Isaac P. Walker

Isaac Pigeon Walker was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of Wisconsin's first United States senators, serving from 1848 through 1855. In the Senate, he was best known for his support of radical land reform; much of what he proposed was enacted as the Homestead Act of 1862 after he left office. His political career, however, was prematurely ended by the complicated politics of pre-Civil War slavery compromises—Walker was always personally opposed to slavery, but endorsed a compromise on handling the Mexican Cession which was anathema to his anti-slavery Wisconsin electorate.