The Minnesota Territorial Legislature was a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

legislative body created by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

in 1849 as the legislative branch of the government of the

Territory of Minnesota The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and weste ...

. The

upper chamber An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restri ...

, the Council, and the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, first convened on September 3, 1849. The two chambers served as the territory's legislative body until

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

was admitted as a state on May 11, 1858, when the Territorial Legislature was replaced by the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

. Eight annual sessions were held between 1849 and 1857, though no session was held in 1850. The 1st Territorial Legislature convened in September and adjourned in November; all other sessions of the body convened in January and adjourned in March. Throughout the era,

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

was consistently the territorial capital, wherein the Territorial Legislature held its sessions. The Organic Act which created the Territory of Minnesota established that the Territorial Council would have a minimum of nine members, while the House of Representatives would have a minimum of eighteen members; the act also permitted the Territorial Legislature to provide for the election of up to a maximum of fifteen councillors and thirty-nine representatives. The 1st-6th Territorial Legislatures consisted of the minimum number in both houses, while the 7th and 8th consisted of fifteen councillors and thirty-eight representatives.

Background

The first time the area presently known as

was entirely unified within a single polity was in 1834, when all lands acquired in the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

which were east of the Missouri River and then remained unallocated, were transferred to the jurisdiction of the

Territory of Michigan The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

. In 1836, the lands which are now part of Minnesota were transferred to the

Territory of Wisconsin The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

, as

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

prepared for the admission of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

as a state, but the Territory of Wisconsin—and the lands of present-day Minnesota—were once again divided at the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

when Congress created the

Territory of Iowa The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remain ...

in 1838. When

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

was admitted as a state in 1846, all parts of the Territory of Iowa which were not included in the State of Iowa were left unceded, as were the portions of the Territory of Wisconsin which fell west of the St. Croix River and St. Louis Bay, when

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

was admitted in 1848. In 1849, Congress finally organized a reunified polity for these unceded lands in the form of the

, which, in addition to the current territory of the

State of Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

, also included the portions of the present-day states of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

which were east of the Missouri River. When Congress created the Territory of Minnesota, it provided for a very typical territorial government. The executive branch would consist of a Territorial Governor, Territorial Secretary, and Territorial Attorney appointed by the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, the judicial branch would consist of a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

appointed by the President and district courts organized according to territorial law, and a bicameral Territorial Legislature, consisting of a Council and a House of Representatives. On June 1, 1849,

Alexander Ramsey Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. He was the first Minnesota Territorial Governor. Early years and fa ...

took office as the first Governor of the Territory of Minnesota, and on September 3, 1849, the 1st Territorial Legislature convened.

Structure

Like its successor, the

, the Minnesota Territorial Legislature was

. The

, the Council, consisted of nine councillors in the 1st through 6th Territorial Legislatures, and fifteen councillors in the 5th and 8th, while the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, consisted of eighteen members in the 1st through 6th Territorial Legislatures, and thirty-eight in the 7th and 8th. The members of the Council were elected to two-year terms, while the members of the House of Representatives were elected to one-year terms.

Leaders

Presidents of the Council

Speakers of the House of Representatives

Sessions

1st Minnesota Territorial Legislature The 1st Minnesota Territorial Legislature first convened on September 3, 1849. The 9 members of the Minnesota Territorial Council and the 18 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of August 1, 18 ...

(1849) * 2nd Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1851) * 3rd Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1852) * 4th Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1853) * 5th Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1854) * 6th Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1855) * 7th Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1856) * 8th Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1857)

References

{{Authority control 1849 establishments in Minnesota Territory 1857 disestablishments in Minnesota Territory Minnesota Territory Former territorial legislatures of the United States Minnesota legislative sessions