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Wisconsin (IPA pronunciation: ) is a state in the United States, and is located in the Great Lakes region. The capital of the state is Madison, and its current governor is Jim Doyle.
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 March 13, 1848, and was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state. The state's southern boundary line was originally supposed to reach the southern-most tip of Lake Michigan, but for some reason politics intervened during the debates of the Northwest Ordinance to make it as it appears in the present day. Wisconsin would have possessed the city of Chicago had the state line been pushed further south as originally contemplated.
Wisconsin's economy was originally based on farming (especially dairy), mining, and lumbering. In the 20th century, tourism became important, and many people living on former farms commuted to jobs elsewhere. Large-scale industrialization began in the late 19th century in the southeast of the state, with the city of Milwaukee as its major center. In recent decades, service industries, especially medicine and education, have become dominant. 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.
Since its founding, Wisconsin has been ethnically heterogeneous, with Yankees being among the first to arrive from New York and New England. They dominated the state's heavy industry, finance, politics and education. Large numbers of European immigrants followed them, including Germans, mostly between 1850 and 1900, Scandinavians (the largest group being Norwegian) and smaller groups of Belgians, Dutch, Swiss, Finns, Irish and others; in the 20th century, large numbers of Poles and descendants of slaves came, settling mainly in Milwaukee.
Today, 42.6% of the population is of German ancestry, making Wisconsin one of the most German-American states in the United States. Numerous ethnic festivals are held throughout Wisconsin to celebrate its heritage. Such festivals are world renowned, and include Festa Italiana, Bastille Days, Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day), Summerfest, Africal World Festival, Indian Summer, and many others.
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 their own Progressive Party. Since 1945, the state has maintained a close balance between Republicans and Democrats. Republican Senator Joe McCarthy was a major national figure in the early 1950s. Recent leading Republicans include former Governor Tommy Thompson and Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.; prominent Democrats include Governor Jim Doyle, Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, and Congressman David Obey.[1]
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.
Wisconsin was part of the Northwest Territory from 1788 to 1800. It was then governed as part of Indiana Territory (1800-1809), Illinois Territory (1809-1818), and Michigan Territory (1818-1836).[2] Settlement began when the first two public land offices opened in 1834.[3] 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 — joined the "lead rush" in southwestern areas. At that time, Wisconsin produced more than half of the nation's lead; Belmont, in the lead region, was briefly the state capital. By the 1840s, the easily accessible deposits were worked out, and experienced miners were drawn away to the California Gold Rush. This period of mining before and during the early years of statehood led to the 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.[4]
In the 1830-60 period, large numbers of Yankees from New England and New York flocked to Wisconsin. The New Yorkers were influential in bringing dairy farming to the state. As New York was the leading dairy state at the time, migrants from there brought with them the skills needed for dairy farming, as well as butter and cheese production.[5]
Other Yankees settled in towns or cities where they set up businesses, factories, mills, banks, schools, libraries, colleges, and voluntary societies. They created many Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches that still exist. The Yankees created the Republican party in 1854—the first local meeting in the country came in Ripon. They gave strong support to the Civil War effort, as well as to reforms such as abolition, women's suffrage and, especially, prohibition.
Even larger numbers of Germans arrived, so that the state became over one-third German. Most became farmers; others moved to Milwaukee and smaller cities setting up breweries and becoming craftsmen, machinists and skilled workers who were in high demand as the state industrialized. The Germans were split along religious lines. Most Germans were Catholic or Lutheran, with some Lutherans forming the Wisconsin Synod and others joining the Missouri Synod. The Catholics and Lutherans created their own network of parochial schools, through grade 8. Smaller numbers of Germans were Methodists, Jews, or Freethinkers (especially intellectual refugees). Politically they tended toward the Democratic party, but 30-40% voted Republican. Whenever the Republicans seemed to support prohibition, they shifted toward the Democrats. When nativist Republicans, led by governor William Hoard, passed the Bennett Law in 1889 that would eliminate instruction in the German language, German-Americans revolted and helped elect the Democrats in 1890. In World War I, German culture came under heavy attack in Wisconsin. Senator LaFollette became their protector and Germans strongly supported his wing of the Republican party after that.
