tion as vice-president. During the rebellion he served as chairman of the senate military committee, and took a leading part in the conduct of the war by congress. His leading work is the History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America; his minor works are the History of the Anti-Slavery Measures in Congress, 1860-64; Military Measures of the United States Congress; History of the Reconstruction Measures in Congress, 1865-8; History of the Part of Congress in the War to suppress the Rebellion. See Stowe's Men of Our Times; Mann's Life of Wilson; Nason's Life of Wilson.

WIRT, William, was born at Bladensburgh, Md., Nov. 8, 1772, and died at Washington city, Feb. 18, 1834. He was admitted to the bar in 1794, and practiced in eastern Virginia until 1817, when he became attorney general of the United States, serving until 1829. In 1830 he removed to Baltimore. In 1832 he was the anti-masonic candidate for the presidency (see ANTI-MASONRY, I.), and received the seven electoral votes of Vermont. See Kennedy's Memoir of Wirt (1852); 70 North American Review, 255; 92 ib., 277.

order that its constitutionality might be examined | tained the position as a republican until his elec in the light of the yet unreversed Dred Scott decision; but all doubts on that score were removed by the national abolition of slavery in 1865, through the ratification of the 13th amendment. (See CONSTITUTION, III.) See 3 von Holst's United States, 286; 1 Greeley's American Conflict, 189; 2 Wilson's Rise and Fall of the Slave Power, 18; Harris' Political Conflict in America, 114; 2 A. H. Stephens' War Between the States, 165; Buchanan's Administration, 18; 1 Dix's Speeches, 179 (Three Million Bill); Gardiner's The Great Issue, 94; 16 Benton's Debates of Congress, 223-254 (Oregon), 399 (summary of Mexican laws abolishing slavery); Cleveland's A. H. Stephens, 343 (and law authorities there cited in favor of the continuance of Mexican laws after conquest); 3 Statesman's Manual, 1613 (Message of Aug. 8, 1846), 1710 (Message of May 29, 1848); 15 Benton's Debates of Congress, 645 (introduction of the proviso); 16 ibid., index under Slavery; 4 Calhoun's Works, 339 (resolutions of Feb. 19, 1847); 1 A. H. Stephens' War Between the States, 409 (Senate resolutions of May 24-25, 1860); 12 Stat. at Large, 432 (act of June 19, 1862); Wilson's Anti-Slavery Measures in Congress, 92. The different shades of .opinion as to the proviso may best be studied as follows: moderate democratic (south), 2 Benton's Thirty Years' View, 695 (north), 1 Dix's Speeches, -281; extreme southern democratic, 4 Calhoun's Works, 535 (Speech of Feb. 24, 1849); southern whig, Cleveland's A. H. Stephens, 332 (Speech of Feb. 12, 1847); northern whig, 5 Webster's Works, 253 (Speech of March 1, 1847); free-soil, Horace Mann's Letters and Speeches, 10 (Speech of June -30, 1848); abolitionist, Jay's Review of the Mexican War, 183, and Warden's Life of Chase, 314; administration, 1849-50, 3 Statesman's Manual, 1847 (Message of Jan. 21, 1850). The Democratic Review carefully avoids the subject until September, --1847 (p. 103), and the Whig Review until August, 1848 (p. 193), and then both pronounce against the proviso, the former as an abolition measure, -the latter as a democratic measure.

ALEXANDER JOHNSTON.

WILSON, Henry, vice-president of the United -States 1873-5, was born at Farmington, N. H., Feb. 16, 1812, and died in office at Washington city, Nov. 22, 1875. His name, Jeremiah Jones Colbath, was changed to Henry Wilson by an act of the legislature in 1830. He was self-educated during the time which he could save from his labors as a farm hand and shoemaker. From 1841 until 1852 he served frequently in the state legislature, as a whig with strong anti-slavery opinions. In 1848 he withdrew from the whig national convention, entered the free-soil party, and was its . candidate for governor in 1853. He then went into the "know-nothing" organization (see AMER-ICAN PARTY), but withdrew from it in 1855. Before his withdrawal he had been elected United -States senator by a coalition of know-nothings, -free-soilers and opposition democrats; and he re

