Wisconsin is a state in the United States, located in the Midwest. The rural economy was originally based on furs, then came lumber, farming, dairy, and vacationing. Industrialization began in the late 19th century in the southeast, with Milwaukee as the major center. In recent decades service industries, especially medicine and education, have become dominant.
Abbotsford Antigo Appleton Ashland Baileys Harbor Baldwin Baraboo Beaver Dam Belmont Beloit Berlin Black River Falls Brookfield Brown Deer Burlington Chetek Chilton Chippewa Falls Clintonville Columbus Crivitz Cumberland De Forest De Pere Delafield Delavan Dodgeville Eagle River East Troy Eau Claire Edgerton Egg Harbor Elkhart Lake Elkhorn Ephraim Fitchburg Fontana Fort Atkinson Germantown Glendale Grafton Grand Chute Green Bay Hartford Hayward Hudson Hurley Jackson Janesville Jefferson Johnson Creek Kaukauna Kenosha Kewaunee Kimberly Kohler La Crosse Ladysmith Lake Geneva Lake Mills Lakewood Lancaster Little Chute Lodi Lomira Luck Madison Manitowoc Marinette Marshfield Mauston Mayville Menomonie Mequon Merrill Middleton Milwaukee Mineral Point Minocqua Mishicot Monona Monroe Mosinee Mount Horeb Mukwonago Neenah Neillsville New Berlin New Lisbon New London New Richmond Oak Creek Oconomowoc Omro Onalaska Osceola Oshkosh Park Falls Pewaukee Phillips Platteville Pleasant Prairie Plover Plymouth Port Washington Portage Racine Reedsburg Rhinelander Rice Lake Richland Center Ripon River Falls Rothschild Saukville Schofield Shawano Sheboygan Sheboygan Falls Shell Lake Siren Sister Bay Solon Springs Sparta Spooner Stanley Stevens Point Stoughton Sturgeon Bay Sturtevant Sun Prairie Superior Thorp Three Lakes Tomah Tomahawk Verona Washburn Waterford Watertown Waukesha Waunakee Waupaca Waupun Wausau Wautoma Wauwatosa West Allis West Bend West Salem Westfield Weston Whitewater Windsor Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin Rapids
The state has always been ethnically heterogeneous. The Yankees arrived first and long dominated industry, finance, politics and education. Large numbers of Germans arrived between 1850 and 1900, centering in Milwaukee, but also settling in many small cities and farm areas in the southeast. Scandinavians settled in lumbering and farming areas in the northwest. Small colonies of Belgians, Swiss, Finns and other groups came to the state. Irish Catholics mostly came to the cities. After 1900, Polish immigrants came to Milwaukee, followed by African Americans from 1940 on.
Politically, the state was a Republican stronghold that supported the Union during the Civil War. Ethnoreligious issues regarding schools split the Republican coalition briefly in 1890. From 1900 to the 1940s, Robert La Follette and his sons dominated state politics using the Republican Party and then their own Progressive Party. Since 1945, the state has maintained a close balance between the Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans put forth conservative-to-moderate Governor Tommy Thompson in the 1980s and 1990s, while the Democrats have produced liberal Senator Russ Feingold in 1992.
The state 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. Part of the state's boundaries includes the Mississippi River and St. Croix River in the west, and the Menominee River in the northeast.
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 includes the state's highest point, Timms Hill, as well as massive forests and thousands of small glacial lakes. In the middle of the state, the Central Plain possesses 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.
The varied landscape of Wisconsin makes the state a vacation destination popular 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 km˛) of water, more than all but three other states. The distinctive Door Peninsula, which extends off of the eastern coast of the state, contains one of the state's most beautiful tourist destinations, Door County. The area draws 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:
In 1634, Frenchman Jean Nicolet became Wisconsin's first European explorer, landing at Red Banks, near modern-day Green Bay in search of a passage to the Orient. The French controlled the area until it was ceded to the British in 1763.
After the American Revolutionary War, Wisconsin was part of the U.S. Northwest Territory. It was then governed as part of Indiana Territory, Illinois Territory, and Michigan Territory. Settlement began when the first two public land offices opened in 1834. Wisconsin Territory was organized on July 3, 1836, and it became the 30th state on May 29, 1848.
The state mineral is Galena, otherwise known as lead sulfide, which reflects Wisconsin's early mining history. Many town names such as Mineral Point recall a period in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s, when Wisconsin was an important mining state. When Indian treaties opened up southwest Wisconsin to settlement, thousands of miners — many of them immigrants from Cornwall, England — flocked to southern Wisconsin in what could almost be termed a "lead rush."
At one point, Wisconsin produced more than half of the nation's lead. During the boom, it appeared that southwest Wisconsin might become the population center of the state, and Belmont was briefly the state capital. By the 1840s, the easily accessible deposits were worked out, and experienced miners were drawn out of Wisconsin by the California Gold Rush. This period of mining before and during the early years of statehood directly led to the development of state's nickname, the "Badger State". Many miners and their families lived in the mines in which they worked until adequate above-ground shelters were built and were thus compared to badgers.
Going on a trip? Why not browse some of the luggage at eBags.com (external source)
Your vacation. A time to lose yourself. And sometimes your luggage, too. Need Travel Insurance? Why not try Travel Guard (external source)
Lonely Planet Maps (external source)
Lonely Planet Language Guides (external source)
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