Scandinavians comprise the third largest ethnic block, with Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, and Finns becoming farmers and lumberjacks in the western and northern districts. A large Danish settlement in Racine was the only large urban presence. The great majority were Lutheran, of various synods. The Scandinavians supported Prohibition and voted Republican; in the early 20th century they were the backbone of the LaFollette movement. Irish Catholics came to Milwaukee and Madison and smaller cities as railroad workers. They quickly became prominent in local government and in the Democratic party. They wrestled with the German Catholics for control of the Catholic church in the state.
It may come from the Ojibwe word Miskwasiniing, meaning "Red-stone place," which was probably the name given to the Wisconsin River, and was recorded as Ouisconsin by the French and changed to its current form by the English. The modern Ojibwe name, however, is Wiishkoonsing or Wazhashkoonsing, meaning "muskrat-lodge place" or "little muskrat place." Other theories are that the name comes from words meaning "Gathering of the Waters" or "Great Rock." Wisconsin originally was applied to the Wisconsin River, and later to the area as a whole when Wisconsin became a territory.
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. The state's boundaries include 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 has massive mixed hardwood and coniferous forests including the 1.5 million acre 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 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, 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.
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 km²) of water, more than all but three other states (Alaska, Michigan & 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 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:
Wisconsin's climate is great for growing crops with a wet season falling in spring and summer, bringing with it almost two-thirds of yearly precipitation. It brings cold snowy winters, which are what Wisconsin is well-known for. The highest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in the Wisconsin Dells, on July 13, 1936, and was 114°F. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in Couderay, on both February 2 and 4, 1996, and was –55°F.[6]
The state has always been ethnically heterogeneous. 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. Norwegians 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.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, Wisconsin has an estimated population of 5,556,506, which is an increase of 28,862, or 0.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 192,791, or 3.6%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 144,051 people (that is 434,966 births minus 290,915 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 65,781 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 56,557 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 9,224 people. The top 5 states with a net increase of migration into Wisconsin are 1) Illinois, 2) California, 3) Indiana 4) New York and 5) Pennsylvania. The center of population of Wisconsin is located in Green Lake County, in the city of Markesan.[7]
As of 2004, there are 229,800 foreign-born residents in the state (4.2% of the state population), and an estimated 41,000 undocumented workers living in the state, accounting for 18% of the foreign-born population. The five largest ancestry groups in Wisconsin are: German (42.6%), Irish (10.9%), Polish (9.3%), Norwegian (8.5%), English (6.5%)
Wisconsin, with many cultural remnants of its heavy German settlement, is known as perhaps the most "German-American" state in the Union. People of Scandinavian descent, especially Norwegians, are heavily concentrated in some western parts of the state. Wisconsin has the highest percentage of residents of Polish ancestry of any state. Menominee County is the only county in the eastern United States with an American Indian majority.
86% of Wisconsin's African American population lives in one of five cities: Milwaukee, Racine, Madison, Kenosha and Beloit while Milwaukee itself is home to nearly three-fourths of the state's African Americans. Milwaukee ranks in the top 10 major U.S. cities with the highest number of African Americans per capita. 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, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Madison, and Eau Claire.
6.4% of Wisconsin's population was reported as under 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.6% of the population.
The largest denominations are Roman Catholic, Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Synod and ELCA Lutherans. The religious affiliations of the people of Wisconsin are shown in the list below:[8]
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.
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. It produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except California, 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.[9] Based on poll results, Governor Jim Doyle chose for Wisconsin's 50 State Quarters design a Holstein cow, an ear of corn, and a wheel of cheese.[10] 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 home of Miller Brewing Company's world headquarters, the nation's second-largest brewer. Schlitz, Blatz, and Pabst used to be cornerstone breweries within the city of 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.[11]
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, Briggs & Stratton, Miller Electric, Milwaukee Electric Tool Company, Oshkosh Truck, and Harley-Davidson. Wisconsin also ranks first nationwide in the production of paper products; the lower Fox River from Lake Winnebago to the Bay of Green Bay has 24 paper mills along its 39-mile (63 km) stretch. The largest paper companies with operations in Wisconsin are Kimberly-Clark and Georgia-Pacific, both of which rank among the state's top ten employers.