WISCONSIN, a state of the American Union, formed from the northwest territory. (See TERRITORIES, ORDINANCE OF 1787.) Its area was included successively in the territories of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, and was finally organized into the territory of Wisconsin, April 20, 1836. An enabling act was passed Aug. 6, 1846, and under its provisions a convention at Madison, Oct. 5-Dec. 16, 1846, framed a state constitution. An act was then passed, March 3, 1847, to admit the new state under this constitution, if it should be ratified by popular vote. It was rejected by the people, owing to its attempt to prohibit banks and banking, and Wisconsin remained a terri tory. May 29, 1848, the state was finally admitted under its first constitution. - BOUNDA RIES. As this was the fifth state erected from the northwest territory, which, by the ordinance of 1787, was to be divided into not more than five states, it would seem fitting that Wisconsin should have comprised all the remnant of the original territory. This, however, was not done: five and a half states were really formed, that portion west and north of the western end of Lake Superior being taken from Wisconsin and given to the trans-Mississippi territory of Minnesota. The boundaries of the state, as fixed by the enabling act and accepted by the first constitution, are as follows: Beginning in the middle of Lake Michigan, in latitude 42° 30' north (the northern boundary of Illinois); thence, with the Michigan boundary, through Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the Menomonee, Brulé and Montreal rivers to Lake Superior; thence through the middle of Lake Superior to the St. Louis river at the head of the lake, up the St.

