Wisconsin
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State flag
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WISCONSIN,
one of the East North Central states of the U.S., bordered
on the N by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on
the E by Lake Michigan, on the S by Illinois, and on the W by Iowa and Minnesota. The Menominee R. forms the NE boundary and the Mississippi and Saint Croix rivers form parts of the W boundary.
Wisconsin entered the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state.
Manufacturing became the state’s chief economic activity
following World War II, but at the start of the 1990s Wisconsin
remained the nation’s leading dairy state and also a major
producer of corn. Milwaukee and Madison, the capital, were the state’s largest
cities and among its many important industrial and commercial centers.
The state is named for the Wisconsin R., the name of which is derived
from the French version of an Ojibwa Indian term that may mean “gathering
of the waters” or “place of the beaver.” Wisconsin’s
nickname, the Badger State, refers not to the state’s badgers
but to miners who burrowed like badgers into the hillsides in search
of lead in the 1820s.
| WISCONSIN STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
May 29, 1848; 30th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Madison |
| MOTTO: |
Forward |
| NICKNAME: |
Badger
State |
| STATE SONG: |
“On, Wisconsin!” (words by J. S. Hubbard and Charles D. Rosa; music by William T. Purdy) |
| STATE TREE: |
Sugar maple |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Wood violet |
| STATE BIRD: |
Robin |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
5,363,675; 18th among the states |
| AREA: |
169,653 sq km (65,503 sq mi); 23d largest state; includes 28,981 sq km (11,190 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Timms Hill, 595 m (1952 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
177 m (581 ft), along the shore of Lake Michigan |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
10 (as of the 2004 presidential election) |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 8 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Jim Doyle (Dem.) Took office January 2003 |
Wisconsin, with an area of 169,653 sq km (65,503 sq mi), is
the 23d largest state in the U.S.; 5.4% of the land area
is owned by the federal government. The state is roughly rectangular
in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 515 km (about 320
mi) from N to S and about 475 km (about 295 mi) from E to W. Elevations
range from 177 m (581 ft), along the shore of Lake Michigan, to
595 m (1952 ft), atop Timms Hill in the N central part of the state;
the approximate mean elevation is 320 m (1050 ft). The state has
a shoreline of some 1085 km (some 675 mi).
The physical landscape of Wisconsin can be divided into four major
regions. Northern Wisconsin lies in the Superior Upland, a S extension
of the Canadian Shield. The hard, crystalline rocks that form the
bedrock are covered by stony glacial drifts. The landscape contains
many prominent glacial moraines, numerous glacial lakes, and rounded
granite and quartzite hills that rise about 30 to 90 m (about 100
to 300 ft) above the level of the upland.
To the SW of the Superior Upland is the Till Plains region,
a level to gently rolling area with older, less stony glacial materials.
At the S end of this section is the flat plain that was covered
by Lake Wisconsin during glacial times. A scenic gorge, The Dells
of the Wisconsin R., is in the region in the S part of the state.
A separate area of the Till Plains occurs along the state’s
S boundary.
The SW part of Wisconsin is part of the Driftless Region,
in which glacial deposits are largely absent; outwash materials
from melting glaciers filled most of the valleys, however. It is
one of the most rugged and scenic areas of the state, particularly
where the Mississippi R. flows in a bluff-lined gorge, some 60 to
180 m (some 200 to 600 ft) deep.
The Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands region makes up most of the
E half of Wisconsin. Gently rolling glacial plains with excellent
soil make this the state’s best agricultural area. Inland
from Lake Michigan lies the N-S trending Kettle Moraine, one of
the world’s most striking collections of glacial features.
In the W half of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin, Flambeau,
Black, Chippewa, and St. Croix rivers flow into the Mississippi R. A
number of short
streams flow N into Lake Superior, and the Menominee, Peshtigo,
Wolf, and Fox, and a number of smaller streams flow E into Lake
Michigan.
