1st Michigan Legislature

Legislature in Michigan, USA (1835–1836) February 2025 January 2025 1st Michigan Legislature Capitol union school.jpg 200px The State Capitol in Detroit, which later housed a school Michigan Legislature United States Michigan Michigan State Capitol, Detroit 1835 11 02 1837 01 02 6th Michigan Territorial Council 2nd Michigan Legislature www.legislature.mi.gov Michigan Senate 16 Senators President Edward Mundy President pro tempore John S. Barry Michigan House of Representatives 50 Representatives Speaker Ezra Convis November 2, 1835 November 14, 1835 February 1, 1836 March 28, 1836 July 11, 1836 July 26, 1836 The 1st Michigan Legislature, consisting of the Michigan Senate and the Michigan House of Representatives, met in Detroit in three sessions between November 2, 1835, and July 26, 1836, during the first year of Stevens T. Mason's governorship of the (prospective) state. The legislature met with the expectation that Michigan would be granted statehood during this time, but this was delayed until January 1837. During the first part of the 1st Legislature's term, there were two parallel governments in the portion of Michigan Territory that was covered by the newly drafted state constitution. Background The people of the Territory of Michigan voted on October 1, 1832, to seek admission to the United States.Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 27 A census in 1834 verified that the territory had 87,273 white inhabitants,Bingham 1888 20 well above the requirement for statehood of 60,000 defined by the Northwest Ordinance. In previous such instances, the U.S. Congress normally passed an enabling act calling on the residents of a prospective state to draft a constitution. But Michigan was embroiled in a territorial dispute with Ohio that Congress had not been able to resolve, and no such act was passed, so Michigan moved forward without one.Currie 2007 32 Another election was held on April 4, 1835, to elect delegates to a convention to draft a constitution. The convention began meeting in Detroit that May, and voters approved the new constitution in a statewide election held on October 5, 1835.Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 27 Opposition to statehood in Congress In Congress, opposition to Michigan's application for statehood centered around several objections, two of which Congress resolved for itself. One was that Congress had never passed an enabling act for Michigan as it had with previous states; this objection was overcome on the basis that the U.S. Constitution did not require such an act, which had simply been the conventional approach for Congress to use. Another was that the new state constitution allowed aliens to vote, which led to concerns that this was tantamount to conferring U.S. citizenship; this objection was also overcome, since states were allowed to set their own qualifications for voting, even for federal elections, and this was separate from the notion of citizenship.Currie 2007 33–35 The Toledo War, the dispute over a ten-mile-wide strip of land along the Michigan–Ohio border, continued to occupy both Congress and the Legislature throughout the term of the 1st Legislature.Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 27 Some southern senators also employed delaying tactics in order to ensure that Arkansas's application for statehood would be ready in time for it to be admitted simultaneously with Michigan, preserving the tradition of admitting free states and slave states in pairs in order to maintain the balance of the U.S. Senate.Dunbar May 1995 216–217 A bill formally offering Michigan and Arkansas admission to the union was not passed and signed into law until late in the legislature's term, on June 15, 1836.Bingham 1888 20 Election and parallel governments Voters elected a governor, a lieutenant governor, a U.S. congressman, and members of the state legislature in the same October 5, 1835, election which asked them to approve the new constitution; all of these elections were contingent on the constitution itself being approved, which it was.Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 27 Most of the elected officials were Democrats, as the Whigs generally either didn't want to pursue statehood or thought the constitution itself was a sham since Congress had not passed an enabling act; the Whigs did not nominate a candidate for governor.Faber 2012 63 The newly elected government was not officially recognized by the federal government, which still maintained a separate territorial government. President Andrew Jackson had installed John S. Horner as acting governor on September 15, 1835, after removing Mason from the position. The existence of the two parallel governments, one under Horner and one under Mason, continued for several months, until the federal government gave up since the people of Michigan clearly thought of the new government under Mason as their legitimate representatives.Dunbar May 1995 188, 219 Having been mostly ignored in Michigan, Horner left to become secretary of the Wisconsin Territory when Congress organized a territorial government there on April 20, 1836, and no replacement was appointed.Dunbar May 1995 211 Sessions The constitution made Detroit the state capital until 1847, when the legislature was due to choose a new location;Constitution of Michigan 1835 Article XII, section 9 at that time they moved the capital to Lansing.Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 27 The 1st Legislature met in DetroitMichigan Manual 1877 548 in three sessions. Much of the business before the legislature in these sessions involved Michigan's pending application for statehood. The first session ran from November 2, 1835, to November 14, 1835.Journal of the Senate 1836 3 Along with certifying the election of Governor Mason and Lieutenant Governor Mundy and performing other organizational tasks, the legislature elected Michigan's first two U.S. senators. Each chamber nominated two people; Lucius Lyon was nominated by both chambers for one position, while John Norvell was nominated by the House and John Biddle by the Senate for the other. Norvell won a joint vote, 35 to 28, and so was elected alongside Lyon.Journal of the Senate 1836 37-38 The legislature adjourned with the expectation that statehood would be quickly forthcoming.Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 27 Since Michigan was not yet a state, the U.S. Senate admitted Lyon and Norvell to its chamber as "spectators" at the urging of Thomas Hart Benton and over the opposition of Henry Clay.Currie 2007 32 The second session, held despite the continued delay in statehood, ran from February 1, 1836, to March 28, 1836.Journal of the Senate 1836 61 The legislature elected Henry Howard as the state's first treasurer, in place of Levi Cook, who had declined the position.Journal of the Senate 1836 156, 169 Extra session and the Conventions of Assent The June 15, 1836, bill passed by Congress made Michigan's admittance conditional upon a popular convention approving the exchange of the disputed Ohio territory for the western three-quarters of the Upper Peninsula.Dunbar May 1995 217–218 Governor Stevens T. Mason called an extra session of the legislature, which ran from July 11, 1836, to July 26, 1836,Journal of the Senate 1836 305 in order to make provisions for the election of delegates to such a convention.Bingham 1888 20 Democrats generally supported the compromise, seeing no value in antagonizing Congress and continuing to delay statehood and the financial benefits it would bring, while the Whigs felt Congress had no right to assist in the perceived theft of land from Michigan and wanted to press the case in the Supreme Court.Faber 2012 69 The Convention of Assent met in Ann Arbor on September 26 and, after deliberating for four days, rejected the compromise proposed by Congress. Supporters of the compromise called upon Mason to organize a second convention, which he refused to do, but he did declare that the people could do so themselves. The Democrats of Washtenaw County and Wayne County called for another convention, and this "Frostbitten Convention" was held beginning December 14 in Ann Arbor. The Whigs and several counties boycotted, and the compromise was overwhelmingly approved.Dunbar May 1995 218–219 Scholars have held that the second convention lacked any legal basis and that Mason overstepped his authority by suggesting the people hold a convention without any legislative or congressional consent, but it provided sufficient basis for Congress to finally grant Michigan's statehood on January 