Dictionary:
Wis·con·sin1 (wĭs-kŏn'sĭn)  (Abbr. WI
|
A state of the north-central United States. It was admitted as the 30th state in 1848. First settled by the French, the region was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 and became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787. Madison is the capital and Milwaukee is the largest city. Population: 5,600,000.
Wisconsinite Wis·con'sin·ite' n.
| 5min Related Video: Wisconsin |
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Wisconsin |
For more information on Wisconsin, visit Britannica.com.
| US History Encyclopedia: Wisconsin |
Wisconsin's people have been molded by their diverse immigrant heritage, honest government born of midwestern progressivism, and glacial gifts of rich soils, scenic rivers, and about 9,000 freshwater lakes. Cradled between Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and the Mississippi River, Wisconsin's population in 2000 was 5,363,675.
Exploration and Fur Trade
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Winnebago, Menominee, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Fox, and Sauk peoples lived in harmony with the rolling hills, grassland prairies, pine forests, and scattered marshlands that became the state of Wisconsin. Deer, wolves, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, sand hill cranes, geese, and other wildlife populated the land. Native Americans grew corn and potatoes, harvested wild rice, speared fish, and built over 90 percent of North America's effigy mounds.
Jean Nicoletin 1634 and subsequent French explorers recognized that the cold climate of the Lake Superior basin produced the richest fur-bearing animals in French North America. In 1673, the Jesuit Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet discovered the Fox River–Wisconsin River all-water route from Green Bay, via a one-mile land portage, to the Mississippi River. The Fox-Wisconsin river route connecting Forts Howard (Green Bay), Winnebago (Portage), and Crawford (Prairie du Chien) became the key to the Wisconsin fur trade for 150 years. Marquette named the area Wisconsin, which he spelled Meskousing, roughly translated as "a gathering of waters." French voyageurs (licensed traders) and coureurs de bois (woods rangers) lived among and intermarried with Native Americans. Wisconsin beaver pelts and other furs were shipped to France via Fort Mackinac and Montreal. The 1763 British victory in the French and Indian War resulted in Scottish fur merchants replacing the French in Montreal. British Canadians traded in Wisconsin even after the American Revolution, until the American John Jacob Astor gained control in the early 1800s.
Wisconsin Territory and Early Settlement
In 1832, the Sauk chief Black Hawk returned from Iowa with 1,000 Native American men, women, and children to farm the southwestern Wisconsin homelands from which they had recently been expelled by settlers. Unplanned conflict erupted between the U.S. Army and the Sauk, who retreated up the Rock River and westward to the Wisconsin River. Following a rejected surrender attempt at Wisconsin Heights, Black Hawk withdrew down the Wisconsin River toward Iowa. He was trapped near the Mississippi–Wisconsin River confluence in a massacre at Bad Axe that left 150 survivors. The Black Hawk War resulted in Native American cession of most Wisconsin land to the United States in 1832–1848, opening the way for rapid population growth, from 3,245 in 1830 to 305,391 in 1850.
The lead mine region of southwestern Wisconsin experienced an influx of migrants from the southern frontier of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri in the 1830s. They worked the mines, and gave the "Badgers" nickname to Wisconsin, because they burrowed into the earth like badgers. Family wheat farmers and shopkeepers from Yankee New England and upstate New York migrated to southeastern Wisconsin via the Erie Canal and Great Lakes in even larger numbers. As the majority, their territorial representatives passed an 1839 law prohibiting "business or work, dancing … entertainment … or sport" on Sunday. European immigrants would later ignore those restrictions.
Previously a part of Michigan Territory, Wisconsin Territory was established in 1836. It encompassed present-day Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the eastern Dakotas. The territorial legislature selected the pristine and unpopulated Four Lakes wilderness (which would become Madison) to be the permanent state capital location over numerous other contenders, because it was both scenic and centrally located between the two population centers of the wheat-farming southeast and lead-mining southwest. Additionally, the Whig politician and land speculator James Doty owned much Four Lakes property, some of which he generously shared with legislators.
Statehood and Civil War
Wisconsin became the thirtieth state in 1848, establishing a 15–15 balance between free and slave states. The Wisconsin constitution and ensuing laws implemented the frontier concepts of elected judges, voting rights for immigrant noncitizens, and property ownership rights for married women. Transplanted New Englanders, descended from the Puritans and carrying the religious conviction that slavery was a moral evil, meant that Wisconsin would become a flash point of abolitionism in the 1850s.
Underground railroad activity flourished in Wisconsin following the passage of the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Wisconsin church colleges (Beloit and Milton) established by New Englanders regularly helped runaway slaves. When the abolitionist newsman Sherman Booth was arrested for inciting a Milwaukee mob that freed the runaway Joshua Glover from jail, the Wisconsin Supreme Court nullified the Fugitive Slave Act. A group met in Ripon, Wisconsin, in response to the Booth arrest and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and established the Republican Party. Despite competing claims, the Republican National Committee has historically recognized Ripon as the GOP birthplace.
About 75,000 Wisconsinites (10 percent of the 1860 population) served in uniform during the Civil War. Most of them trained at Madison's Camp Randall, where the University of Wisconsin football stadium of the same name now stands. The war stimulated prosperity for wheat farmers and lead miners. Wisconsin women who were active in the Sanitary Commission provided medical and food supplies to soldiers. They were instrumental in building convalescent hospitals for Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners in Wisconsin. Although most residents supported the war effort, antidraft sentiments were strong in some immigrant communities.
European Immigrants Populate Wisconsin
Wisconsin's population grew from 305,391 in 1850 to 1,315,497 in 1880, of which 72 percent were foreign born or of foreign parentage. Additional European immigrants helped double the population to 2,632,067 by 1920. More than one hundred foreign-language newspapers were printed in Wisconsin in 1900. Most European immigrants were poor farm laborers who were drawn to America's farm frontier, which included Wisconsin. Not only could they find familiar work, but over time could own farms that dwarfed the largest old-country estates.
Due to their diverse backgrounds, Wisconsin's immigrants usually settled in communities and neighborhoods with their own countrymen. Consequently, for example, Koshkonong developed a Norwegian identity, Berlin a German identity, Monroe a Swiss identity, and Milwaukee neighborhoods were clearly Polish or Irish or German. The Fourth of July was celebrated exuberantly in immigrant communities as a statement of loyalty to the United States.
Wisconsin was populated most heavily by immigrants from Norway and the Germanies, but large numbers of Irish, Poles, English, Danes, Swedes, Swiss, Dutch, Belgians, and others also came. Most Hispanics, Greeks, Italians, southeast Asians, and African Americans from the South arrived later. Norwegian farmers formed the power base of twentieth-century La Follette progressivism. Germans from Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and elsewhere organized the turnverein (gymnastics) and liederkranz (singing) societies. Many Finnish dockworkers in Ashland and Superior embraced International Workers of the World union radicalism. Racine's J. I. Case and Mitchell Wagon Works had "Danes only" employment policies for decades. Wisconsin's rich and varied immigrant heritage is still celebrated in annual community events such as Stoughton's Syttende Mai (17 May, Norwegian Independence Day), New Glarus' Heidi Festival and William Tell Pageant, Jefferson's Gemuetlichkeit Days, and Milwaukee's International Folk Fair.
Pine Lumbering: Paul Bunyan's Footprints
Pine lumbering dominated northern Wisconsin from 1865 to 1920. Lumber barons such as Governor Cadwallader Washburn and Senator Philetus Sawyer controlled state politics. Lumber operations determined rail routes in the region, and the depots became the hubs around which Wisconsin small towns developed. With the exception of iron mining communities (Hurley) and shipping centers, most northern Wisconsin communities began as lumber or sawmill towns.