A substantial portion (19,132 sq km/7387 sq mi) of Lake
Michigan and a smaller portion (6928 sq km/2675 sq mi)
of Lake Superior are part of Wisconsin. In addition, the state has
more than 8000 interior lakes, of which Lake Winnebago is the largest,
with an area of about 557 sq km (about 215 sq mi). Many lakes are
in N Wisconsin. Green Bay is an arm of Lake Michigan bordered in
part by the Door Peninsula.
Wisconsin has a humid continental climate with warm summers
in the S and cool summers elsewhere. Winters are cold in most parts
of the state. The waters of Lake Michigan have a moderating effect
on nearby areas, so that summers are somewhat cooler and winters
somewhat warmer along the lake. Milwaukee, in the SE, has an average
January temperature of –7° C (19.4° F) and an average July temperature of 21.1° C (70° F);
La Crosse, in the W, has a mean January temperature of –8.9° C
(16° F) and a mean July temperature of 22.8° C
(73° F). The recorded temperature in Wisconsin has ranged
from –47.8° C (–54° F), in 1922
at Danbury in the NW, to 45.6° C (114° F), in
1936 at Wisconsin Dells in the S.
Annual precipitation in Wisconsin is rather uniformly distributed,
averaging about 850 mm (about 33.5 in) in the SW and N central areas.
The remainder of the state receives about 685 to 840 mm (about 27
to 33 in) each year. Overall, Wisconsin gets about 760 mm (about
30 in) of precipitation annually. Snowfall averages about 915 mm
(about 36 in) per year in the extreme S, whereas most N areas receive
an annual average of about 1400 mm (about 55 in). Thunderstorms,
sometimes accompanied by devastating tornadoes, are common in spring and summer, particularly in the S part of the state.
| WISCONSIN AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Milwaukee |
La Crosse |
| Average January temperature range |
–11.7° to –2.8° C |
11° to 27° F |
–13.9° to –3.9° C |
7° to 25° F |
| Average July temperature range |
15° to 26.7° C |
59° to 80° F |
17.2° to 28.3° C |
63° to 83° F |
| Average annual temperature |
7.8° C |
46° F |
7.8° C |
46° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
737 mm |
29 in |
737 mm |
29 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
1143 mm |
45 in |
1092 mm |
43 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
123 |
110 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
73% |
72% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
96 |
95 |
About 43% of Wisconsin’s land area is covered
with forest, most of which is in the N part of the state. Northern
Wisconsin was once covered by a mixed forest dominated by maple,
yellow birch, hemlock, and pine. Today, a large part of the N remains
in second-growth forests yielding pulpwood and lumber. In the S,
broadleaf deciduous forests of maple, basswood, oak, and hickory
covered the land. Some oak-hickory forests contained prairies of
bluestem grass. Most of the S woodlands and prairies have been cleared
for agriculture. Blueberries, Juneberries, and huckleberries are common
shrubs. Wildflowers include more than 40 types of orchids and 20
kinds of violets; the wood violet is the state flower.
White-tailed deer are found in most areas of Wisconsin and
abound in the N cut-over areas, which supply excellent browse. Other
mammals include black bear, badger, red and gray fox, porcupine, woodchuck,
coyote, snowshoe hare, skunk, mink, beaver, and muskrat. Endangered
species include the timber wolf, pine marten, and Canada lynx. Among
Wisconsin’s game birds are pheasant, bobwhite, ruffed grouse, and partridge; the wild turkey has been reintroduced. Other common
birds include the robin, wren, swallow, nuthatch, and chickadee.
Endangered species include the barn owl, prairie chicken, and bald
eagle. Pike, sturgeon, muskellunge, walleye, and trout are among
the many game fish of Wisconsin’s lakes and streams, and
migratory waterfowl cross the state along the Mississippi flyway
each year. Lake Michigan and Lake Superior offer valuable sport and commercial fishing.
Sand and gravel, mined in almost every county, are among the state’s
most valuable mineral resources. Quality building stone is plentiful.
Other minerals include iron ore from the Superior Upland and limestone
for cement, as well as lead, zinc, clay, and peat.