26, 1837.Faber 2012 71–73 Leadership and organization Lieutenant Governor Edward Mundy was ex officio President of the Senate, as prescribed by the state constitution.Constitution of Michigan 1835 Article V, section 15 The senate appointed John S. Barry President of the Senate pro tempore;Journal of the Senate 1836 12 John J. Adam was chosen as the secretary, Silas D. McKeen as the enrolling and engrossing clerk, Edward A. King as the recording clerk, George W. Dexter as the sergeant-at-arms, and Diodate Hubbard as the doorkeeper.Journal of the Senate 1836 14–15 The House elected Ezra Convis as Speaker, George R. Griswold as the clerk, Egbert Van Buren as the enrolling clerk, Lewis Bond as the sergeant-at-arms, William Terry and Thomas Lappin as the messenger and assistant messenger, and James Houston as the doorkeeper.Journal of the House of Representatives 1836 11–12 Members The apportionment of senators and representatives in the new state legislature was defined by the recently adopted constitution, which also directed that a new census be taken in 1837 and used as the basis for future apportionments.Constitution of Michigan 1835 Schedule, section 12 Only white inhabitants were considered in the apportioning of seats.Constitution of Michigan 1835 Article IV, section 3 The constitution mandated that the number of representatives be between 48 and 100, inclusive, and the number of senators be one-third that number, or as close as possible.Constitution of Michigan 1835 Article IV, section 2 Seats in both houses were apportioned by county, with the provision that:Constitution of Michigan 1835 Schedule, section 12 Any country attached to any county for judicial purposes, if not otherwise represented, shall be considered as forming part of such county, so far as regards elections for the purpose of representation in the legislature. Senate The constitution created districts made up of one or more counties each, and apportioned senators as follows:Constitution of Michigan 1835 Schedule, section 12 ... for the election of senators, the state shall be divided into five districts, and the apportionment shall be as follows: The county of Wayne shall compose the first district, and elect three senators; the counties of Monroe and Lenawee shall compose the second district and elect three senators; The Counties of Hillsdale, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Kalamazoo and Calhoun shall compose the third district, and elect three senators; The counties of Washtenaw and Jackson shall compose the fourth district and elect three senators; And the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Saganaw, Macomb, St. Clair, Michilimackinac and Chippewa shall compose the fifth district, and elect four senators. +SenatorsDistrictMichigan Manual 1907 135–148NameMichigan Manual 1877 548CityMichigan Manual 1877 548CountyMichigan Manual 1907 135–148PartyStreeter 1918 171 : "The Senate was composed entirely of Democrats."1Davis, Jonathan D.PlymouthWayne DemocraticMcDonell, JohnDetroitWayne DemocraticTen Eyck, ConradDearbonvilleWayne Democratic2Durocher, LaurentMonroeMonroe DemocraticEllis, Edward D.MonroeMonroe DemocraticHough, OlmstedTecumsehLenawee Democratic3Barry, John S.ConstantineSt. Joseph DemocraticBritain, CalvinSt. JosephBerrien DemocraticComstock, Horace H.ComstockKalamazoo Democratic4Finch, SilasSalineWashtenaw DemocraticMoody, William J.JacksonJackson DemocraticRumsey, HenryAnn ArborWashtenaw Democratic5Clarke, JohnChinaSt. Clair DemocraticHascall, Charles C.FlintGeneseeGenesee County was attached to Oakland County for judicial purposes at its formation on March 28, 1835, MPHS 1907 368, and was thus in the fifth district. DemocraticRaynale, EbenezerFranklinOakland DemocraticStockton, JohnMount ClemensMacomb Democratic House of Representatives The constitution assigned representatives to each county, or district made up of multiple counties, apportioned as follows:Constitution of Michigan 1835 Schedule, section 12 ... the County of Wayne shall be entitled to eight representatives; the county of Monroe to four representatives; the county of Washtenaw to seven representatives; the county of St. Clair to one representative; the County of St. Joseph to two representatives; the county of Berrien to one representative; the county of Calhoun