Lumberjacks cut trees from dawn to dusk during harsh Wisconsin winters. They lived in barracks, and their enormous appetites became legendary. As melting ice cleared, lumberjacks conducted huge river drives and faced the constant dangers of logjams up to fifteen miles long. After logs were processed by downstream sawmills, Wisconsin lumber was used by Milwaukee, Chicago, Great Lakes ships, and Mississippi River steamboats for construction and fuel. Iron and copper mines in northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan consumed lumber for mine shafts and smelting. When the process to manufacture paper from wood pulp was developed, the once separate paper and lumber industries were linked. Dairy farms used lumber for barns, fences, and fuel.
Northern Wisconsin's economy rose and fell with lumbering. When only the pine barrens remained, land values and population of northern Wisconsin counties declined from 1920 to 1970. Tax-delinquent land and abandoned farms were all too common until after World War II. Remaining woodlands were located primarily in national and state forests and on reservations.
Red Barn Country: America's Dairyland
A sign over the barn door of the dairy farmer W. D. Hoard (who served as governor from 1889 to 1891) carried the reverent reminder that "This is the Home of Mothers. Treat each cow as a Mother should be treated." Dairying became Wisconsin's agricultural giant as the wheat belt shifted to Kansas in the post–Civil War decades. Norwegian, Dutch, and German immigrants were familiar with dairying. Hoard founded Hoard's Dairyman magazine (1885) and the Wisconsin Dairyman's Association, and successfully promoted mandatory annual tuberculin testing for cows. Refrigeration added extensive milk and butter sales to an already profitable international cheese market. The University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture provided inventions (cream separator and butterfat tester) and improved breeding, feeding, and sanitary techniques to all Wisconsin farmers. By 1930, there were 2 million cows and 2,939,006 people in Wisconsin, and in rural counties the cows were in the majority. After the 1930s, Rural Electrification Administration power lines allowed farmers to milk by machine instead of by hand.
Although Wisconsin became "America's Dairyland," some farmers concentrated on hogs, corn, vegetables, hay, and other grains. The Door County peninsula became a leading cherry producer. Potato and soybean expansion came later. Almost all farmers raised chickens and joined their area farm cooperative.
Wisconsin family farms became a basic social unit as well as an efficient food producer. Neighbors collectively "exchanged works" during planting and harvesting seasons, and helped "raise" each other's barns. Their children attended one-room country schools from first through eighth grade. Farm social life centered around barn square dances, church socials, the county fair, and the country school. Until the advent of the automobile and tractor, workhorses pulled the plough, and livery stables and hitching posts dotted village business streets.
Industry and Transportation
Wisconsin's early industry was related to agriculture. Farm implement manufacturing (J. I. Case and Allis-Chalmers), meatpacking (Oscar Mayer and Patrick Cudahy), and leather tanning created jobs. Flour milling was the leading industry in 1880, and was surpassed only by lumber products (Kimberly-Clark paper) in 1900. The dairy industry was number one by the 1920s. Wisconsin's numerous breweries (Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, and Huber among them) were established by German immigrants. Ice harvesting provided refrigeration for the early dairy, meat, and brewery industries.
In the twentieth century, automobile (General Motors and Nash) and motorcycle (Harley-Davidson) manufacturing grew along with small-engine (Evinrude and Briggs Stratton) production. Oshkosh-b-Gosh jeans, Kohler plumbing ware, Ray-o-Vac batteries, and Johnson's Wax became familiar names worldwide. Machine tools and missile-control systems were less familiar but equally important components of Wisconsin's economy.
Wisconsin transportation evolved with the state's industrial growth. Inefficient plank roads and the old Military Road gave way to Milwaukee-based railroads that linked the rest of the state to Great Lakes shipping. Madison and Milwaukee city streetcars, mule driven and then electric powered, were replaced by buses. Paved-road construction steadily accelerated in the twentieth century, spurred initially by pressure from bicyclists. By the late twentieth century, Wisconsin's Midwest Express had become a major airline.
Progressivism and Politics
Wisconsin became a twentieth-century laboratory for progressive reform under the leadership of Robert La Follette (governor, 1901–1906; U.S. senator, 1906–1925) and his successors. Progressives democratized state politics by establishing the open primary election system, and democratized economic opportunity by creating state regulatory commissions. Wisconsin passed the first workers' compensation (1911) and unemployment compensation (1932) laws in the nation. Legislation required the creation of adult technical schools statewide. Public utilities were regulated. La Follette's sons "Young Bob" (U.S. senator, 1925–1947) and Philip (governor, 1931–1933, 1935–1939) continued the progressive tradition. Progressivism in Milwaukee translated into Socialist Party control of city government from the 1890s to 1960. The Socialists stayed in power by being good-government moderates who created neighborhood parks, improved city services, and won votes from the German ethnic population.
Conservation of natural resources has been a hallmark of twentieth-century Wisconsin progressivism. The Forest Crop Law (1927) encourages reforestation. The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory in Madison conducts wood, pulp, and paper research with a goal of more efficient usage. The state buyout and restoration of the Horicon Marsh began in 1940. Governors Gaylord Nelson (1959–1963) and Warren Knowles (1965–1971) signed Outdoor Recreation Act programs that became international conservation models. U.S. Senator Nelson (1963– 1981) sponsored the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and founded Earth Day.
Wisconsin had been a one-party Republican state since the Civil War. In 1934, the La Follette brothers left the Republican Party and formed the Wisconsin Progressive Party. Following a decade of Progressive versus Republican rivalry, the Progressives disintegrated. Youthful ex-Progressives joined the moribund Democratic Party and built it into a political equal of the Republicans by the 1960s.
Wisconsin During Two World Wars
During World War I, tensions ran high in Wisconsin. Many first-generation German Americans bought German war bonds prior to the U.S. entry into the war and were sympathetic to the old country throughout. Most Wisconsin families contributed their sons or home-front efforts to the war, even though the neutralist senator Robert La Follette and nine of the state's eleven congressional representatives voted against the declaration of war.
A generation later, Wisconsin was loyally in the World War II home-front lines with the rest of the nation. About 330,000 Wisconsin citizens served in uniform during the war, and more than 8,000 of them were killed in action. State industry rapidly converted to World War II production. The Badger Ordnance Works sprouted from farm fields near Baraboo to produce ammunition. General Motors and Nash Rambler plants assembled military vehicles. Ray-o-Vac developed leakproof batteries and manufactured shell casings and field radios. Allis-Chalmers made bomber electrical systems. Oscar Mayer packaged K rations. Manitowoc's Lake Michigan shipyard built 28 submarines, which would sink 130 Japanese and German warships. The University of Wisconsin developed the U.S. Armed Forces Institute to provide correspondence courses for soldiers recuperating in military and veterans' hospitals, many of whom enrolled at the University of Wisconsin on the GI Bill after the war.
Wisconsin Life in the Twenty-First Century
Cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities provide a high quality of life in modern Wisconsin. Free public education, the State Historical Society (1846), the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped (1849), and America's first kindergarten (1856) established a state educational tradition. The University of Wisconsin (Madison) opened its classrooms in 1848 and was recognized worldwide as a leading research and teaching institution by 1900. The university's WHA Radio is America's oldest operating station. Alumni Research Foundation support has led to breakthroughs in cancer treatment. The Madison and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras are nationally acclaimed. Two medical schools, at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), result in high-quality health care throughout the state.
Wisconsin Badger football transcends the events on the field. Friday fish fries, Lutheran church lutefisk suppers, and Door County fish boils became beloved institutions. The Green Bay Packers, community-owned since the Great Depression, are so-named because the team founder, Curly Lambeau, a meatpacking-house worker, convinced his employer to buy the first uniforms. The annual Circus Train from Baraboo's Circus World Museum culminates in the Milwaukee Circus Parade. Northern Wisconsin holds the cross-country Birkebeiner ski race. Prior to the Milwaukee Brewers, baseball's Braves counted more than 300 booster clubs statewide during their Milwaukee years (1953–1965). Oshkosh hosts the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-in. Wisconsin Dells' amphibious "ducks" (converted World War II landing craft) show river-and-woods scenery to tourists. Wisconsin's natural outdoor beauty invites people to fish, camp, hike, hunt, and boat.