Wisconsin is a leader in fish and wildlife preservation and propagation.
The state has also pioneered in the reforestation of land devastated
by destructive logging practices during the 19th century.
According to the 2000 census, Wisconsin had 5,363,675 inhabitants,
an increase of 9.6% over 1990. The average population density
in 2000 was 98.8 people per sq mi of land area; most of the northern
third of the state, however, had a much lower density. Whites made
up 88.9% of Wisconsin’s population and blacks 5.7%;
additional population groups included 47,228 American Indians, 88,763
Asians, and 1630 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders. (These
figures do not include the 1.2% of the population who reported more
than one race.) A total of 192,921 persons, or 3.6%, reported
being of Hispanic background. The state’s largest cities
were Milwaukee; Madison, the capital; Green Bay; Kenosha; and Racine.
According to the 1990 census, Roman Catholics (38.6%) and Lutherans (26.2%) formed the state’s largest religious
groups. In 1990 about 66% of all the residents of Wisconsin
lived in areas defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural areas.
| POPULATION OF WISCONSIN SINCE 1840 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1840 |
31,000 |
0% |
| 1850 |
305,000 |
9% |
| 1870 |
1,055,000 |
20% |
| 1900 |
2,069,000 |
38% |
| 1920 |
2,632,000 |
47% |
| 1940 |
3,138,000 |
54% |
| 1960 |
3,952,000 |
64% |
| 1980 |
4,706,000 |
64% |
| 1990 |
4,891,769 |
66% |
| 2000 |
5,363,675 |
-- |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN WISCONSIN |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Milwaukee |
596,974 |
628,088 |
| Madison |
208,054 |
191,262 |
| Green Bay |
102,313 |
96,466 |
| Kenosha |
90,352 |
80,352 |
| Racine |
81,855 |
84,298 |
| Appleton |
70,087 |
65,695 |
| Waukesha |
64,825 |
56,958 |
| Oshkosh |
62,916 |
55,006 |
| Eau Claire |
61,704 |
56,856 |
| West Allis |
61,254 |
63,221 |
Wisconsin has extensive systems of elementary,
secondary, and higher education, a rich cultural life, and superb
outdoor recreational
opportunities.
The first public elementary school in Wisconsin was
opened
in 1845, and the first public high school in 1849. In 1856, Margarethe
Schurz (1833–76; the wife of the politician Carl Schurz)
established the first kindergarten in the U.S., in Watertown. Another
national first for Wisconsin was the establishment of a statewide
vocational and adult educational network, in 1911. By the early
20th century the public education system had been well developed.
In the late 1980s, a total of 2019 public elementary and secondary
schools had an annual enrollment of some 549,100 elementary pupils and
233,800 secondary students. In addition, about 119,200 students
attended private elementary and secondary schools.
The first institution of higher education in the state
was
Milton College, in Milton, founded in 1844. In the late 1980s Wisconsin
had 61 institutions of higher learning, with a combined annual
enrollment
of about 290,700 students. By far the largest institution was the
University of Wisconsin system, with 13 major campuses, including
those at Madison (1849), Milwaukee (1955), Eau Claire (1916), and
Oshkosh (1871). Other notable schools included Marquette University and
Mount Mary College (1913), in Milwaukee; Lawrence University
(1847), in Appleton; Beloit College (1846), in Beloit; Ripon College
(1851), in Ripon; and Carroll College (1846), in Waukesha.
Milwaukee and Madison are the major cultural centers in the state,
but other cities, especially those with university ties, also have
notable cultural and artistic institutions. One of the nation’s
outstanding natural science and history museums is the Milwaukee
Public Museum. The Milwaukee Art Center, in Milwaukee, and the Elvehjem
Museum of Art, in Madison, contain extensive collections of paintings and sculpture. Exhibits relating to the state’s history
are in the Wisconsin State History Museum in Madison. The Circus
World Museum, in Baraboo, contains items used by the Ringling brothers, who
founded a circus in Baraboo in 1884. Also of interest are the National
Railroad Museum, in Green Bay; the Manitowoc Maritime Museum, in
Manitowoc; the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, in Neenah; and the John Michael
Kohler Arts Center, in Sheboygan.
