WI Constitution: History & Revisions: Home

Wisconsin opened its first constitutional convention in October 1846; this version, however, was rejected by Wisconsin voters in April 1847. The second constitutional convention opened in December 1847 and concluded its work in February 1848. The new constitution was approved by Wisconsin voters in March 1848, and went into effect on May 29, 1848 when Wisconsin was formally admitted to the Union.

The Wisconsin Constitution consists of a brief Preamble and is divided into fourteen subjects, called articles; each article is further divided into sections.  The Articles include:

• Article I          Declaration of Rights
• Article II         Boundaries
• Article III        Suffrage
• Article IV        Legislative
• Article V         Executive
• Article VI        Administrative
• Article VII       Judiciary
• Article VIII      Finance
• Article IX        Eminent Domain and Property of the State
• Article X         Education
• Article XI        Corporations
• Article XII       Amendments
• Article XIII      Miscellaneous Provisions
• Article XIV      Schedule

The Wisconsin Constitution is available on the Wisconsin State Legislature website and is published in each edition of the official Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations, in the first volume of the West's Wisconsin Statutes Annotated and in the Wisconsin Blue Book. 

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