Louis to its first rapids, due south to the St. Croix | tricts and the lower house of the legislature, and river, down the St. Croix to the Mississippi, down elected twelve of the twenty-five senators: the the Mississippi to the northwest corner of Illinois, Milwaukee district was now democratic. In the and thence east to the beginning. CONSTITU- following year, though the democrats carried the TION. The constitution under which the state was lower house and elected all the state officers exadmitted, still in force, was framed by a conven- cept the governor, the republicans secured the tion at Madison, Dec. 15, 1847–Feb. 1, 1848, and senate, and, after a struggle, the governorship ratified by popular vote March 13. It forbade also. For this office the first official count gave slavery; gave the right of suffrage to white males Barstow (dem.) 36,170 votes, and Bashford (rep.) over twenty-one, on one year's residence, but with 36,012. Bashford claimed a miscount, took the power to the legislature to extend the limits of the oath as governor in January, 1856, and brought a elective franchise on ratification by popular vote; quo warranto suit in the state supreme court fixed the numbers of the assembly at not less than against Barstow, who had also taken the oath. fifty-four nor more than 100, to serve one year, The assembly voted to recognize Barstow as govand of the senate at not less than one-fourth, nor ernor, and the senate voted to recognize him as more than one-third of the assembly, to serve two governor de facto until the decision of the supreme years; gave the governor, elected by popular vote, court. Barstow denied the court's jurisdiction, a term of two years; made the judiciary elective which the court after argument affirmed, Feb. 19. for a term of years, and removable by address of Barstow then withdrew from the case under protwo-thirds of the members elected to each house; test, and left the office to Bashford. Since that forbade the loaning of the state's credit, or the time all the governors, with the exception of Gov. contracting of a state debt of more than $100,000 | Taylor, have been republican, as well as the legisexcept in case of war or insurrection; and made latures, the United States senators and the conMadison the capital of the state. Slight amend-gressmen, with some exceptions, most of which ments were made in 1867, 1869 and 1870; in 1871 are noted below. In 1856 the republicans again the legislature was forbidden to pass special laws elected the governor, a majority of both houses in a number of specified cases; in 1874 county and of the legislature, and as a consequence the United municipal governments were forbidden to con- States senator (Doolittle): the democrats again tract debts to an amount greater than 5 per cent. elected the other state officers. This was the last of their taxable property; and in 1882 the sessions election for many years in which the result was of the legislature were made biennial. - Gov- close or doubtful. Since 1863 the Fond du Lac ERNORS. Nelson Dewey, 1848–51; Leonard J. district has always chosen a democratic congressFarwell, 1851-3; Wm. A. Barstow, 1853-5; Coles man; and to this must be added the northeastern Bashford, 1855-7; Alex. W. Randall, 1857-61; or Green Lake district in 1859-65, the Milwaukee Louis P. Harvey, 1861-2; Edward Salomon, district in 1863-5 and 1871-85, the Winnebago 1862-3; James T. Lewis, 1863-6; Lucius Fair- district in 1875-85, and the general democratic child, 1866-72; C. C. Washburn, 1872-4; Wm. H. success in 1882. In all other congressional elecTaylor, 1874-6; Harrison Ludington, 1876-8; Wm. tions the republicans have been successful, having E. Smith, 1878-82; Jeremiah M. Rusk, 1882-4. usually five of the six congressmen from 1861 POLITICAL HISTORY. In national politics the state until 1871, and five of the eight congressmen from was democratic until 1856, casting her electoral 1871 until 1881. In the election of 1882, under a votes for Cass and Pierce in 1848 and 1852. In 1856, new apportionment, the state was entitled to nine and at every presidential election since that year, congressmen, and the democrats were successful the state has been republican, about 55 per cent. in six of the districts. In state politics the most of the total popular vote being cast for the repub- interesting issues have been the Graham law in lican electors, except in 1876, when it fell to 51| 1872, and the Potter law in 1874. The former was per cent. In more local elections, the results have an act requiring a license for the sale of liquor, been closely similar. Until 1855 the state govern- together with a bond for the payment of any ments and congressmen were democratic, with damages recovered against the seller by a town the following exceptions: in 1851 Gov. Farwell for the support of an intoxicated person, or by was elected by a temporary coalition of whigs any person injured in the means of support by the and free-soilers; and until 1852 the southeastern sale of liquor to husband, wife, parent or child. or Milwaukee district elected a free-soil congress- It was decided constitutional by the state supreme man, the southwestern district a whig, and the court in 1873, and, with other moving causes, led northeastern district a democrat. The coalition to a slight republican reverse in that year: the of 1851 dissolved almost immediately, and for the liberal republicans and democrats elected Taylor next two years democratic supremacy was hardly governor. March 11, 1874, the Potter law was disputed. Early in 1854 the organization of the passed. It was a general railroad law, fixing republican party (see that title) was begun, and railroad rates for passengers and freight, and before July it had been completed, the whig and creating a board of commissioners to enforce the free-soil committees disbanding, and new com- law. The railroads took the case to court, and in mittees of whigs, free-soilers and democrats, being the interim refused to obey the law; but the case appointed in their stead. In the fall elections the was decided against them by the state court and new party carried two of the congressional dis- the federal circuit court, and steps were at once

.

its first party of settlers, 200 in number; but the | vania legislature transferred all the proprietary