Wisconsin has about 380 public libraries, the largest of which
is in Milwaukee. Madison has several outstanding research libraries:
the Legislative Reference Library; the State Library (also known
as Law Library), dating from 1836; and the library of the State
Historical Society. The largest academic library is that of the University
of Wisconsin in Madison.
The University of Wisconsin sponsors the Fine Arts Quartet
in Milwaukee and the Pro Arte String Quartet in Madison. The Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra has a national reputation. Theater and dance
groups perform in many cities. The Milwaukee Performing Arts Center
has several theaters, and the Pabst Theater (1897), also in Milwaukee,
is known for its lavish decoration.
Wisconsin has a number of historical sites that commemorate
the state’s Indian past and pioneer days. Aztalan State
Park near Lake Mills is the site of a former Indian village, and
Lizard Mound State Park near West Bend has Indian burial mounds.
Old Wade House in Greenbush is a restored stagecoach inn and includes
a museum of antique carriages, wagons, and sleighs. Old World Wisconsin,
near Eagle, is an outdoor museum containing examples of farmhouses
erected by German, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish immigrants to
Wisconsin in the 19th century. Notable buildings in the state designed
by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright include his own home,
Taliesin East, near Spring Green; the First Unitarian Church, in
Madison; and the Johnson Wax Company Administration Building, in Racine.
The brewing of beer, important to Wisconsin’s economy,
may be viewed on tours of Milwaukee breweries.
The many inland lakes and streams of Wisconsin, its
shorelines
along Lakes Michigan and Superior, and its extensive system of parks
and forests provide a variety of recreational opportunities. Hiking,
camping, swimming, boating, golfing, hunting, and fishing are among the
state’s foremost outdoor activities. In winter, skating,
skiing, snowmobiling, and tobogganing are popular sports. Numerous
ethnic festivals and fairs take place here each year.
The state’s professional sports teams include the
Green Bay Packers (football), the Milwaukee Brewers (major league
baseball), and the Milwaukee Bucks (basketball). The Green Bay Packer
Hall of Fame contains displays relating to the football team and
is located in Green Bay. The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame
is in Hayward.
In the early 1990s the state had 110 AM and 151 FM radiobroadcasting
stations and 39 television stations. The first radio station in
the U.S., 9XM, was established in Madison in 1916 and licensed as
WHA in 1922. The first newspaper, the Green Bay Intelligencer, appeared
in 1833. In the early 1990s Wisconsin had 36 daily newspapers with
a total daily circulation of more than 1.1 million. Leading newspapers
included the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee
Sentinel; the Wisconsin State Journal and
the Capital Times, both published in Madison; and
the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Wisconsin is governed under a constitution adopted in 1848,
as amended. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed by
the legislature or by a constitutional convention. To become effective,
an amendment must be approved by a majority of persons voting on
the issue in a general election.
The chief executive of Wisconsin is a governor, who is popularly
elected to a 4-year term, with no limitation on the number of terms
served. In case of death, removal from office, or incapacity to
serve, the governor is succeeded by the lieutenant governor, who
is also elected to a 4-year term with no limitation on the number
of reelections. Other major elected state officials, all serving
4-year terms, include the secretary of state, attorney general,
treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction.
The bicameral Wisconsin legislature consists of a 33-member
senate and a 99-member assembly. Senators are popularly elected
to 4-year terms and representatives to 2-year terms. The president
of the senate and the speaker of the assembly are chosen by all
members of their respective chambers.
The highest tribunal in Wisconsin is the supreme court, which
has seven judges popularly elected to 10-year terms. The judge with
seniority of service becomes chief justice. The state’s
intermediate appellate court, called the court of appeals, is made
up of 13 judges popularly elected to 6-year terms. The major trial
courts, called circuit courts, have a total of 210 judges, and below
them are the county courts. Circuit and county court judges are
popularly elected to 6-year terms. All judges in Wisconsin are elected
on nonpartisan ballots.
