The Territory of Iowa Legislative Assembly or Legislative Assembly of Iowa Territory was the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

Iowa Territory 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 remai ...

, which operated between the creation of the territory in 1838 and statehood in 1846. Like that of

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and 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. Belm ...

(from which Iowa had been split when

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

became a state), the Assembly consisted of an

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

, called the Council (although some historical compilations refer to it as the Senate), led by a President; and a

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

, the House of Representatives, led by a

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. The Council had 13 members, the House had 26. The term of members of the Council was changed from four years in 1836 to two years in 1838, and the term of Representatives was changed from two years in 1836 to one year in 1838. The Assembly held eight regular sessions and two

special session In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...

s of varying lengths, the first beginning November 12, 1838 and the last ending January 19, 1846. Legislative Assemblies 1 through 3 convened in Burlington and 4 through 8 convened in

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

. Throughout the Assembly's duration, members of the Democratic Party held an

absolute majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...

of varying extent in both houses.Legislative Services Agency. ''Historical Tables of the Iowa Legislature: Party Affiliations of Legislators 1838 – 2022'' Des Moines: The Iowa Legislature, 2021
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