Wisconsin

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Wisconsin (IPA pronunciation: ) 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.

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 the 2000s. Conant ch 1; Barone and Cohen; Pearce

Geography

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 km²) 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:

History

Main Article: History of Wisconsin

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.Public land offices, and settlement. 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.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census year	Population

1820	1,444
1830	3,635
1840	30,945
1850	305,391
1860	775,881
1870	1,054,670
1880	1,315,497
1890	1,693,330
1900	2,069,042
1910	2,333,860
1920	2,632,067
1930	2,939,006
1940	3,137,587
1950	3,434,575
1960	3,951,777
1970	4,417,731
1980	4,705,767
1990	4,891,769
2000	5,363,675

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Wisconsin has an estimated population of 5,536,201, which is an increase of 32,668, or 0.6%, from the prior year and an increase of 172,486, or 3.2%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 119,347 people (that is 361,534 births minus 242,187 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 60,701 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 46,106 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 14,595 people.

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.

Race and ancestry

The racial/ethnic makeup of the state:

87.3% White, not of Hispanic origin
5.7% Black
3.6% Hispanic of any race
1.7% Asian
1.2% Two or more races
0.9% Native American

The five largest ancestry groups in Wisconsin are: German (42.6%), Irish (10.9%), Polish (9.3%), Norwegian (8.5%), English (6.5%)

Wisconsin is widely regarded as the most "German-American" state in the Union (although North Dakota, with 43.9% German ancestry, can also make this claim). 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.

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.

Religion

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:

Christian – 85%
- Protestant – 55%
  - Lutheran – 23%
  - Methodist – 7%
  - Baptist – 6%
  - Presbyterian – 2%
  - United Church of Christ – 2%
  - Other Protestant or general Protestant – 15%
- Roman Catholic – 29%
- Other Christian – 1%
Other Religions – 1%
Non-Religious – 14%

Economy

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 agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing. Although manufacturing accounts for a far greater part of the state's income than farming, Wisconsin is usually recognized primarily as a farming state. Wisconsin produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except California, and it leads the nation in cheese production. Although California has overtaken Wisconsin in the production of milk and butter, Wisconsin still produces more milk per capita than any other state in the Union. In addition to dairying, 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.

*Badger State*
State Animal:	Badger
State Domesticated Animal:	Dairy Cow
State Wild Animal:	White-tailed Deer
State Beverage:	Milk
State Bird:	Robin
State Capital:	Madison
State Dog:	Spaniel
State Fish:	Muskellunge
State Flower:	Wood Violet
State Fossil:	Trilobite
State Grain:	Corn
State Insect:	Honeybee
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

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 and Jack's frozen pizza, and Johnsonville Bratwursts. Kraft Foods alone employs over five thousand people in the state. Milwaukee is a major producer of beer.

In addition to food processing, Wisconsin is home to several transportation equipment and machinery manufacturers. Major Wisconsin companies in these categories include the Kohler Company, Rockwell International, Briggs & Stratton, Miller Electric, Milwaukee Electric Power Tools, 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 twenty-four 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.

Healthcare is a growing sector of the economy with key players such as Tomotherapy and GE Healthcare. Tourism is also a major industry in Wisconsin. Tourism destinations such as the House on the Rock near Spring Green, Circus World Museum in Baraboo, and the collection of attractions around Wisconsin Dells each draw thousands of visitors every year, and festivals such as Summerfest and the EAA Oshkosh Airshow always attract large crowds.

Wisconsin collects personal income tax based on 4 income level brackets, which range from 4.6 percent to 6.75 percent. The state sales tax of 5 percent. Fifty-eight counties have an additional sales tax of 0.5 percent. Retailers who make sales subject to applicable county taxes must collect 5.5 percent sales tax on their retail sales. Sales of motor vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, mobile homes 45 feet (13.7 m) or less in length, trailers, semi-trailers, all-terrain vehicles, and aircraft are subject to the county use tax rather than county sales tax.

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 agriculture 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 personal 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.

Law and government

The capital is Madison and the largest city is Milwaukee. The current governor of Wisconsin is Jim Doyle.

See also:

Politics

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, who won a major victory. Wisconsin's political history encompasses, on the one hand, Fighting Bob La Follette and the Progressive movement; and on the other, Joe McCarthy, the controversial anti-Communist censured by the Senate during the 1950s. The first Socialist mayor of a large city in the United States was Emil Seidel, elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1910; another Socialist, Daniel Hoan, was mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940.

Beginning with the governorship of Robert M. La Follette, Sr. in the early 1900s and the state Progressive Party establishment soon thereafter, Wisconsin, and in particular, Madison, have often been seen as leaders in labor and social welfare legislation as well as legislation popularly termed "socially progressive." For example, in 1982 sexual orientation was added by the state legislature as a protected category under existing anti-discrimination laws, a step in the context of the 1980s seen as highly innovative. Russ Feingold was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, and Tammy Baldwin is the only openly lesbian U.S. Representative.

