failure to make a choice, Tallmadge's seat became vacant on March 4, 1839. By 1840, the Whigs controlled both houses of the legislature. On January 13, 1840, they reelected Tallmadge to the Senate, and indicated in their approved resolutions that the effective date was as of March 4, 1839. He took his seat on January 27, 1840, and served until June 17, 1844, when he resigned to accept appointment as a territorial governor. In 1840, Tallmadge was offered the Whig nomination for vice president. He declined, and John Tyler was nominated and elected on the Whig ticket with Harrison. According to published accounts in 1841, Tallmadge also declined a cabinet post and an ambassadorship, because he preferred to remain in the Senate. Governor of Wisconsin Territory In the early 1840s, Tallmadge purchased a large tract of land in what became Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in anticipation of constructing a home for his retirement. In 1844, John Tyler, who had become president following Harrison's death, offered Tallmadge the governorship of Wisconsin Territory. He accepted, and moved to Fond du Lac. The Senate confirmed the appointment in June, and Tallmadge arrived in Wisconsin in August. James Duane Doty, who had been governor since 1841, had a contentious relationship with the territorial legislature. Although legislators were initially suspicious of Tallmadge, who had not lived in Wisconsin prior to his appointment, he won them over by taking a conciliatory approach in his initial message. Promising not to take an overly partisan approach, he advocated for the expansion of railroads, in keeping with the position he had taken as a state legislator and a U.S. Senator. He also argued against extending the naturalization period for Wisconsin citizenship to 21 years, and promoted experimental farms and agricultural societies. The legislature authorized printing and distribution of his message, including 750 copies in German, the first time Wisconsin legislators had ever taken such an action. The 1844 presidential election was won by Democrat James K. Polk. In April 1845, Polk nominated Henry Dodge to serve as territorial governor. Dodge, who had also been Wisconsin Territory's first governor, was easily confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and assumed his new post on April 8, 1845. Later years Tallmadge decided to stay in Wisconsin, and built his planned residence in Fond du Lac, where he practiced law while living in semi-retirement. He also maintained a home in Washington, D.C., where he