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 changing the name of the town of Kinnickinnic
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against changing the name of the town of Raymond to "Whitestown"
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against changing the name of the town of Spring Prairie
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against changing the name of Watertown to "Rushaloo"
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against changing the term of the District Court in Iowa County
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against chartering a second railroad company to build a rail line from La Crosse to Prairie du Chien
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against chartering private companies to build internal public improvements
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against chartering the Oshkosh City Railroad
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against chartering the Westfield Bridge Company
Collaboration is restricted.
Remonstrance against closing the land offices in Milwaukee and Mineral Point
Collaboration is restricted.