Constitution of Wisconsin (2026 publisher edition) — Article II

Publisher edition notice: The publisher identifies this complete compilation as published August 5, 2026 and last amended April 2025. Publisher context and source notes are preserved; later amendments have not been independently verified.

Article II

ARTICLE II. BOUNDARIES State boundary. SECTION 1. It is hereby ordained and de- clared that the state of Wisconsin doth consent and accept of the boundaries prescribed in the act of congress entitled “An act to enable the people of Wisconsin territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union,” approved August sixth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, to wit: Beginning at the northeast corner of the state of Illinois — that is to say, at a point in the center of Lake Michigan where the line of forty-two degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude crosses the same; thence running with the boundary line of the state of Michigan, through Lake Michigan, Green Bay, to the mouth of the Menominee river; thence up the channel of the said river to the Brule river; thence up said last- mentioned river to Lake Brule; thence along the southern shore of Lake Brule in a direct line to the center of the channel be- tween Middle and South Islands, in the Lake of the Desert; thence in a direct line to the head waters of the Montreal river, as marked upon the survey made by Captain Cramm; thence down the main channel of the Montreal river to the middle of Lake Superior; thence through the center of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Louis river; thence up the main channel of said river to the first rapids in the same, above the Indian vil- lage, according to Nicollet’s map; thence due south to the main branch of the river St. Croix; thence down the main channel of said river to the Mississippi; thence down the center of the main channel of that river to the northwest corner of the state of Illi- nois; thence due east with the northern boundary of the state of Illinois to the place of beginning, as established by “An act to enable the people of the Illinois territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union on an equal footing with the original states,” ap- proved April 18th, 1818. Enabling act accepted. SECTION 2. [As amended April 1951] The propositions contained in the act of congress are hereby accepted, ratified and confirmed, and shall remain irrev- ocable without the consent of the United States; and it is hereby ordained that this state shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil within the same by the United States, nor with any regulations congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to bona fide purchasers thereof; and in no case shall nonresident proprietors be taxed higher than resi- dents. Provided, that nothing in this constitution, or in the act of congress aforesaid, shall in any manner prejudice or affect the right of the state of Wisconsin to 500,000 acres of land granted to said state, and to be hereafter selected and located by and un- der the act of congress entitled “An act to appropriate the pro- ceeds of the sales of the public lands, and grant pre-emption rights,” approved September fourth, one thousand eight hun- dred and forty-one. [1949 J.R. 11, 1951 J.R. 7, vote April 1951]