Wisconsin has 72 counties, each governed by a popularly elected
board of supervisors. Other elected county officials include the
sheriff, treasurer, coroner, surveyor, and district attorney. Several
counties have county executives. In the early 1990s Wisconsin had
188 incorporated cities and about 400 incorporated villages. Most
Wisconsin cities use the mayor-council form of government, and others
use the council-manager system.
Based on the 2000 census and effective with the election of
2002, Wisconsin sends two senators and eight representatives to
the U.S. Congress and has ten electoral votes in presidential elections.
From 1854, when one of the first meetings of the Republican
party was held in Ripon, until the 1950s, the state was mostly controlled
by Republicans. While serving (1901–6) as Republican governor
of Wisconsin, Robert M. La Follette gained a national reputation
for his reform program; he subsequently served in the U.S. Senate and was the Progressive party’s presidential candidate
in 1924. Another Wisconsin Republican, Joseph R. McCarthy, received
national attention for his anti-Communist crusade while serving
as a U.S. senator in the 1950s. In the 1990s Wisconsin was a two-party
state, with Democrats living mainly in urban centers and Republicans
in rural areas. In presidential elections since 1856, Wisconsin
has voted for more Republicans than Democrats, although the state
supported Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first three races (1932–40)
and, since 1988, has favored the Democratic nominees.
Wisconsin, “America’s Dairyland,” was
originally the home of several Indian tribes. Colonists brought European
agricultural techniques with them, and over the years, dairying and crop farming have been vital parts of Wisconsin’s economy.
Rich forests generated a lumber industry. Extensive water resources
spurred fishing, transportation, and tourism. Manufacturing grew
rapidly in the 20th century, becoming a dominant segment of the
state’s economy.
| WISCONSIN STATE ECONOMY (early 1990s) |
| STATE BUDGET |
| General revenue |
$11.0 billion |
| General expenditure |
$10.5 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$6.1 billion |
 |
| STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, PER CAPITA |
$2090 |
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$13,276 |
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
10.7% |
| ASSETS, INSURED COMMERCIAL BANKS (510) |
$44.8 billion |
|
| LABOR FORCE (CIVILIAN NONFARM) |
2,230,000 |
| Employed in manufacturing |
25% |
| Employed in wholesale and retail trade |
24% |
| Employed in services |
23% |
| Employed in government |
15% |
|
| MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
% CONTRIBUTED TO GSP* |
| Commercial, financial, and professional services |
47% |
| Manufacturing and construction |
31% |
| Government |
10% |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries |
4% |
| Mining |
less than 1% |
* Gross State Product = total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Sources: U.S. government publications |
| PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF WISCONSIN (early 1990s) |
|
Quantity Produced |
Value |
| FARM PRODUCTS |
|
$6.5 billion |
|
| CROPS |
|
$1.9 billion |
| Corn |
9.0 million metric tons |
$779 million |
| Hay |
8.3 million metric tons |
$556 million |
| Potatoes |
1.0 million metric tons |
$166 million |
| Vegetables |
1.3 million metric tons |
$155 million |
| Soybeans |
480,000 metric tons |
$100 million |
|
| LIVESTOCK AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS |
|
$4.6 billion |
| Milk |
10.9 million metric tons |
$3.3 billion |
| Cattle |
78,000 metric tons |
$128 million |
| Eggs |
910 million |
$46 million |
|
| MINERALS |
|
$185 million† |
| Stone |
24.1 million metric tons |
$88 million |
| Sand, gravel |
21.1 million metric tons |
$79 million |
| Lime |
396,000 metric tons |
$18 million |
|
| FISHING |
8100 metric tons |
$5 million |
|
| |
|
Annual Payroll |
| MANUFACTURING |
|
$14.5 billion |
| Industrial machinery and equipment |
|
$2.9 billion |
| Paper and allied products |
|
$1.5 billion |
| Fabricated metal products |
|
$1.4 billion |
| Food and kindred products |