quit rents to the state, reserving the proprietors" private property to them, and granting them $524,000 compensation for quit rents, payable in installments after the peace. The new lord of the soil, the state, at once abandoned the leasehold system in future sales, and thus renewed the contest with the Connecticut settlers on equal terms. Under the provision of the articles of confederation which made congress a court of last resort for the trial of title to territory disput-ed between the states, Pennsylvania brought suit against Connecticut to decide the jurisdiction of Wyoming. The case was heard by five judges at Trenton, and in November, 1782, their unanimous decision, afterward confirmed by congress, was given in favor of Pennsylvania. By this time a number of Pennsylvanians had settled in the territory, and when these proceeded to elect justices: of the peace the Pennsylvania legislature, in September, 1783, directed the governor to commission the officers so elected. This began the "war of the Pennamites and the Yankees." The Con necticut settlers had submitted to the decision of congress, and given up their town organizations: but they expected that their Connecticut titles to land would be respected or quieted. The conditions offered by Pennsylvania were intolerable: the Connecticut settlers were to surrender half their lands at once, to retain possession of the other half for one year, and were then to surrender the whole to claimants under Pennsylvania titles. The settlers resisted, led by John Franklin and others, and prevented state agents from laying out townships or counties; and their resistance had so much sympathy from the people of Pennsylvania that the legislature, Sept. 15, 1784,. suspended proceedings. For the next two years the district was in a very anomalous condition, until in September, 1786, Pickering (see his name) procured the adoption of two complementany measures which bade fair to settle the whole diffi culty. Luzerne county was established, and the district was thus brought within the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, and the petitions of the Con necticut settlers for a confirmation of their titles were granted by a confirmatory act. By Pickering's active exertions the settlers were brought to agree to the settlement in May, 1787; but in the following year the legislature,.having secured the organization of the county, repealed the confirmatory act, and this shocking piece of bad faith ("unjust and cruel," Pickering calls it) reopened the difficulty. Suits were brought by PennsylThe vania claimants against the settlers; but it required more than eight years to decide the first suit, and the unfavorable issue of this one had no effect on the persistence of the other settlers. Finally, April 4, 1799, the legislature passed a compromise act, which secured possession to those who held Connecticut titles, acquired before the Trenton decision of 1782, on the payment of small sums ranging from 84 cents to $2 an acre. The war of the Pennamites and Yankees was thus ended. — See

Indians attacked and dispersed them, sent a depu-
tation to Hartford in 1763 to repudiate the sale to
the company, and in 1768 resold the same territory
to Pennsylvania. In 1769 the company, disre-
garding the Indian transactions, again began to
throw immigrants into Wyoming, and a desultory
civil war began between the Connecticut settlers
and the Pennsylvania men to whom the district
had been leased. The former were several times
driven altogether out of the valley, and compelled
to return to Connecticut, but their persistence was
successful within two years in obtaining a perma-
nent lodgment. This result was due in great
measure to the faulty land policy of Pennsyl-
vania, whose proprietors, the Penn family, made
it their regular policy, whenever it was possible, |
to grant leases only. Franklin says of Penn's
initiation of this policy: The scene of action
being shifted from the mother country to the col-
ony, the deportment of the legislator was shifted |
too. Less of the man of God now appeared, and
more of the man of the world. One point he had
already carried against the inclination of his fol-
lowers, namely, the reservation of quit rents,
which they had remonstrated against as a burden
in itself, and, added to the purchase money, with-
out precedent in any other colony; but, he art- |
fully insinuating that government must be sup-
ported with splendor and dignity, and that by this
expedient they would be exempt from other taxes,
the bait took, and the point was carried." It was
unnatural to expect that mere lessees would exhib-
it the same spirit in conflict as men who were
maintaining a claim for absolute ownership. In
other words, the struggle was between two oppo-
site land systems, that of freeholders and that of
leaseholders. While this was the case, the result
was not doubtful, and the success of the Connect-
icut settlers was not displeasing to most of the
Pennsylvania people, who disliked the proprietary
government and the proprietary land system. — In
1773 the Wyoming settlement had gained so much
strength that it began to have ambitious views of
independent existence as a separate colony, and
the company, meeting at Hartford, June 2, 1773,
adopted a form of government for it. But the
legislature of Connecticut, having been fortified
by the favorable opinion of a number of the best
lawyers in Great Britain, Dunning, Jackson,
Widderburn and Thurlow, asserted the colony's
jurisdiction over the Susquehanna company's ter-
ritory. In 1774 it was made a town under the
name of Westmoreland, and was to be considered
a part of Litchfield county, Connecticut.
town for several years sent delegates to the Con-
necticut legislature. The breaking out of the
difficulties with the mother country suspended all
minor disputes, and the contest was suspended
throughout the revolutionary war, except that the
attack on Wyoming and massacre of its defend-
ers, in July, 1778, seem to have been influenced
in a slight degree by the feeling that the settlers
were interlopers. In 1779 an act of the Pennsyl-
190
VOL. III.—71

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