to one representative; the county of Jackson to one representative; the county of Cass to two representatives; the county of Oakland to six representatives; the county of Macomb to three representatives; the county of Lenawee to four representatives; the county of Kalamazoo, and the unorganized counties of Allegan and Barry, to two representatives; the county of Branch to one representative; the county of Hillsdale to one representative; the county of Lapeer to one representative; the county of Saganaw and the unorganized counties of Genesee and Shiawasse to one representative; the county of Michilimakinac to one representative; the county of Chippewa to one representative; and the unorganized counties of Ottawa, Kent, Ionia and Clinton to one representative. The constitution as written provided for 49 representatives. Allegan County was organized on August 25, 1835—after the constitution was drafted by the convention, but before it was approved by the voters. According to other language in the constitution, Allegan was thus eligible to elect its own representative rather than be included as part of "the county of Kalamazoo, and the unorganized counties of Allegan and Barry".Documents 1839 180–182 The House seated the additional representative, Elisha Ely, bringing the total for this legislature to 50.Journal of the House of Representatives 1836 11 +RepresentativesDistrictMichigan Manual 1907 151–217NameMichigan Manual 1877 549–550CityMichigan Manual 1877 549–550PartyNotesAllegan CountyEly, ElishaAlleganBerrien CountyGreen, Cogswell K.Niles DemocraticEllis 1911 123Branch CountyAlden, HiramColdwater DemocraticChapman Brothers 1888 596Calhoun CountyConvis, EzraBattle Creek DemocraticBingham 1888 191Cass CountyO'Dell, JamesSources differ as to whether spelling is Odell Michigan Manual 1877 550 or O'Dell Michigan Manual 1907 195.CassopolisSmith, JosephEdwardsburgh DemocraticBingham 1888 596Chippewa CountyLevake, Henry A.Sault Ste. MarieHillsdale CountyMiller, Lewis T.Moscow DemocraticBingham 1888 462Jackson CountyGidley, Townsend E.Barry WhigBingham 1888 289Kalamazoo CountyBurdick, CyrenBronsonLothrop, Edwin H.Schoolcraft DemocraticBingham 1888 421Kent, Ottawa, Ionia and Clinton countiesBritton, RoswellGrandville DemocraticBingham 1888 123Lapeer CountyHart, Alvin N.Whitesville DemocraticBingham 1888 327Lenawee CountyDodge, HiramClintonHowe, GeorgeClintonHutchins, AllenAdrian DemocraticBingham 1888 371|Mead, DariusBlissfield DemocraticBingham 1888 456Wheeler, JamesTecumseh DemocraticBingham 1888 684Macomb CountyMonfore, IsaacRay DemocraticBingham 1888 467Summers, JacobUtica DemocraticBingham 1888 623Tackels, AlexanderRomeo DemocraticBingham 1888 627Mackinac CountyKing, Jonathan P.Mackinac County DemocraticLibrary of Michigan n.d.Monroe CountyCharter, FrancisLa SalleFelch, AlpheusMonroe DemocraticBingham 1888 262Godfroy, James J.Monroe DemocraticBingham 1888 293Jackson, JosephPerry's GroveOakland CountyBrownell, GeorgeEast Farmington DemocraticBingham 1888 133Ellenwood, JohnPine Lake DemocraticBingham 1888 251Higley, HiramRochester DemocraticBingham 1888 342Niles, JohnsonTroy DemocraticBingham 1888 491Richardson, Origen D.Pontiac DemocraticBingham 1888 553Voorheis, Isaac I.Lake Elizabeth DemocraticBingham 1888 660Saginaw CountyWilliams, Gardner D.SaginawSt. Clair CountyHeath, John S.Black RiverLater listed as Desmond Michigan Manual 1907 178; Heath lived in Port Huron, and Port Huron was a later name for Desmond Jenks 1912 338, 422.St. Joseph CountySherman, BenjaminCentreville DemocraticBingham 1888 585Ullman, Isaac J.Constantine DemocraticL. H. Everts 1877 74Washtenaw CountyBrewer, JohnYpsilantiCrossman, AlansonDexter DemocraticBingham 1888 208Hill, James W.Columbia Lake DemocraticBingham 1888 343Howe, OrrinLodi DemocraticBingham 1888 360Mathews, RufusSources differ as to whether spelling is Mathews Michigan Manual 1907 188 or Matthews Bingham 1888 438.Dixborough DemocraticBingham 1888 438Morse, Richard E.Ypsilanti DemocraticBingham 1888 478 ; Republican after 1861.Wayne CountyBradshaw, EliasVan Buren DemocraticBingham 1888 117 ; "presumed" to be a Democrat.Brown, AmmonNankin DemocraticBingham 1888 127Fay, Jonathan P.Detroit DemocraticBingham 1888 261 ; "supposed" to be a Democrat.Died in office March 12, 1836; succeeded by Charles MoranMichigan Manual 1907 192–193Ferrington, George W.Redford DemocraticBingham 1888 265Moran, CharlesDetroit DemocraticBingham 1888 473Succeeded Jonathan P. Fay (deceased) for extra sessionMichigan Manual 1907 192–193Noyes, Horace A.Plymouth DemocraticBingham 1888 497Strong, JohnDetroit DemocraticMoore 1915 742Van Every, PeterHamtramck DemocraticBingham 1888 654 ; Whig and Republican after 1837.Whipple, Charles W.Detroit DemocraticBingham 1888 685 See also List of Michigan state legislatures Notes References Bingham Stephen D. Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators https://books.google.com/books?id=GRMVAAAAYAAJ Thorp & Godfrey 1888 2018-11-08 Constitution of Michigan http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/historical/miconstitution1835.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20180903075903/http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/historical/miconstitution1835.htm 2018-09-03 State of Michigan 1835 2018-11-05 Constitution of Michigan 1835 Currie David P. The Constitution in Congress: Descent into the Maelstrom, 1829-1861 https://books.google.com/books?id=W_CiackKIdwC University of Chicago Press 978-0-226-13116-0 2007 2018-11-08 Cyclopedia of Michigan: Historical and Biographical Synopsis of General History of the State https://books.google.com/books?id=l8dkExz1Q4sC Western Publishing and Engraving New York & Detroit 1900 2018-11-05 Cyclopedia of Michigan 1900 Documents Accompanying the Journal of the House of Representatives https://books.google.com/books?id=K8M3AAAAMAAJ 1839 1839 J. S. & S. A. Bagg Detroit 2018-11-05 Documents 1839 Dunbar Willis F. May George S. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State https://books.google.com/books?id=HqGWEAnByeMC Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing 978-0-8028-7055-1 1995-09-05 2018-11-08 Ellis William A. Norwich University, 1819-1911: Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor 1911 https://books.google.com/books?id=qFhMAAAAMAAJ 2 Montpelier, Vermont Capitol City Press 2018-11-11 Faber Don The Boy Governor: Stevens T. Mason and the Birth of Michigan Politics https://books.google.com/books?id=iyQ5EQamcu8C University of Michigan Press 978-0-472-05158-8 2012-09-14 2018-11-08 History of St. Joseph County, Michigan Philadelphia L. H. Everts 1877 L. H. Everts 1877 https://archive.org/details/bad1045.0001.001.umich.edu 2018-12-18 Jenks William L. St. Clair County, Michigan, Its History and Its People 1 1912 Lewis Chicago and New York https://books.google.com/books?id=kxjiAAAAMAAJ 2018-11-06 Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Michigan https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015036808494 1835–1836 Morse & Bagg Detroit 1836 2018-11-05 HathiTrust Journal of the House of Representatives 1836 Journal of the Senate of the State of Michigan https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015050920472 1835–1836 John S. Bagg Detroit 1836 2018-11-05 HathiTrust Journal of the Senate 1836 Legislator Details: Jonathan P. King Michigan Legislative Biography https://mdoe.state.mi.us/legislators/Legislator/LegislatorDetail/1533 Library of Michigan Library of Michigan n.d. 2018-12-14 Michigan Manual https://books.google.com/books?id=CEqIAAAAMAAJ 1877–78 1877 W. S. George & Co. Lansing Michigan Manual 1877 2018-11-04 Michigan Manual https://books.google.com/books?id=le2KAAAAMAAJ 1907–1908 1907 Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Lansing Michigan Manual 1907 2018-11-05 Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society Historical Collections https://books.google.com/books?id=RhUUAAAAYAAJ Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford 35 Lansing 1907 MPHS 1907 2018-11-08 Moore Charles History of Michigan Lewis 2 Chicago 1915 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkUOAQAAMAAJ 2018-12-31 Portrait And Biographical Album of Branch County, Michigan Chapman Brothers https://books.google.com/books?id=ATnaYsTHIvsC Chicago 1888 2018-11-17 Chapman Brothers 1888 Streeter Floyd B. The Factional Character of Early Michigan Politics Michigan History Michigan Historical Commission Lansing 2 1 January 1918 165–191 https://books.google.com/books?id=hCFHAQAAMAAJ 2018-11-08 001 Category:1835 in Michigan Territory Category:1836 in Michigan Territory Michigan Michigan