|
$1.3 billion |
| Printing and publishing |
|
$1.0 billion |
| Electronic equipment |
|
$958 million |
| Transportation equipment |
|
$865 million |
| Primary metals |
|
$621 million |
| Rubber and plastics products |
|
$557 million |
| Lumber and wood products |
|
$482 million |
| Instruments and related products |
|
$446 million |
|
| OTHER |
|
$30.8 billion |
| Services |
|
$8.3 billion |
| Government |
|
$7.7 billion |
| Retail trade |
|
$4.0 billion |
| Finance,insurance, and real estate |
|
$3.0 billion |
| Wholesale trade |
|
$2.9 billion |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
|
$2.3 billion |
| Construction |
|
$2.2 billion |
† Incomplete total; some data withheld by U.S. government
Sources: U.S. government publications |
Wisconsin is an important agricultural state, typically ranking
among the top ten states in annual farm income. Nevertheless, agriculture
ranks behind services and manufacturing in Wisconsin’s
economy. The value of the state’s agricultural output exceeds $6
billion annually. Wisconsin has some 79,000 farms, which average
90 ha (222 acres) in size.
The sale of livestock and livestock products accounts for
about 70% of the value of Wisconsin’s yearly farm
production; crops supply the remainder. The annual milk production
is nearly 11 million metric tons. Substantial numbers of beef cattle,
hogs, turkeys, and broiler chickens are raised in the state. Wisconsin’s leading
crops are corn, hay, potatoes, and soybeans. Other important crops
include wheat, barley, tobacco, beets, beans, peas, cucumbers, apples,
cherries, and cranberries. Wisconsin also produces much honey and has
a mink-farming industry. Agriculture is mainly pursued in the S and E parts of the state.
Forest resources are extensive, with the densest stands located
in the N. About twothirds of the forest is privately owned. Nearly
70% of the annual timber harvest is made up of hardwood,
most of which is sawed into lumber. The hardwoods include maple,
elm, basswood, cottonwood, aspen, and birch. Major softwoods are
white, red, and jack pine; spruce; and hemlock. Industrially owned forest
is predominantly softwood for use in the pulp and paper industry.
Wisconsin has developed a small fishing industry, with a commercial
catch valued in the early 1990s at $5 million annually.
Most commercial fisheries make use of Lake Michigan; although fish
in the lake were depleted by the sea lamprey, a restoration program
has been mounted. Major catches are whitefish, lake trout, perch,
chubs, alewives, and carp. Commercial river fishing yields mainly catfish,
bullheads, and buffalo fish.
Although the aggregate value of Wisconsin’s mineral
output exceeds $185 million a year, mining is relatively
insignificant in the state’s total economy. Once considered
important for lead production, the state now concentrates on non-metallic
minerals. Sand and gravel and stone dominate, and lime is of some
importance. Wisconsin usually leads the nation in the production
of abrasive stone. Deposits of copper, gold, and silver were being
developed in the early 1990s.
Wisconsin is a diversified industrial state that has
developed
a reputation for product leadership and quality. In the late 1980s
more than 550,000 people were employed in manufacturing in Wisconsin;
value added by manufacture totaled $31.7 billion, and the
value of shipments exceeded $69 billion. The leading category
of manufactured goods, ranked by annual payroll, was industrial
machinery,
especially engines, turbines, tractors and other farm machinery, and
construction equipment. Paper and paper products came second,
followed by fabricated metal goods. Food products ranked fourth, with
milk, cheese, and other dairy products, beer, and packed meat being
especially important. Other major manufactures of Wisconsin included
transportation equipment, electronic equipment, primary metals,
printed materials, chemicals, wood products, plastics, and precision
instruments. The Milwaukee area accounts for a major share of
Wisconsin’s
manufacturing income. Other important industrial centers are Racine,
Kenosha, Beloit, Madison, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Green Bay,
Wausau, Eau Claire, and Superior.