Bibliography
Gard, Robert E. The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names. Minocqua, Wis.: Heartland Press, 1988.
Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac. New York: Ballantine, 1970.
Logan, Ben. The Land Remembers: The Story of a Farm and Its People. Minnetonka, Minn.: Northword Press, 1999.
Thompson, William Fletcher, ed. The History of Wisconsin. 6 vols. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin Press, 1973–1998.
Wisconsin Blue Book. Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library, 1931–. Various publishers before 1931. Biennial since 1879.
Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild. Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.
Wisconsin Magazine of History. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin Press, 1917–.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Wisconsin |
Facts and Figures
Area, 56,154 sq mi (145,439 sq km). Pop. (2000) 5,363,675, a 9.6% increase since the 1990 census. Capital, Madison. Largest city, Milwaukee. Statehood, May 29, 1848 (30th state). Highest pt., Timms Hill, 1,952 ft (595 m); lowest pt., Lake Michigan, 581 ft (177 m). Nickname, Badger State. Motto, Forward. State bird, robin. State flower, wood violet. State tree, sugar maple. Abbr., Wis.; WI
Geography
The most notable physiographic feature of the state is its profusion of lakes, over 8,500, ranging in size from Lake Winnebago (215 sq mi/557 sq km) to tiny glacial lakes of surprising beauty. The Wisconsin River, with its extensive dam system, runs generally southward through the middle of the state until it turns west (just NW of Madison) to flow into the Mississippi, dividing the state into eastern and western sectors. Running a parallel course just to the east, Wisconsin's major watershed extends in a broad arc from north to south; to the east the Menominee, the Peshtigo, the Wolf, and the Fox rivers flow E and NE into Lake Michigan, while to the west the Chippewa, the Flambeau, and the Black rivers make their way to the Mississippi.
Wisconsin's frontage on lakes Superior and Michigan as well as its many beautiful lakes and streams and its northern woodlands have made it a haven for hunters, fishermen, and water and winter sports enthusiasts. There are numerous state parks, forests, and two national forests. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Saint Croix and Lower Saint Croix national scenic rivers (see National Parks and Monuments, table) are also here.
Economy
The rough isolation of Wisconsin's North Woods region is cut by part of the Gogebic range, from which much iron ore was extracted before 1965. Iron mining was resumed briefly in 1969 but has since stopped altogether. Sand and gravel, stone, and lime are other valuable mineral resources; zinc (as well as lead) is mined in the Driftless Area in the southwest. Important copper deposits were discovered in the north in the 1970s.
The state's greatest natural resource since its earliest days has been lumber. Dense forests (white pines in the north, hardwoods elsewhere) once covered all except the southern prairie. While reckless exploitation in the late 19th cent. drastically reduced the magnificent stands, extensive conservation and reforestation measures have saved the valuable lumber industry, and today c.40% of Wisconsin's land area is forested. The pulp, paper, and paper-products industrial complex in Green Bay and Appleton is one of the largest in the nation.
The state's accent, however, is chiefly pastoral. One of the nation's largest dairy herds grazes here, and Wisconsin is the leading state in the production of cheese as well as the second largest milk producer (after California). After dairy products and cattle, the state's most valuable farm commodities are corn and soybeans. Other important crops are hay, oats, potatoes, alfalfa, and a great variety of fruits and vegetables. Food processing, predictably, is one of the state's foremost industries, along with the manufacture of machinery, which is centered in Milwaukee, Madison, and Racine.
Other important manufactures are vehicles and transportation equipment, metal products, medical instruments and equipment, farm implements, and lumber. Almost all Wisconsin's major industries are to be found within metropolitan Milwaukee, where the traditional brewing and meatpacking are rivaled by the manufacture of heavy machinery and diesel and gasoline engines. Wisconsin has numerous ports on the Great Lakes capable of accommodating oceangoing vessels. The superb harbor at Superior (shared with Duluth, Minn.) has sizable shipyards and coal and ore docks that are among the nation's largest. Tourism and outdoor recreation are burgeoning, and several Native American groups operate gambling casinos in the state; through casino enterprises the Winnebago tribe has become one of the state's larger employers.
Government and Higher Education
Wisconsin still operates under its first constitution, adopted in 1848. Its executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. Tommy G. Thompson, a Republican, was elected governor in 1986 and reelected in 1990, 1994, and 1998. Lieutenant Governor Scott McCallum succeeded Thompson as governor in 2001 when the latter became U.S. secretary of health and human services. In 2002, Jim Doyle, a Democrat, was elected to the office; he was reelected in 2006. Wisconsin's legislature has a senate with 33 members and an assembly with 99 members. The state elects two senators and eight representatives to the U.S. Congress and has ten electoral votes.
The extensive Univ. of Wisconsin has campuses at Madison (the main campus), Eau Claire, Green Bay, Kenosha, La Crosse, Menomonie, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Superior, and Whitewater. Other notable institutions of higher learning are Beloit College, at Beloit; Lawrence Univ., at Appleton; Marquette Univ., at Milwaukee; and Ripon College, at Ripon.
History
French Fur Trading and the Influx of Eastern Tribes
The Great Lakes offered an easy access from Canada to the region that is now Wisconsin, and the Frenchman Jean Nicolet arrived at the site of Green Bay in 1634 in search of fur pelts and the Northwest Passage. He was followed by other traders and missionaries, among them Radisson and Groseilliers; Marquette and Joliet, who discovered the upper Mississippi; and Aco and Hennepin, from the party of La Salle.
Meanwhile the spread of settlers in the East was bringing the Ottawa, the Huron, and other Native American tribes into Wisconsin, where they in turn displaced the older inhabitants, the Winnebago, the Kickapoo, and others. Similarly, the Ojibwa drove their kinsmen the Sioux westward from Wisconsin. Only the Menominee remained relatively settled.
Nicolas Perrot helped (1667) establish Green Bay as the center of the Wisconsin fur trade, and in 1686 he formally claimed all the region for France. The fur trade flourished despite the 50-year war between the Fox and the French, and the historic Fox-Wisconsin portage was used by generations of traders from Green Bay and Prairie du Chien in their search for beaver and other furs.
British-American Struggles
Like all of New France, Wisconsin fell to the British with the end of the French and Indian Wars (1763). British traders mingled with the French and eventually gained the bulk of the fur trade. The British hold continued even after the end of the American Revolution, when the Old Northwest formally passed (1783) to the United States and was made (1787) a part of the Northwest Territory. After Jay's Treaty (1794), northwestern strongholds were turned over to the Americans, but the British continued to dominate the fur trade from the Canadian border. In the War of 1812 Wisconsin again fell into British hands. It was only with the Treaty of Ghent (see Ghent, Treaty of) that effective U.S. territorial control began and that the American Fur Company gained control of much of the fur trade.
Settlement and Native American Resistance
Present-day Wisconsin was transferred from Illinois Territory to Michigan Territory in 1818. By then the fur trade was diminishing, but the lead mines in SW Wisconsin had long been active, and booming lead prices in the 1820s brought the first large rush of settlers. The region's great agricultural potential was also apparent, and after 1825 a considerable number of easterners began arriving via the new Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. They settled in the Milwaukee area and along the waterways. The U.S. army preserved order from key forts established at Green Bay (1816), Prairie du Chien (1816), and Portage (1828) and built bridges, trails, and roads throughout the region. The hostility of the Native Americans toward the incursions of aggressive settlers culminated in the Black Hawk War (1832). This revolt, brutally crushed, was the last Native American resistance of serious consequence in the area.
