The 1st
Minnesota Legislature first convened on December 2, 1857. The 37 members of the
Minnesota Senate and the 80 members of the
Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election of October 13, 1857. Although the
Constitution of the
State of Minnesota, which had been adopted by the voters at the 1857 general election, was not ratified by the
United States Senate until May 11, 1858, this was the first legislature of the State of Minnesota to convene in conformity with the state constitution.
Sessions
The legislature met in a regular session from December 2, 1857 to August 12, 1858, with a recess between March 25, 1858 and June 2, 1858. There were no special sessions; however, the regular session continued for 254 days, which still ranks the longest duration of any Minnesota Legislature. Due to the protracted length of the 1857-58 session, it was determined that an 1858-59 meeting of the legislature was unnecessary, and the
2nd Minnesota Legislature did not convene until December 1859.[1]
Although Dunham was initially seated, the seat was contested by Kingsley on the grounds of issues regarding the validity of votes cast in a single precinct. On January 12, 1858 the House determined that Kingsley was entitled to the seat.[10]
^
abJohn S. Watrous' profile in Minnesota Legislators Past & Present lists his party affiliation as "Not Available,"[6] while the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's official list of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives lists "R?"[5] The latter can be presumed to be an educated guess made on the assumption that the Minnesota Legislature was Republican- and Conservative-dominated roughly from statehood until the 1930s; however, the Democrats held substantive majorities in both houses during the 1st Legislature,[2] which fact would tend to indicate that Watrous was more likely a Democrat. Watrous was also given a civil service appointment by the
Buchanan Administration[6] at the height of the
patronage era—he would not have likely been appointed to such a post if he were not a Democrat. Additionally, Watrous was elected from a district which elected a Democrat to the State Senate, at a time when votes were most often cast by
straight ticket in Minnesota, and his election as Speaker appears to have been a
party-line vote, in which he was supported by Democrats while the Republicans voted for
James Beach Wakefield.[7]
^
abcGeorge Bradley's profile in Minnesota Legislators Past & Present lists his party affiliation as "Not Available,"[8] while the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's official list of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives lists "R?"[5] The latter can be presumed to be an educated guess made on the assumption that the Minnesota Legislature was Republican- and Conservative-dominated roughly from statehood until the 1930s; however, the Democrats held substantive majorities in both houses during the 1st Legislature,[2] which fact would tend to indicate that Bradley was more likely a Democrat. Bradley was also given a civil service appointment by the
Buchanan Administration[8] at the height of the
patronage era—he would not have likely been appointed to such a post if he were not a Democrat. Additionally, Bradley tended to vote with the Democrats on
party-line votes.[7]
^John S. Watrous was initially elected
Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, but on December 22, 1857 took a leave of absence in order to attend to private business.[9] On the same day,
George Bradley was named Speaker Pro Tempore and began to serve in Watrous' stead.[8] However, Watrous' absence endured far longer than the House felt was appropriate, and on March 12, 1858 the Speaker's chair was declared vacant and Bradley was elected to serve as Speaker in his own right.[9][8]