Spending by travelers in Wisconsin exceeds $5.8 billion
annually and accounts for more than 177,000 jobs. Tourism in the
state is a year-round business, focused especially on winter sports.
In other seasons, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, swimming, and
boating are emphasized. The Dells of the Wisconsin R. are a major
tourist attraction, offering a variety of family activities. More
than 50 state parks (among the most popular are Devil’s
Lake and Interstate), Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and the
state’s many lakes and rivers also attract tourists with
a variety of recreational and educational opportunities.
Wisconsin has an excellent transportation system. The state
is served by about 176,825 km (about 109,875 mi) of roads, including
930 km (578 mi) of interstate highways. An extensive network of
truck, bus, and motor carriers serves the state. In addition, an
excellent rail system operates in Wisconsin, with some 3305 km (some
2055 mi) of Class I track in service. Railroad ferries cross Lake
Michigan. With frontage on two of the Great Lakes, which are part
of the Saint Lawrence Seaway System, Wisconsin makes extensive use
of water transportation. The Superior, Wis.–Duluth, Minn.,
harbor is the largest port. Other major Wisconsin ports include
Green Bay and Milwaukee. Barges carry goods on the Mississippi.
Wisconsin has 401 airports and 64 heliports. The busiest air terminal
is Mitchell International Airport, serving Milwaukee.
In the early 1990s electricity generating plants in Wisconsin
had an installed capacity of about 10.6 million kw; their annual
output was 45.6 billion kwh. Conventional plants burning fossil
fuels accounted for more than 70% of the electric output;
almost 25% was generated in nuclear facilities, and 4% in
hydroelectric installations.
From at least 7000 bc until ad 1600 the region that is now
Wisconsin was inhabited by a succession of Mississippi Valley Indian
cultures. Most of them lived by hunting and fishing, supplemented
by agriculture. Among the distinctive remnants from these times
are thousands of effigy burial mounds in the shapes of mammals,
birds, and reptiles. Artifacts excavated from these mounds testify
to an extensive trade network that reached as far as the Allegheny
Mountains in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west.
In the 17th century, tribal warfare in the east led to the
migration of many Indian groups to Wisconsin. Among these were the
Sac, or Sauk, the Fox, and the Potawatomi. The already established
Menominee and Winnebago were probably descended from earlier local
cultures.
The first Europeans to reach Wisconsin were probably the Frenchmen Étienne
BrûlÉ, who explored the shores of Lake Superior
sometime between 1621 and 1623, and Jean Nicolet (1598–1642),
who is believed to have reached Green Bay in 1634. They were followed
by other explorers and by missionaries. In 1673 Louis and Father
Jacques Marquette traveled the Fox-Wisconsin waterways connecting
the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. The fur trade in Wisconsin
was dominated by the French until 1763, then briefly by the British, and in the early 19th century by Americans. Wisconsin’s
Indians became increasingly dependent on the trade and were inevitably
drawn into the imperial wars of the late 1700s, fighting in the
French and Indian War (1754–63) and on the side of the
British during the American Revolution. By the time of the U.S. occupation
of Wisconsin, the indigenous Indian cultures were on the verge of
extinction.
Wisconsin became part of the U.S. in 1783 at the end of the
American Revolution, but U.S. control was not effectively established
until the building of forts at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien in
1816. In the 1820s miners from Kentucky, Missouri, and other regions
to the south were attracted to the rich lead deposits in southwestern
Wisconsin, and there they established the area’s first
permanent white settlements. The Black Hawk War of 1832 was the
last organized Indian resistance to American occupation, and in
a series of treaties between 1829 and 1848 the U.S. acquired title
to all the land in Wisconsin. As this land was opened to public
sale in the 1830s, a second and larger wave of whites settled the
lakeshore, many of them Yankee farmers and townsite promoters from
New England and upstate New York. When Wisconsin was organized as
a territory in 1836, its population was 11,700; by 1850 it had grown
to 305,400. Southerners and Yankees contested for control of the
territorial government. In 1848, however, they agreed to a state
constitution that proved liberal and flexible enough in its provisions
to have remained in effect ever since.