Territorial Status and Early Statehood
In 1836, Wisconsin was made a territory, and the legislators chose a compromise site for the capital, midway between the Milwaukee and western centers of population; thus the city of Madison was founded. By 1840 population in the territory had risen above 130,000, but the people, fearing higher taxes and stronger government, rejected propositions for statehood four times. In addition, politicians were at first unwilling to yield Wisconsin claims to a strip of land around Chicago and to what is now the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. However, hopes that statehood would bring improved communications and prosperity became dominant; the claims were yielded, and Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848. The state constitution provided protection for indebted farmers, limited the establishment of banks, and granted liberal suffrage. These measures and the state's rich soil attracted immigrants from Europe.
The influx of Germans to Wisconsin was especially heavy, and some parts of the state assumed the tidy semi-German look that has persisted along with an astonishing survival of the German language. Liberal leaders, like Carl Schurz, came after the failure of the Revolution of 1848 in Germany and added to the intellectual development of the state. Contributions were also made, then and later, by Irish, Scandinavians, Germans who had previously emigrated to the Volga region of Russia, and Poles.
The state's development was not always smooth. Although the state constitution provided for a system of free public schools, the principle was implemented only slowly. Similarly, the Univ. of Wisconsin (chartered 1848) was slow to assume importance. After a referendum (1852) ended the state constitutional ban on banking, farmers and many others mortgaged their property to buy railroad stocks, only to suffer distress when the state's railways went bankrupt in the Panic of 1857.
Late-Nineteenth-Century Political and Economic Developments
Wisconsin was steadily antislavery; the Free-Soil party gained a large following in the state (although the party's homestead plank and economic program were the major attractions). Wisconsin abolitionists played an important part in the formation of the Republican party. In the Civil War Wisconsin quickly rallied to the Union. Copperheads were few, but many War Democrats opposed the abridgment of civil liberties and other aspects of the war effort, and some of the German immigrants, who had left Germany because they opposed compulsory military service, opposed even voluntary war service.
The boom times brought by the war mitigated discontent, and economic and social growth was rapid during the 1860s and after. Railroads and other means of communication linked Wisconsin closely to the East. The meatpacking and brewing industries of Milwaukee began to assume importance in the 1860s. Wheat was briefly dominant especially in S Wisconsin, but was superseded in the 1870s as states further west became wheat producers and Wisconsin shifted to more diversified farming. Its great dairy industry developed, spurred by an influx of skilled dairy farmers from New York and Scandinavia and by the efforts of the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association (est. 1872). In these years the great pine forests of N Wisconsin began to be greatly exploited, and in the 1870s lumbering became the state's most important industry. Oshkosh and La Crosse flourished. With lumbering came large paper and wood products industries, and the opening of iron mines in Minnesota and Michigan promoted the N Great Lake ports and increased industrial opportunities.
Although hard hit in the panics of 1873 and 1898, Wisconsin was generally prosperous in the late 19th cent., and the reform-minded Granger movement and Populist party received less support than in other Midwestern states. A trend toward liberal political views was stimulated in Wisconsin by socialist thought, which was introduced early. Socialism, in a pragmatic and reformist rather than a doctrinaire form, dominated Milwaukee politics for many years and gave the city efficient government, particularly under the leadership of Victor Berger and Daniel Hoan. Stemming from a different source was the reform spirit of specialized and advanced Wisconsin farmers, who recognized the need for a more viable political and economic framework.
Robert La Follette and the Progressive Movement
In the early 20th cent., reform sentiment blossomed in the Progressive movement, under the tutelage of the Republican leader, Robert M. La Follette. This pragmatic attempt to achieve good effective government for all and to limit the excessive power of the few resulted in a direct primary law (1903), in legislation to regulate railroads and industry, in pure food acts, in high civil service standards, and in efforts toward cooperative nonpartisan action to solve labor problems. An important adjunct of progressivism was the “Wisconsin idea”—that of linking the facilities and brainpower of the Univ. of Wisconsin to progressive experiments and legislation. The plan owed much to Charles McCarthy and to the support of university president Charles Van Hise, and it brought such diverse benefits as the spread of scientific agricultural methods and the many labor and other bills drafted by Professor John R. Commons.
The progressive movement was temporarily halted by World War I. La Follette, some Socialists, and many German-Americans were critical of U.S. involvement in that war, but they were a distinct minority. Wisconsin was generally prosperous in the 1920s; industrialization made rapid strides, reforestation of the once great but now exhausted timberland was stimulated by state legislation, and the dairying industry continued to grow.
Wisconsin was alone in voting for its native son, La Follette, when he ran for president on the Progressive party ticket in 1924, and in the state his policies continued to be carried forward by his sons Robert M. La Follette, Jr., and Philip La Follette. Wisconsin's pioneer old-age pension act (1925) and its unemployment compensation act (1931) served as models for national social security a few years later. The Great Depression of the 1930s struck particularly hard in industrialized Milwaukee, but some relief was provided by the New Deal, and in addition Gov. Philip La Follette attempted, in his “little new deal,” to improve agricultural marketing, promote electrification, and enforce fair labor practices.
World War II to the Present
During World War II, Wisconsin's shipbuilding industry flourished, and in the prosperous postwar era, urbanization and industrial growth continued; even in the nationwide slump of the late 1980s, the state's manufacturing sector proved resilient. Wisconsin politics continued to resonate on the national scene. U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy aroused controversy with his unsubstantiated anti-Communist campaign of the 1950s, but “McCarthyism” was balanced by other political strains in the state; thus Milwaukee, in the same period, again elected a Socialist mayor, and the Democratic party, long no match for Republican or Progressive forces, has gained strength in state elections since the late 1950s. In the 1990s the state was a pioneer in welfare reform.
Bibliography
See C. W. Rowe, The Effigy Mound Culture of Wisconsin (1956, repr. 1970); A. H. Robinson and J. B. Culver, ed., The Atlas of Wisconsin (1974); C. N. Current, Wisconsin: A History (1977); I. Vogeler, Wisconsin: A Geography (1986); R. C. Nesbit, Wisconsin: A History (rev. ed. 1989); R. F. Fries, The History of Lumbering in Wisconsin (1989).
| Geography: Wisconsin |
State in the north-central United States bordered by Lake Superior and the state of Michigan to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, Illinois to the south, and Iowa and Minnesota to the west. Its capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee.
| Stats: Wisconsin |
 |
| Parks: Wisconsin |
| Wikipedia: Wisconsin |
| State of Wisconsin | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Official language(s) | None | ||||||||||
| Demonym | Wisconsinite | ||||||||||
| Capital | Madison | ||||||||||
| Milwaukee | |||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Milwaukee metropolitan area | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 23rd in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 65,498 sq mi (169,639 km²) |
||||||||||
| - Width | 260 miles (420 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 310 miles (500 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 17 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 42° 30′ N to 47° 05′ N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 86° 46′ W to 92° 53′ W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 20th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 5,627,967 (2008 est.)[1] | ||||||||||
| - Density | 98.8/sq mi (38.13/km²) Ranked 23rd in the US |
||||||||||
| - Median income | $47,220 (15th) | ||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Timms Hill[2] 1,951 ft (595 m) |
||||||||||
| - Mean | 1,050 ft (320 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Lake Michigan[2] 579 ft (176 m) |
||||||||||
| Admission to Union | May 29, 1848 (30th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Jim Doyle (D) | ||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Barbara Lawton (D) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | Herb Kohl (D) Russ Feingold (D) |
||||||||||
| U.S. House delegation | List | ||||||||||
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | WI Wis. US-WI | ||||||||||
| Website | www.wisconsin.gov | ||||||||||
Wisconsin (
/wɪˈskɒnsɨn/ (help·info)) (French: Ouisconsin) (officially The State of Wisconsin) is one of the fifty states in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S. states (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota). Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee.
