7th Wisconsin Legislature

The Seventh Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 11, 1854, to April 3, 1854, in regular session.
Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first year of a two-year term. Assemblymembers were elected to a one-year term. Assemblymembers and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 8, 1853. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the second year of their two-year term, having been elected in the general election held on November 2, 1852.
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Democrat William A. Barstow, of Waukesha County, serving the first year of a two-year term, having won election in the 1853 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

Major events

January 2, 1854: Inauguration of William A. Barstow as the 3rd Governor of Wisconsin.
March 11, 1854: A mob of several hundred people led by abolitionist Sherman Booth broke into the Milwaukee County jail and liberated Joshua Glover, who had been ambushed and imprisoned the previous day by a cohort of slave catchers acting on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
March 20, 1854: A local meeting was held at Ripon, Wisconsin, to oppose the proposed Kansas–Nebraska Act—later cited as the birth of the Republican Party.
May 30, 1854: U.S. President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas–Nebraska Act.
July 13, 1854: The Republican Party of Wisconsin was established at a convention in Madison, Wisconsin.
November 7, 1854: Wisconsin voters rejected three amendments to the Constitution of Wisconsin which would have doubled legislative terms and instituted biennial legislative sessions.

Major legislation

January 30, 1854: Act to organize the County of Trempe a l'eau,
February 9, 1854: Act to organize the County of Dunn,
February 11, 1854: Act to divide La Pointe county and create the county of Douglass,
March 6, 1854: Act to divide the sixth Judicial Circuit and organize an eighth Judicial Circuit, and to fix the time for holding the Circuit Courts in the Counties of the respective circuits,
March 24, 1854: Act to divide the county of La Crosse and organize the county of Monroe,
March 30, 1854: Act concerning the terms of office of Judges of the several courts of this State, . Standardized state judicial terms as starting the first Monday of the year following the election of that judge.
March 31, 1854: Act to provide for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of State and Assistant State Treasurer, and to prescribe their duties,
April 24, 1854: Act to divide the second and third Judicial Circuits and organize the ninth Judicial Circuit, and to fix the time of holding the Circuit Courts in the Counties of said respective Circuits,
April 25, 1854: Act to amend Article Four of the Constitution, . Created a referendum to modify the lengths of State Senate terms from two years to four years, and for the Assembly from one year to two years, and to change the Legislative sessions from one year to two years. The referendum was rejected by voters in November.

Sessions

1st Regular session: January 11, 1854 - April 3, 1854

Leaders

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: James T. Lewis, Lieutenant Governor
President pro tempore: Benjamin Allen

Assembly leadership

Speaker of the Assembly: Frederick W. Horn

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Wisconsin Senate for the Seventh Wisconsin Legislature:

District	Counties	Senator	Party	Residence
01	Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan		Dem.	Plymouth
02	Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marathon, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage, Waupaca		Dem.	De Pere
03	Ozaukee		Dem.	Ozaukee
04	Washington		Dem.	Meeker
05	Milwaukee		Dem.	Milwaukee
06	Milwaukee		Dem.	Milwaukee
07	Racine		Dem.	Racine
08	Kenosha		Dem.	Kenosha
09	Waukesha		Dem.	Hartland
10	Waukesha		Dem.	Denoon
11	Dane		Dem.	Pheasant Branch
12	Walworth		Dem.	Whitewater
13	Lafayette		Dem.	Cottage Inn
14	Jefferson		Dem.	Jefferson
15	Iowa, Richland		Whig	Mineral Point
16	Grant		Dem.	Lancaster
17	Rock		Dem.	Spring Valley
18	Rock		Whig	Shopiere
19	Bad Ax, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Jackson, La Crosse, La Pointe, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix		Dem.	Hudson
20	Fond du Lac		Dem.
21	Winnebago		Whig	Oshkosh
22	Dodge		Dem.	Mayville
23	Adams, Marquette, Sauk, Waushara		Dem.	Baraboo
24	Green		Dem.	Monroe
25	Columbia		Dem.	Fall River

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Seventh Wisconsin Legislature :

Employees

Senate employees

Chief Clerk: Samuel G. Bugh
Sergeant-at-Arms: J. M. Sherwood

Assembly employees

Chief Clerk: Thomas McHugh
Sergeant-at-Arms: William H. Gleason