The state has supported Democrats in the last five presidential contests. During both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, Wisconsin was considered a "swing" or pivot state because its residents were relatively equally split between voting for the Democratic and Republican candidates. The state, by about 5,700 votes voted for the Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore in 2000, and by 14,000 votes, was in favor of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, both of whom lost the national election. The strongest areas of Republican strongholds tends to be in rural and suburban area, while support for Democrats is largely concentrated in the Madison and Milwaukee urban centers. Republicans have a strong influence in the suburban Milwaukee counties.

Important cities and villages

Cities and villages are incorporated urban areas in Wisconsin. Towns are unincorporated minor civil divisions of counties.

Wisconsin's self-promotion as "America's Dairyland" sometimes leads to a mistaken impression that it is an exclusively rural state. In fact, however, Wisconsin contains cities and towns of all sizes. Milwaukee is slightly larger than Boston and part 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^*, with around 596,000 inhabitants. This string of cities along the western edge of Lake Michigan is generally considered to be an example of a megalopolis. Madison's triple identity as state capital, university town and working city gives it a cultural richness unusual in a city its size. Madison is also a very fast-growing city, that has around 260,000 people. Medium-size cities dot the state and anchor a network of working farms surrounding them.

Cities in Wisconsin with population of 50,000 or more as of 2000 include:

Milwaukee, population 596,125 (1,709,926 in metropolitan area), largest city
Madison, population 208,054 (588,885 in metropolitan area), state capital
Green Bay, population 102,767 (295,473 in metropolitan area)
Kenosha, population 90,352, part of Chicagoland
Racine, population 81,855, part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Appleton, population 70,087 (213,102 in metropolitan area)
Waukesha, population 64,825 part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Oshkosh, population 62,916 (159,008 in metropolitan area)
Eau Claire, population 61,704 (148,337 in metropolitan area)
West Allis, population 61,254, part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Janesville, population 60,200 (154,794 in metropolitan area)
La Crosse, population 51,818 (128,592 in metropolitan area)
Sheboygan, population 50,792 (113,376 in metropolitan area)

Education

Colleges and universities

Wisconsin is served by the public University of Wisconsin System consisting of 15 institutions, including the flagship University of Wisconsin campus in Madison. Notable private colleges and universities include Marquette University and Lawrence University, among others. The Wisconsin Technical College System is comprised of 16 two-year colleges that offer associate's degrees and career training.

Further information:

Professional sports teams

Wisconsin is represented by major league teams in the three most popular spectator sports in the United States: American football, baseball, and basketball. The Green Bay Packers have been part of the National Football League 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".

Club	Sport	League
Green Bay Packers	Football	National Football League
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Milwaukee Bucks	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Milwaukee Admirals	Ice hockey	American Hockey League
Milwaukee Wave	Soccer	Major Indoor Soccer League
Green Bay Blizzard	Arena football	af2
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Baseball	Midwest League
Beloit Snappers	Baseball	Midwest League
Eau Claire Express	Baseball	Northwoods League
La Crosse Loggers	Baseball	Northwoods League
Madison Mallards	Baseball	Northwoods League
Wisconsin Woodchucks	Baseball	Northwoods League

Miscellaneous topics

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. 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.

The state is home to the Green Bay Packers, 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 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 50,000 names.

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. It is also known for Monona Terrace, a convention center that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a world-renowned architect who was born in Richland Center.

Wisconsin has sister-state relationships with the Germany's Hesse, Japan's Chiba Prefecture, Mexico's Jalisco, China's Heilongjiang, and Nicaragua.

Name

Although the exact etymology of the name is uncertain, "Wisconsin" is thought to be an English version of a French adaptation of an Indian word. 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.

References

Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen. The Almanac of American Politics, 2006 (2005)
James K. Conant. Wisconsin Politics And Government: America's Laboratory of Democracy (2006)
Richard Current, Wisconsin: A History (2001)
Larry Gara; A Short History of Wisconsin 1962
Holmes, Fred L. Wisconsin (5 vols., Chicago, 1946), detailed popular history and many biographies
Robert C. Nesbit, Wisconsin: A History (rev. ed. 1989)
Pearce, Neil. The Great Lakes States of America (1980)
Quaife, Milo M. Wisconsin, Its History and Its People, 1634-1924 (4 vols., 1924), detailed popular history & biographies
Raney, William Francis. Wisconsin: A Story of Progress (1940),
Arthur H. Robinson and J. B. Culver, ed., The Atlas of Wisconsin (1974)
I. Vogeler, Wisconsin: A Geography (1986);
WPA, Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State 1941; detailed guide to every town and city, and cultural history

see additional books at History of Wisconsin''

Notes

External links

1848 establishments | Wisconsin

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