Contents |
The word Wisconsin has its origins in the name given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian speaking American Indian groups living in the region at the time of European contact.[3] French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River and record its name, arriving in 1673 and calling the river Meskousing in his journal.[4] This spelling was later corrupted to Ouisconsin by other French explorers, and over time this version became the French name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling to its modern form when they began to arrive in greater numbers during the early 19th Century. The current spelling was made official by the legislature of Wisconsin Territory in 1845.[5]
Through the course of its many variations, the Algonquian source word for Wisconsin and its original meaning have both grown obscure. Interpretations vary, but most implicate the river and the red sandstone that line its banks. One leading theory holds that the name originated from the Miami word Meskonsing, meaning "it lies red," a reference to the setting of the Wisconsin River as it flows by the reddish sandstone of the Wisconsin Dells.[6] Numerous other theories have also been widely publicized, including claims that name originated from one of a variety of Ojibwa words meaning "red stone place," "gathering of the waters," or "great rock."[7]
In 1624, the Frenchman Jean Nicolet became the first European to explore what was to become Wisconsin. He founded the Green Bay colony. During the next 150 years, the area was settled primarily by French fur traders. France then transferred the territory to Britain in 1763. The United States acquired the Wisconsin territory after the Revolution in 1783, but it remained under de facto British control until the War of 1812. The nineteenth century saw settlement by "Yankees" (New Englanders and people from upstate New York), Cornish miners, and German, Scandinavian and Swiss settlers. In 1793 Dominique Ducharme (15 May 1765 – 3 August 1853), was the first white European to settle in the Fox Valley. He paid two barrels of rum to two Indians for land on both sides of the Fox River near the Kaukauna rapids, this gave him control of the portage around and of the lower Fox. The Ducharme deed was Wisconsin's first recorded deed. He built a house on the land and settled there. He began trading with the Menomini and Chippewa Indians. At the time, 1,500 Indians lived in the village of Kaukauna. The following year, he and another trader, Jacob Franks, obtained from the Menominee Indians “for value received,” a 999-year lease on a total of 1,200 acres (5 km2) on both sides of the Fox at La Baye; at the time Ducharme already possessed a concession on one side of the river beside one of the leased lots. He is presumed to have continued to engage in fur trading in the west for the next 15 years; certainly he acquired a working knowledge of several native dialects.
Wisconsin, bordered by the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois, as well as Lakes Michigan and Superior, has been part of United States' territory since the end of the American Revolution; the Wisconsin Territory (which included parts of other current states) was formed on July 3, 1836. Wisconsin ratified its constitution on March 13, 1848, and was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state.
A border dispute with Michigan was settled by two cases, both Wisconsin v. Michigan, in 1934 and 1935.
Wisconsin's economy was originally based on farming (especially dairy), mining, and lumbering. The state was rich in virgin stands of old growth white pine and hemlock. As lumber companies sawed the forest for timber, migrant farmers settled the cleared land. Wisconsin's topography of rolling glacial hills with rich (but rocky) soil coupled with unpredictable seasons favored dairy farming. Industrial centers sprung up along Lake Michigan and in the Fox Valley where there was easy access to raw materials (lumber, iron ore) and shipping ports, most notably at Milwaukee. After WWI Wisconsin became a major exporter of durable goods, with Milwaukee being known as the "tool box of the world." In the northern half of the state, farming had lost significance due to short growing seasons and reverted back to forest where staple crops of trees supplied a booming paper industry that had access to cheap power sources along the Wisconsin, Chippewa, and Fox Rivers. In the later 20th century, tourism became important, as many people living on former farms commuted to jobs elsewhere. In recent decades, service industries, especially medicine and education, have become dominant as heavy industry declined. Wisconsin is also noted for having a stable economy compared to most other states. This may be attributed to a diversified economy as well as a low net population growth. Wisconsin's landscape, largely shaped by the Wisconsin glaciation of the last Ice Age, makes the state popular for both tourism and many forms of outdoor recreation due to the many lakes, streams, and rolling hills. Popular tourist destinations include Door County, Wisconsin Dells, and the northern forest/lake region. Most tourism is from neighboring states within driving distance, especially Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Wisconsin is bordered by the Montreal River; Lake Superior and Michigan to the north; by Lake Michigan to the east; by Illinois to the south; and by Iowa and Minnesota to the west. The state's boundaries include the Mississippi River and St. Croix River in the west, and the Menominee River in the northeast. Wisconsin is the northernmost state that does not share a border with Canada. With its location between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Wisconsin is home to a wide variety of geographical features. The state is divided into five distinct regions. In the north, the Lake Superior Lowland occupies a belt of land along Lake Superior. Just to the south, the Northern Highland has massive mixed hardwood and coniferous forests including the 1.5 million acre (6,000 km²) Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, as well as thousands of glacial lakes, and the state's highest point, Timms Hill. In the middle of the state, the Central Plain has some unique sandstone formations like the Dells of the Wisconsin River in addition to rich farmland. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region in the southeast is home to many of Wisconsin's largest cities. In the southwest, the Western Upland is a rugged landscape with a mix of forest and farmland, including many bluffs on the Mississippi River. This region is part of the Driftless Area, which also includes portions of Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. This area was not covered by glaciers during the most recent ice age, the Wisconsin Glaciation.
Overall, 46% of Wisconsin's land area is covered by forest.
The varied landscape of Wisconsin makes the state a popular vacation destination for outdoor recreation. Winter events include skiing, ice fishing and snowmobile derbies. Wisconsin has many lakes of varied size; in fact Wisconsin contains 11,188 square miles (28,977 km²) of water, more than all but three other states (Alaska, Michigan and Florida). The distinctive Door Peninsula, which extends off the eastern coast of the state, contains one of the state's most beautiful tourist destinations, Door County. The area draws hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly to its quaint villages, seasonal cherry picking, and ever-popular fish boils.
Areas under the management of the National Park Service include the following:[8]
Additionally there is one national forest managed by the US Forest Service in Wisconsin:
The highest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in the Wisconsin Dells, on July 13, 1936, where it reached 114 °F (46 °C). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in the village of Couderay, where it reached –55 °F (-48 °C) on both February 2 and February 4, 1996.[9]
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Selected Wisconsin Cities [°F (°C)] | ||||||||||||
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay | 24/7
(-4/-14) |
29/12
(-2/-11) |
40/23
(4/-5) |
55/34
(13/1) |
68/45
(20/7) |
77/54
(25/12) |
81/59
(27/15) |
78/56
(26/13) |
70/48
(21/9) |
58/37
(14/3) |
42/26
(6/-3) |
29/13
(-2/-11) |
| La Crosse | 26/6
(-3/-14) |
32/13
(0/-11) |
45/24
(7/-4) |
60/37
(16/3) |
72/49
(22/9) |
81/58
(27/14) |
85/63
(29/17) |
82/61
(28/16) |
74/52
(23/11) |
61/40
(16/4) |
44/27
(7/-3) |
30/14
(-1/-10) |
| Madison | 25/9
(-4/-13) |
31/14
(-1/-10) |
43/25
(6/-4) |
57/35
(14/2) |
69/46
(21/8) |
78/56
(26/13) |
82/61
(28/16) |
79/59
(26/15) |
71/50
(22/10) |
60/39
(16/4) |
43/28
(6/-2) |
30/16
(-1/-9) |
| Milwaukee | 28/13
(-2/-11) |
32/18
(0/-8) |
43/27
(6/-3) |
54/36
(12/2) |
66/46
(19/8) |
76/56
(24/13) |
81/63
(27/17) |
79/62
(26/17) |
72/54
(22/12) |
60/43
(16/6) |
46/31
(8/-1) |
33/19
(1/-7) |
| [6] | ||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 305,391 |
|
|
| 1860 | 775,881 | 154.1% | |
| 1870 | 1,054,670 | 35.9% | |
| 1880 | 1,315,457 | 24.7% | |
| 1890 | 1,693,330 | 28.7% | |
| 1900 | 2,069,042 | 22.2% | |
| 1910 | 2,333,860 | 12.8% | |
| 1920 | 2,632,067 | 12.8% | |
| 1930 | 2,939,006 | 11.7% | |
| 1940 | 3,137,587 | 6.8% | |
| 1950 | 3,434,575 | 9.5% | |
| 1960 | 3,951,777 | 15.1% | |
| 1970 | 4,417,731 | 11.8% | |
| 1980 | 4,705,767 | 6.5% | |
| 1990 | 4,891,769 | 4.0% | |
| 2000 | 5,363,675 | 9.6% | |
| Est. 2008[1] | 5,627,967 | 4.9% | |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2000, Wisconsin had a population of 5,363,675. Wisconsin's population was reported as 6.4% under the age of 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.6% of the population.
