Iowa
In 1836, the Wisconsin Territory was formed from the western section of the Michigan Territory. Chapman became the first U.S. Attorney for this new territory when it was created. He was elected as colonel of the militia in 1836 after moving to what is now Dubuque, Iowa. Then in 1838, the Iowa Territory was carved from the Wisconsin Territory.
Chapman was elected as Iowa Territory's first non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives. A Democrat, he served from September 10, 1838 to October 27, 1840, spanning portions of the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses. While in Congress he introduced legislation for a pre-emption law, the first to do so in Congress. His efforts secured for Iowa the land grant of 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) for the support of common schools, and a congressional report on Iowa's boundary dispute with Missouri that was favorable to Iowa.
After his term expired, Chapman returned to Iowa, relocating in 1843 to Agency City in Wapello County. In 1844, he served as a delegate to Iowa’s Constitutional Convention, which was held in Iowa City and led to the entry of Iowa into the Union as the 29th state in 1846. Chapman left Iowa in 1847, traveling the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country.
Read more about this topic: William W. Chapman
Famous quotes containing the word iowa:
“When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn’t come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.”
—Bill Bryson (b. 1951)