The changes made by the Wisconsin legislature in the state corporation laws throughout the past two sessions' and the realization that such laws are generally throughout the United States in the process of modification suggests the advisability of examing early corporation charters and general corporation laws in order to appraise properly the growth and development of current legislation in this field. In Wisconsin, with its rich and colorful history filled with the exploits of lumberjacks and pinery kings, it is natural that we turn for purposes of this study to an examination of the early charters granted to lumber, log driving, booming and river improvement corporations. Since the formative years of the development of these companies were those immediately following the civil war, this survey will be primarily concentrated on the charters and general acts passed during that period.