In the years between 1848 and 1915, immigration to the state
from Europe and Canada wrought extensive changes in Wisconsin. Germans,
Norwegians, and Poles were the most numerous of the new settlers.
In 1870 the population exceeded 1 million for the first time. Many
of the newcomers possessed particular skills and training that contributed
to the growth of dairying, brewing, tanning, ironworking, and the
manufacture of machinery. Large numbers of them were Roman Catholics and Lutherans, which diversified the state’s population.
Some immigrants and their children chose to integrate as rapidly
as possible into the mainstream of Wisconsin society, whereas others
have maintained their distinctive identity until the present day.
The basic structure of the state’s economy took shape
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning in the 1880s,
farmers of wheat and other cash grains converted to dairying, which
provided a more stable base for the state’s agricultural
economy. Small family-owned and family-operated dairy farms also
provided the basis for a strong rural society. During the same period
heavy industry and manufacturing expanded rapidly in Milwaukee and
other cities along the southern lakeshore. When lumbering declined
in the late 19th century, diversified paper manufacturing took its
place along the Wisconsin and Fox rivers.
At the turn of the century, Wisconsin politics began to respond
to these social and economic developments. The Republican party
had reigned in Wisconsin since the American Civil War, but in the
1890s a growing discontent with conservative and sometimes corrupt Republican
government—particularly in the cities and in distressed
agricultural counties—led to the rise of a progressive
faction within the party. This faction, which called for extensive
reform of the political system and public regulation of the economy,
came to power with the election of Robert M. La Follette as governor
in 1900. During his three administrations and those of his progressive
successors, Wisconsin became a laboratory for political and economic
experimentation. Drawing on expertise from the University of Wisconsin,
in a partnership between state government and the university that
was known as the Wisconsin Idea, the progressive Republicans instituted
direct primary elections, railroad rate regulation, civil service and conservation programs, workers’ compensation, and many
other pioneering reform measures.
Although immigration declined after World War I, by 1940 the
total population of Wisconsin had grown to more than 3 million.
In 1930 the urban population exceeded the rural population for the
first time. The Great Depression brought a resurgence of the state’s
reform tradition. In 1934 Robert La Follette, Jr. (1895–1953),
who had succeeded his father in the U.S. Senate, and his brother
Philip La Follette (1897–1965), who served three terms
as governor, formed an independent Progressive party. Combating
the depression at the state level, the Progressives instituted a
little New Deal in Wisconsin, which gave stronger bargaining power to
labor unions, provided relief from farm indebtedness, undertook
public works projects, and passed the first unemployment compensation
law in the nation.
In 1946 the Progressives disbanded as an independent party and attempted unsuccessfully to regain control of the Republican
party. In the course of this effort, Senator La Follette was defeated
by Joseph McCarthy, who subsequently became one of the most controversial
figures in Wisconsin and U.S. politics. Younger progressives thereafter
gravitated to the Democratic party. In company with organized labor,
they succeeded by the late 1950s in building the party to a position
of equality with the Republicans, and in so doing they helped establish
a strong and permanent two-party system in the state for the first
time since the turn of the century.
As they entered the 1990s, both parties had
incorporated major elements of the independence and individualism that
were the most distinctive hallmarks of Wisconsin's political tradition.
Elected in 1986 and reelected in 1990, 1994, and 1998, Republican Gov.
Tommy G. Thompson (1941- ) cut taxes and promoted a "school choice"
program that allowed the use of taxpayer-funded vouchers to send poor
children to religious schools. He also sponsored a series of
welfare-to-work initiatives that paved the way for the comprehensive
welfare legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. When Thompson
became head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in
2001, he was succeeded in the governorship by a fellow Republican, Lt.
Gov. Scott McCallum (1950- ), who, in the November 2002 election, lost
to Democrat Jim Doyle (1945- ).