Governors

After the American Revolution, the land that is present-day Wisconsin was part of Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Virginia ceded the land in 1784, with Massachusetts ceding it in 1785 and Connecticut in 1786. On 13 Jul 1787, the Northwest Territory was established, of which Wisconsin was a part. Wisconsin remained a part of the Northwest Territory until 1800. During that time, the territorial governor was Arthur St Clair. In 1800, Northwest Territory was divided to create new states. From 1800 to 1809, Wisconsin was part of Indiana Territory. From 1809 to 1818, Wisconsin was part of Illinois Territory. When Illinois became a state, Wisconsin became part of Michigan Territory in 1818 until 1836 when Wisconsin was it's own territory.

Governors were initially voted to a two-year term according to the state constitution. In the 1880s, the state constitution was amended changing the year of election from odd to even years and officials serving that term had their terms extended to three years. Initially, Lieutenant Governors were elected on a separate ticket at the same time. In 1967, the state constitution was again amended to change the governor/lieutenant governor term to four years and put them on the same ticket. A governor is not limited to the number of terms he/she can serve.