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 largely attributed to the 90 attractions in the Wisconsin Dells family vacation destination area, which attracts nearly 3 million visitors per year. 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.
Wisconsin collects personal income tax based on four income-level brackets, which range from 4.6% to 6.75%. The state sales and use tax rate is 5%. Fifty-nine counties have an additional sales/use tax of 0.5%.[12] The counties surrounding Milwaukee County have an additional 0.5% tax imposed upon them to fund the new baseball stadium, Miller Park, which was constructed around the turn of the century. Retailers who make sales subject to applicable county taxes must collect 5.5% 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. Wisconsin's estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws; therefore the state imposes its own estate tax on certain large estates [1].
The capital is Madison.
State Executive Officers
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 organizing themselves to provide for greater government transparency by increasing the availability of legislative information on the internet. Currently three out of the top 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.
The state has supported Democrats in the last five presidential contests. 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 14,000 votes. Republicans have strongholds in the Fox Valley and the suburban counties (especially Waukesha County) surrounding Milwaukee. The City of Milwaukee itself heads the list of Wisconsin's Democratic strongholds which also includes Madison and the state's Native American reservations. Most of Wisconsin's small towns and rural areas are swing regions.
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, and over 68% of Wisconsin residents live in urban areas.[15] Milwaukee is slightly larger than Boston and is the beginning of a largely developed string of cities that stretches down the western edge of Lake Michigan into greater Chicago and also into northwestern Indiana. Milwaukee is also the 22nd-largest city in the country,[16] with around 580,000 inhabitants. This 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. Madison is also a very fast-growing city, that has around 220,000 people. Medium-size cities dot the state and anchor a network of working farms surrounding them. Cities and villages are incorporated urban areas in Wisconsin. Towns are unincorporated civil divisions of counties.
Cities in Wisconsin with population of 50,000 or more (as of the 2005 census estimate) include:
Wisconsin, along with Michigan and Minnesota, 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 purpose for service to the people and epitomized progressive movements within colleges and universities at the time. [17] 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, Beloit College, and Lawrence University, among others.
Wisconsin is represented by major league teams in the three most popular spectator sports in the United States: American 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 nickname "Titletown". The Milwaukee Brewers, the state's only major league baseball team, are based out of Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before Miller Park was opened in the year 2001, the Brewers played their home games at County Stadium. 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.
In addition to professional teams, Wisconsin is home to many successful college sports programs. The Wisconsin Badgers, teams based out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hold many NCAA division championship titles in their respective sports. This includes a historic dual-championship in 2006 when both the women's and men's hockey teams won national titles. The Wisconsin Football team has also seen much success after the hiring of Barry Alvarez as head coach. Alvarez lead the Badgers to three Rose Bowl victories, including back to back victories in the years 1999 and 2000.
The Marquette Golden Eagles of the Big East Conference are the state's other major collegiate program. They are known nationally for their Men's Basketball team which, led by Dwyane Wade, appeared in the Final Four in 2003.
USS ''Wisconsin'' was named in honor of this state.
Known as "America's Dairyland," Wisconsin is also known for cheese. Citizens of Wisconsin are referred to as Wisconsinites, although a common nickname (sometimes used pejoratively) among non-residents is "Cheeseheads," because of 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 made popular by the fans of the state's professional football team. 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 2005, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported the population of Wisconsin's deer herd to be about 1.4-1.5 million. It is common for over 600,000 deer hunting licenses to be sold each year.[18] 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 state is home to the Green Bay Packers, one of the most successful small-market professional sports franchise in the world. With 12 National Football League titles, Green Bay is known as "Titletown". Monday Night Football national broadcasts draw strong ratings during Packers games. The Packers' home stadium, Lambeau Field, is referred to as the "frozen tundra" and is considered by many football enthusiasts to be "hallowed ground." The University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers football program, playing at Camp Randall Stadium, enjoys similar loyalty; both teams are known to sell out their entire schedules far in advance. The waiting list for Packers season tickets has over 60,000 names. Games at Lambeau field have been sold out every year since the 1960s. The Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee is known for its unique 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.[19] 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 has sister-state relationships with the Germany's Hessen, Japan's Chiba Prefecture, Mexico's Jalisco, China's Heilongjiang, and Nicaragua.[20]
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(W)isconsin