subject to further prosecution under law.

Amending the Constitution

The process for making changes to the Wisconsin Constitution is stated in Article XII. An amendment to the state constitution can be introduced by either house of the state legislature. A majority of members in both houses of the state legislature must then vote in favor of the amendment on two occasions. As soon as the proposed amendment passes both houses for the first time, any further progress in the amendment's adaptation must wait until after general elections have been held and the state legislature has reconvened with the members chosen in the new elections. Both houses must then vote a second time to accept the proposed amendment, without making any changes, in order for the proposal to carry on to the next stage before acceptance. Once the amendment has passed both houses of the legislature twice, it must be approved in a popular vote cast by Wisconsin citizens. If the amendment succeeds in referendum, it becomes part of the Wisconsin Constitution. Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

The constitution can also be amended or fully replaced if a new state constitutional convention is called. In order to call a constitutional convention, a majority of the state legislators must vote in favor of holding a new convention, and then the people of Wisconsin must vote to call a convention during the next general elections. Unlike many other states, Wisconsin does not have petition-based referendums or initiatives. A constitutional convention is a gathering of delegates for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizens initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment, or ordinance. ...

In the context of the United States of America, a state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the U.S. Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the... The Alabama Constitution is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. ... // The Alaska Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Alaska. ... The Arizona Constitution is the governing document and framework for the State of Arizona. ... The Arkansas Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Arkansas. ... The California Constitution is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 8th 269,837 km² 451 km 612 km 0. ... The Connecticut Constitution is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Connecticut. ... The Delaware Constitution of 1897 is the fourth and current governing document for Delaware state government and has been in effect since its adoption on June 4, 1897. ... The Great Seal of the State of Florida The Florida Constitution is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. ... The Constitution of Hawaii refers to various legal documents throughout the history of the Hawaiian Islands that defined the fundamental principles of authority and governance within its sphere of jurisdiction. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boise Largest city Boise Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 14th 216,632 km² 491 km 771 km 0. ... The Illinois Constitution is the governing body of the state of Illinois. ... The Kansas Constitution was originally known as the Wyandotte Constitution to distinguish it from three proposed constitutions that preceded it. ... Official language(s) English Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 37th 104,749 km² 225 km 610 km 1. ... The Louisiana Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Louisiana. ... The Great Seal of Maryland The current Constitution of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law for the U.S. state of Maryland. ... The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. ... The Michigan Constitution is the governing document of the state of Michigan. ... The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Minnesota to the Union. ... The constitution of Mississippi is the governing document of Mississippi. ... Within Missouri, there are three levels of government: state government county city Missouris state capital is Jefferson City lying approximately halfway between its two largest cities, St. ... The Montana Constitution is the primary legal document providing for the self-governance of the U.S. State of Montana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 16th 200,520 km² 340 km 690 km 0. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: New Hampshire Constitution The New Hampshire State Constitution is the primary governing document of the State of New Hampshire ratified on June 2, 1784. ... The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. ... CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK, 1777 New York State Constitution Current through January 1, 2004 Categories: | | | | ... The North Carolina Constitution governs the structure and function of the North Carolina state government. ... State nickname: Peace Garden State, Roughrider State, Flickertail State Other U.S. States Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Governor John Hoeven Official languages English Area 183 272 km² (19th)  - Land 178 839 km²  - Water 4 432 km² (2. ... The Ohio Constitution is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. ... Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the state of Oklahoma, superseded only by the Federal Constitution. ... The Oregon Constitution is a U.S. state constitution, the governing document of the American state of Oregon. ... The current Constitution of Pennsylvania, most recently revised in 1968, forms the law for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. ... The South Carolina Constitution is the governing document of South Carolina. ... The Tennessee State Constitution defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules (and means for changing them) of the U.S. State of Tennessee. ... The Texas Constitution is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of Texas. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 13th 219,887 km² 435 km 565 km 3. ... The Vermont Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Vermont. ... The Constitution of Virginia is a United States state constitution. ... The Washington Constitution is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the state of Washington. ... An insular area is United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nations federal district. ...

External links

• Text of the Wisconsin Constitution (PDF)
• The Making of the Wisconsin Constitution (Article from the State Bar of Wisconsin)
• Turning Points of Wisconsin History: The State Constitutions of 1846 and 1848