Since its founding, Wisconsin has been ethnically heterogeneous. Following the period of French fur traders, the next wave of settlers were miners, many of whom were Cornish, who settled the southwest area of the state. The next wave was dominated by "Yankees," migrants from New England and upstate New York; in the early years of statehood, they dominated the state's heavy industry, finance, politics and education. Between 1850 and 1900, large numbers of European immigrants followed them, including Germans, Scandinavians (the largest group being Norwegian), and smaller groups of Belgians, Dutch, Swiss, Finns, Irish, Poles and others. In the 20th century, large numbers of Mexicans and African Americans came, settling mainly in Milwaukee; and after end of the Vietnam War came a new influx of Hmongs.
The five largest ancestry groups in Wisconsin are: German (42.6%), Irish (10.9%), Polish (9.3%), Norwegian (8.5%), English (6.5%).[10] German is the most common ancestry in every county in the state, except Menominee, Trempealeau and Vernon.[11] Wisconsin has the highest percentage of residents of Polish ancestry of any state.[12] The various ethnic groups settled in different areas of the state. Although Germans settled throughout the state, the largest concentration was in Milwaukee. Norwegians settled in lumbering and farming areas in the north and west. Small colonies of Belgians, Swiss, Finns and other groups settled in their particular areas, with Irish and Polish immigrants settling primarily in urban areas.[13] African Americans came to Milwaukee, especially from 1940 on. Menominee County is the only county in the eastern United States with an American Indian majority.
| Demographics of Wisconsin (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN* | Asian | NHPI* |
| 2000 (total population) | 91.52% | 6.15% | 1.30% | 1.92% | 0.08% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) | 3.35% | 0.17% | 0.11% | 0.03% | 0.01% |
| 2005 (total population) | 91.00% | 6.48% | 1.30% | 2.21% | 0.09% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) | 4.17% | 0.20% | 0.12% | 0.04% | 0.01% |
| Growth 2000–05 (total population) | 2.64% | 8.89% | 3.13% | 18.59% | 6.85% |
| Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) | 1.65% | 8.53% | 2.43% | 18.63% | 6.18% |
| Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) | 28.67% | 21.23% | 10.54% | 16.75% | 10.87% |
| * AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
86% of Wisconsin's African-American population lives in five cities: Milwaukee, Racine, Madison, Kenosha and Green Bay, with Milwaukee home to nearly three-fourths of the state's African Americans. Milwaukee is among the 10 major U.S. cities with the most African Americans per capita.[citation needed] In the Great Lakes region, only Detroit and Cleveland have a higher percentage of African Americans.
33% of Wisconsin's Asian population is Hmong, with significant communities in Milwaukee, Wausau, Green Bay, Sheboygan, Appleton, Madison, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Oshkosh, and Manitowoc.[14]
Numerous ethnic festivals are held throughout Wisconsin to celebrate its heritage. Such festivals include Summerfest, Oktoberfest, German Fest, Festa Italiana, Bastille Days, Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day), Brat(wurst) Days in Sheboygan, Cheese Days in Monroe and Mequon, African World Festival, Indian Summer, Irish Fest and many others.
The largest denominations are
According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Wisconsin’s gross state product was $211.7 billion. The per capita personal income was $32,157 in 2004. Wisconsin's state budget is facing a $652.3 million shortfall.[16]
The economy of Wisconsin is driven by manufacturing, agriculture, and health care. Although manufacturing accounts for a far greater part of the state's income than farming, Wisconsin is often perceived as a farming state.
The largest employers in Wisconsin are:
Wisconsin produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except California,[18] and leads the nation in cheese production. Wisconsin ranks second behind California in overall production of milk and butter, and it ranks third in per-capita milk production, behind Idaho and Vermont.[19] Based on poll results, a Holstein cow, an ear of corn, and a wheel of cheese were chosen for Wisconsin's 50 State Quarters design.[20] Wisconsin ranks first in the production of corn for silage, cranberries, ginseng, and snap beans for processing. Wisconsin is also a leading producer of oats, potatoes, carrots, tart cherries, maple syrup, and sweet corn for processing.
Given Wisconsin's strong agricultural tradition, it is not surprising that a large part of the state's manufacturing sector deals with food processing. Some well-known food brands produced in Wisconsin include Oscar Mayer, Tombstone frozen pizza, Johnsonville brats, and Usinger's sausage. Kraft Foods alone employs over 5,000 people in the state. Milwaukee is a major producer of beer and the site of the headquarters of Miller Brewing Company, the nation's second-largest brewer. At one time, Schlitz, Blatz, and Pabst were cornerstone breweries in Milwaukee. Today, Milwaukee's economy is more diverse with an emphasis on health care. In 2004, four of the city's ten largest employers (including the top two) were part of the health care industry.[21]
| Badger State | |
| State Animal: | Badger |
| State Domesticated Animal: |
Dairy cow |
| State Wild Animal: | White-tailed deer |
| State Beverage: | Milk |
| State Fruit: | Cranberry |
| State Bird: | Robin |
| State Capital: | Madison |
| State Dog: | American water spaniel |
| State Fish: | Muskellunge |
| State Flower: | Wood violet |
| State Fossil: | Trilobite |
| State Grain: | Corn |
| State Insect: | European honey bee |
| State Motto: | Forward |
| State Song: | "On, Wisconsin!" |
| State Tree: | Sugar maple |
| State Mineral: | Galena (Lead sulfide) |
| State Rock: | Red granite |
| State Soil: | Antigo silt loam |
| State Dance: | Polka |
| State Symbol of Peace: |
Mourning dove |
Wisconsin is also home to several transportation equipment and machinery manufacturers. Major Wisconsin companies in these categories include the Kohler Company, Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls,Seagrave Fire Apparatus, Pierce Manufacturing(fire apparatus), Briggs & Stratton, Miller Electric, Milwaukee Electric Tool Company, Bucyrus International, Super Steel Products Corp., Oshkosh Truck, and Harley-Davidson. Wisconsin also ranks first nationwide in the production of paper products; the lower Fox River from Lake Winnebago to Green Bay has 24 paper mills along its 39 mile (63 km) stretch.
The development and manufacture of health care devices and software is a growing sector of the state's economy with key players such as GE Healthcare, Epic Systems, and TomoTherapy.
Tourism is also a major industry in Wisconsin – the state's third largest, according to the Department of Tourism. This is attributed to the many attractions in the Wisconsin Dells family vacation destination area, which attracts nearly 3 million visitors per year, as well as to the many resorts in northern Wisconsin. Tourist destinations such as the House on the Rock near Spring Green and Circus World Museum in Baraboo also draw thousands of visitors annually, and festivals such as Summerfest and the EAA Oshkosh Airshow draw national attention along with hundreds of thousands of visitors. Door County is a popular destination for boaters because of the large number of natural harbors, bays and ports on the Green Bay and Lake Michigan side of the peninsula that forms the county.
Wisconsin collects personal income taxes (based on four income brackets) which range from 4.6% to 6.75%. The state sales and use tax rate is 5.0%. Fifty-nine counties have an additional sales/use tax of 0.5%.[22] Milwaukee County and four surrounding counties have an additional temporary 0.1% tax which helps fund the Miller Park baseball stadium, which was completed in 2001. Retailers who make sales subject to applicable county taxes must collect this tax on their retail sales.
The most common property tax assessed on Wisconsin residents is the real property tax, or their residential property tax. Wisconsin does not impose a property tax on vehicles, but does levy an annual registration fee. Property taxes are the most important tax revenue source for Wisconsin's local governments, as well as major methods of funding school districts, vocational technical colleges, special purpose districts and tax incremental finance districts. Equalized values are based on the full market value of all taxable property in the state, except for agricultural land. In order to provide property tax relief for farmers, the value of agricultural land is determined by its value for agricultural uses, rather than for its possible development value. Equalized values are used to distribute state aid payments to counties, municipalities, and technical colleges. Assessments prepared by local assessors are used to distribute the property tax burden within individual municipalities.
Wisconsin does not assess a tax on intangible property. Wisconsin does not collect inheritance taxes. Until January 1, 2008 Wisconsin's estate tax was decoupled from the federal estate tax laws; therefore the state imposed its own estate tax on certain large estates.[23]
There are no toll roads in Wisconsin; highway and road construction and maintenance is funded by motor fuel tax revenues.
The capital is Madison, Wisconsin.
State Executive Officers
See also:
During the period of the Civil War, Wisconsin was a Republican and pro-Union stronghold. Ethno-religious issues in the late 19th century caused a brief split in the Republican coalition. Through the first half of the 20th century, Wisconsin's politics were dominated by Robert La Follette and his sons, originally of the Republican Party, but later of the revived Progressive Party. Since 1945, the state has maintained a close balance between Republicans and Democrats. Republican Senator Joe McCarthy was a controversial national figure in the early 1950s. Recent leading Republicans include former Governor Tommy Thompson and Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.; prominent Democrats include Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, and Congressman David Obey.[24]
Much of the state's political history involved coalitions among different ethnic groups. The most famous controversy dealt with foreign language teaching in schools. This was fought out in the Bennett Law campaign of 1890, when the Germans switched to the Democratic Party because of the Republican Party's support of the Bennett Law, which led to a major victory for the Democrats.
The cities of Wisconsin have been active in increasing the availability of legislative information on the internet, thereby providing for greater government transparency. Currently three of the five most populous cities in Wisconsin provide their constituents with internet based access of all public records directly from the cities’ databases. Wisconsin cities started to make this a priority after Milwaukee began doing so, on their page, in 2001. One such city, Madison, has been named the Number 1 digital city by the Center for Digital Government in consecutive years. Nearly 18 percent of Wisconsin’s population has the ability to access their municipality’s information in this way.
Wisconsin has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in the last six elections. The urban centers of Milwaukee and Madison tend to vote strongly Democratic. The suburbs of those cities are politically diverse, but tend to vote Republican. Counties in the western part of the state tend to be liberal, a tradition passed down from Scandinavian immigrants. The rural areas in the northern and eastern part of the state are the most solidly Republican areas in Wisconsin.[citation needed]
In the 2008 presidential election, Wisconsin voted for the Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Obama captured 56% of the vote statewide, with the urban centers of Milwaukee and Madison voting strongly Democratic. Bucking the historic trend, Brown County (home to Green Bay) and Outagamie County (home to Appleton) voted for Obama over John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee. In all, McCain captured approximately 42% of the vote statewide and won 13 of the state's 72 counties. Of the counties won by McCain, only a handful were by greater than 55% of the vote (Florence, Green Lake, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha, with Washington County providing his largest single-county percentage victory in the state). In all, Obama was successful in 59 counties, transcending the state's usual east/west and urban/suburban/rural divides.
Wisconsin ranked second in voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election, behind Minnesota.
The last election in which Wisconsin supported a Republican Presidential candidate was in 1984. However, both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were close, with Wisconsin receiving heavy doses of national advertising because it was a "swing," or pivot, state. Al Gore carried the presidential vote in 2000 by only 5,700 votes, and John Kerry won Wisconsin in 2004 by 11,000 votes. However, in 2008, Barack Obama carried the state by 381,000 votes and with 56%. Republicans had a stronghold in the Fox Valley but elected a Democrat, Steve Kagen, of Appleton, for the 8th Congressional District in 2006. Republicans have held Waukesha County. The City of Milwaukee heads the list of Wisconsin's Democratic strongholds, which also includes Madison and the state's Native American reservations. Wisconsin's largest Congressional district, the 7th, has been a Democratic stronghold since 1969. Its representative, David Obey, chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
In 2006, Democrats gained in a national sweep of opposition to the Bush administration, and the Iraq War. The retiring GOP 8th District Congressman, Mark Green, of Green Bay, ran against the incumbent Governor Jim Doyle. Green lost by 8% statewide, making Doyle the first Democratic Governor to be re-elected in 32 years. The Republicans lost control of the state Senate. Although Democrats gained eight seats in the state Assembly, Republicans retained a five vote majority in that house. In 2008, Democrats regained control of the State Assembly by a 52-46 margin, marking the first time since 1987 the both the governor and state legislature were both Democratic.
Wisconsin's self-promotion as "America's Dairyland" sometimes leads to a mistaken impression that it is an exclusively rural state. However, Wisconsin contains cities and towns of all sizes. Over 68% of Wisconsin residents live in urban areas, with the Greater Milwaukee area home to roughly one-third of the state's population.[27] Milwaukee is at the northern edge of an urban area bordering Lake Michigan that stretches southward into greater Chicago and northwestern Indiana, with a population of over 11 million. With over 602,000 residents Milwaukee proper is the 22nd-largest city in the country.[28] The string of cities along the western edge of Lake Michigan is generally considered to be an example of a megalopolis. Madison's dual identity as state capital and college town gives it a cultural richness unusual in a city its size. With a population of around 220,000, Madison is also a very fast-growing city. Madison's suburb, Middleton, was also ranked the "Best Place to Live in America" in 2007 by Money Magazine. Medium-size cities dot the state and anchor a network of working farms surrounding them. As of 2007, there were 12 cities in Wisconsin with a population of 50,000 or more.[29] Cities and villages are incorporated urban areas in Wisconsin. Towns are unincorporated minor civil divisions of counties.
Wisconsin, along with Minnesota and Michigan, was among the Midwestern leaders in the emergent American state university movement following the Civil War in the United States. By the turn of the century, education in the state advocated the "Wisconsin Idea," which emphasized for service to the people of the state. The "Wisconsin Idea" exemplified the Progressive movement within colleges and universities at the time.[30] Today, public education in Wisconsin includes both the 26-campus University of Wisconsin System, headquartered in Madison, and the 16-campus Wisconsin Technical College System which coordinates with the University of Wisconsin. Notable private colleges and universities include Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin, Concordia University Wisconsin, Edgewood College, Beloit College, and Lawrence University, among others. Elementary, middle and high school education are mandatory by law.
On January 1, 2008, a new tax incentive for the film industry came into effect. The first major production to take advantage of the tax incentive was Michael Mann's Public Enemies. After the film was wrapped up, Wisconsin realized that this new incentive wasn't working all to plan. While the producers spent $18 million dollars on the film, it was reported that most of that went to out-of-state workers and for out-of-state services; Wisconsin taxpayers had provided $4.6 million in subsidies, and derived only $5 million in revenues from the film's making.[31]
Wisconsin has more country music festivals than any other state,[citation needed] including Miller Lite Presents Country Fest, Bud Light Presents Country Jam USA, the Coors Hodag Country Festival, Porterfield Country Music Festival, Country Thunder USA in Twin Lakes, and Ford Presents Country USA.
The state's largest city, Milwaukee, also hosts Summerfest, dubbed "The World's Largest Music Festival," every year. This festival is held at the lakefront Henry Maier Festival Park just south of downtown.
The Wisconsin Area Music Industry provides an annual WAMI event where it presents an awards show for top Wisconsin artists.
Wisconsin is represented by major league teams in three sports: football, baseball, and basketball. Lambeau Field, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin is home to the National Football League's Green Bay Packers. The Packers have been part of the NFL since the league's second season in 1921 and currently hold the record for the most NFL titles, earning the city of Green Bay the self-given nickname "Titletown". The Green Bay Packers are one of the most successful small-market professional sports franchises in the world and have won 12 NFL championships, including the first two AFL-NFL Championship games (Super Bowls I and II) and Super Bowl XXXI. The city fully supports their team, as evidenced by the 60,000 person waiting list for season tickets to Lambeau Field.
The Milwaukee Brewers, the state's major league baseball team, play in Miller Park in Milwaukee, the successor to Milwaukee County Stadium since 2001. In 1982, the Brewers won the American League Championship, marking their most successful season.
The Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association play home games at the Bradley Center. The Bucks won the NBA Championship in 1971.
The state also has minor league teams in hockey (Milwaukee Admirals) and baseball (the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, based in Appleton and the Beloit Snappers of the Class A minor leagues). Wisconsin is also home to the Madison Mallards, the La Crosse Loggers, the Eau Claire Express, the Green Bay Bullfrogs, and the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League, a collegiate all-star summer league. In arena football Wisconsin is represented by three teams: the Wisconsin Wolfpack in Madison and the Milwaukee Bonecrushers, both in the CIFL; and the Milwaukee Iron in the AF2.
Wisconsin also has many college sports programs. The Wisconsin Badgers, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hold a historic dual-championship in 2006 when both the women's and men's hockey teams won national titles. The Wisconsin football team also saw success under head coach Barry Alvarez, who led the Badgers to three Rose Bowl victories, including back to back victories in 1999 and 2000. The Wisconsin Badger men's basketball team made a trip to college basketball's Final Four in 2000.
The Marquette Golden Eagles of the Big East Conference are the state's other major collegiate program, and are known for their men's basketball team, which, under the direction of Al McGuire, won the NCAA National Championship in 1977. The team, led by Dwyane Wade, returned to the Final Four in 2003.
The USS Wisconsin was named in honor of this state.
Known as "America's Dairyland," Wisconsin is well known for cheese. Citizens of Wisconsin are referred to as Wisconsinites, although a common nickname (sometimes used pejoratively) among non-residents is "Cheeseheads." This is due to the prevalence and quality of cheesemaking in the state, and for the novelty hats made of yellow foam in the shape of a triangular block of cheese. Cheese curds are an extremely popular treat, exported as gifts throughout the country. The state is also known for its alcohol production and consumption, and it is historically home to a large number of breweries and bars per capita. A lesser known, but still significant nickname for Wisconsin is "The Copper State," referring to the copper mines in the northwestern part of the state.
Wisconsin is very popular for outdoor activities especially hunting and fishing. One of the most popular game animals is the Whitetail deer. In 2008, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported the pre-hunt deer population projection to be about 1.5 - 1.7 million. Each year in Wisconsin, well over 600,000 deer hunting licenses are sold. [32] Visitors to Wisconsin during the Thanksgiving holiday will see many hunters in rural areas wearing blaze orange gear for Wisconsin's gun-deer hunting season.
The Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is known for its interesting architecture. The Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens cover over 200 acres (800,000 m²) of land on the far west side of the city. Madison is home to the Vilas Zoo which is free for all visitors, and the Olbrich Gardens conservatory, as well as the hub of cultural activity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is also known for Monona Terrace, a convention center that was designed by Taliesin Architect Anthony Puttnam, based loosely on a 1930s design by Frank Lloyd Wright, a world-renowned architect and Wisconsin native who was born in Richland Center.[33] Wright's home and studio in the 20th century was at Taliesin, south of Spring Green. Decades after Wright's death, Taliesin remains an architectural office and school for his followers.
Wisconsin is known as a "drinking" state with a high percentage of per capita consumptiom of alcoholic beverages and a high rate of "binge" drinking, even when compared to neighboring states and demographics. This is often exacerbated by the reputation of the University of Wisconsin as a party college and the City of Milwaukee as the "beer capital of the world." Public intoxication is often not only accepted but expected at venues such as Summer Fest, Brewers games, Packers games, State Fair, October Fest, and other public festivals. The Wisconsin Tavern League is a strong political force and the state government has been reluctant to lower DUI offense from BAC 0.10 to 0.08 (only through Federal Government influence) and raise the alcoholic beverage tax. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel series "Wasted in Wisconsin" examined this trend. Popular belief is that the state's large German heritage population, climate (long cold winters, short warm summers), and abundant leisure opportunities contribute to high drinking rates, though data collected by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel does not conclusively support this.
Wisconsin has sister-state relationships with the Germany's Hesse, Japan's Chiba Prefecture, Mexico's Jalisco, China's Heilongjiang, and Nicaragua.[34]
The shape of the Wisconsin along with the Door County peninsula, have lead many of its residents to refer the state in the shape of a hand, often pointing on their hand to someone unfamiliar with certain locations.
Langlade has a unique soil that is rarely found outside of the county called Antigo Silt Loam.
See additional books at History of Wisconsin
Definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity
|
||||||||||||||
| Preceded by Iowa |
List of U.S. states by date of statehood Admitted on May 29, 1848 (30th) |
Succeeded by California |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Wisconsin |
Français (French)
n. - Wisconsin
Deutsch (German)
n. - Wisconsin
Português (Portuguese)
n. - Wisconsin
Español (Spanish)
n. - Wisconsin
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
威斯康星州
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 威斯康辛州
한국어 (Korean)
위스콘신 (미국 북부의 주; 주도 Madison; (약) Wis., Wisc.; 속칭 Badger State)
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - וויסקונסין
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
To select your translation preferences click here.
| Shopping: Wisconsin |
| wisconsin | wisconsin cheese |
| wisconsin badgers | wisconsin newspaper |
 | Black Hawk War |
| Dairy Industry |
| French Frontier Forts |
 | If you purchase a car from an individual in Illinois but have a Wisconsin drivers license do you have to go to Wisconsin to get Wisconsin plates? Read answer... |
| If you purchased your car in Wisconsin and then registered it in Illinois do you need a Wisconsin title or an Illinois title to sell it in Wisconsin? Read answer... |
| Can a 17 year old with a valid wisconsin drivers license register a car in wisconsin? Read answer... |
 | How much will greyhound tickets cost for 1 adult and three children to get from wisconsin dells wisconsin to waycross ga? |
| How much do Greyhound bus tickets cost from Wausau Wisconsin to Milwaukee Wisconsin? |
| How long does it take a package to be sent from new berlin wisconsin to baldwin wisconsin using standard flat rate service? |
Copyrights:
 |
 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
 |
| Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
Maps. ©2008 Google. All rights reserved. Read more | |
| Local Time. Copyright © 2001 - Chaos Software. All rights reserved Read more | |
 |
| Stats. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
|
| Parks. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wisconsin". Read more |
 |
| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
Mentioned in
|
