Wisconsin is a state in the Midwest region of the United States
of America. It is bordered by Lake Superior and Michigan's Upper
Peninsula to the north, Lake Huron to the east,
Illinois to the
south, and Iowa and
Minnesota to the west.
The
majority of Wisconsin's population lives in areas located along
the shores of Lake Michigan. The largest city, Milwaukee, forms
Wisconsin's largest metropolitan area, while Green Bay and
Kenosha are the third and fourth most populous cities in
Wisconsin, respectively. Madison, the state capital, is
currently the second most populous and fastest-growing city in
the state. Wisconsin is divided into 72 counties and had a
population of approximately 5.9 million as of the 2020 census.
Wisconsin's geography is diverse, with the exception of the
Driftless Area, which was heavily glaciated during the Ice Age.
In the western part of the state, the northern and western
highlands are located along with a portion of the central plain,
and the lowlands extend to the shores of Lake Michigan. It has
the third longest Great Lakes coastline after Ontario and
Michigan. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is located in
the northern part of the state. At the time of European contact,
the area was inhabited by the Algonquin and Siouan tribes; today
it is home to 11 federally recognized tribes. Most of them were
German and Scandinavian immigrants. Wisconsin remains a center
of German-American and Scandinavian-American culture, and is
especially known for its bratwurst and kringle. Wisconsin is
home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of two of the
most important buildings designed by Wisconsin-born architect
Frank Lloyd Wright, the Taliesen studio near Spring Green and
the Jacobs I house in Madison.
The Republican Party was
founded in Wisconsin in 1854. In recent years, Wisconsin has
been a battleground state, especially in the 2016 and 2020
presidential elections.
Wisconsin is one of the nation's
leading dairy-producing states and is known as "America's
Dairyland," especially for its cheese. The state is also famous
for beer, and Milwaukee in particular has historically been home
to the headquarters of Miller Brewing Company. Wisconsin is also
well known for its drinking culture, with the most permissive
alcohol laws in the nation. The economy is dominated by
manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, and
agriculture (especially dairy, cranberries, and ginseng).
Tourism is also a major contributor to the state's economy, with
a gross domestic product of $348 billion in 2020.
The division of Wisconsin into regions is inconsistent in the
literature. Here on Wikivoyage, for convenience, we use the
following structure:
southeast
The most densely populated
region.
Milwaukee · Kenosha · Racine · Waukesha
Southwest
Characterized by lovely hilly landscapes.
Madison LaCrosse
Northeast
On Lake Michigan and around
Lake Winnebago.
Appleton · Greenbay · Oshkosh
Highlands
Lonely region in the north of the state, on the
edge of Michigan's "Upper Peninsula".
Wausau
Northwest
The region south of Lake Superior.
Eau Claire Superior
1 Madison - The capital city of Madison is notable for its location
between 3 lakes (and some smaller ones). Capitol Hill with the
symmetrical State Capitol is definitely worth seeing. Heading west from
Capitol Hill is a very busy shopping street. Also recommended are the
university and the ice cream at Michael's, a mix of soft serve and dairy
ice cream.
2 Appleton
3 Eau Claire
4 Green Bay
5 Kenosha
6 LaCrosse
7 Milwaukee With around 600,000 inhabitants, Milwaukee is
the largest city in Wisconsin.
8 New Glarus : About 40 kilometers
south of Madison is the community of New Glarus, founded by Swiss
immigrants.
Secluded beautiful Devil's Lake is situated in the Sauk County, Wisconsin. Despite its name it is a pristine lake that offers many activities.
Wisconsin River is the longest river in the state of Wisconsin, United States. Its total length is measured at 430 miles.
Beautiful pristine wilderness of the Wolf River in North Wisconsin offers both beauty and thrill to those who like white water rafting and kayaking.
Fans of American cult architect Frank Lloyd Wright can visit the master's residence ("Taliesin") and many other works in Spring Green. See also the Wisconsin/Frank Lloyd Wright special article for details.
In terms of area, Wisconsin, with 169,639 km², ranks 23rd among the 50 US states and is a little less than half the size of Germany. 28,976 km² (17%) of the national territory are water areas and 46% are covered by forest. There are around 15,000 lakes and large areas of forest in Wisconsin, so many tourists from the greater Chicago area regularly travel to the neighboring state to the north. The largest inland lake is Lake Winnebago with an area of 557 km². Geographically, Wisconsin can be divided into five regions: The northern Lake Superior Lowland includes an area along Lake Superior. To the south are the Northern Highlands, which are characterized by mixed and coniferous forests, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and thousands of glacial lakes. Timms Hill is also the highest point in the state. The Central Plains have some notable sandstone formations in addition to fertile farmland. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands of the southeast are home to the state's largest cities. The Western Uplands show an alternation between forests and farmland.
Wisconsin has a length of 500 km between latitudes 42° 30' N and 47° 3' N and a latitude of 420 km between latitudes 86° 49' W and 92° 54' W.
Wisconsin is bordered by Lake Superior and Michigan to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, Illinois to the south, and Iowa and Minnesota to the west.
Wisconsin's climate shows little regional variation, in part due to the small elevation variation within the state. According to Köppen, the southernmost part of Wisconsin is in the humid continental climate with hot summers (Dfa). All other areas of Wisconsin are in the humid continental climate with warm summers (Dfb). Wisconsin summers are warm and sometimes muggy; Temperatures above 30 degrees occur, but are not the norm. Wisconsin winters begin as early as November as the colorful Indian Summer draws to a close. Significant amounts of snow often fall throughout Wisconsin in the winter.
With its 5.8 million inhabitants (2020), known as Wisconsinites,
Wisconsin ranks 20th among the American states, has around 400,000 fewer
inhabitants than Hesse and, with 34 inhabitants per square kilometer, is
only half as densely populated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania .
The population was composed of 87.0% White, 6.7% African American,
3.0% Asian, 1.2% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander. 2.0% were of
other origins. 2.0% of the population descended from two or more ethnic
groups. Regardless, 7.1% of the population was Hispanic or Hispanic.
21.8% of the population was under 18 years old, 60.7% between 18 and
64 and 17.5% 65 or older. 50.2% of the population was female.
Wisconsin is consistently ranked as the worst living state for African
Americans. Wisconsin has the highest black infant mortality rate in the
United States; in Milwaukee it is twice as high among black infants as
among white ones. The black population is far above average often below
the poverty line or in prison. 70% of the black people in the state live
in Milwaukee, where almost half of all African-American men between the
ages of 20 and 40 have already been sentenced to prison. During the 2010
US Census, 12.8% of all black men in Wisconsin were incarcerated, the
highest in the US. In addition, there are particularly strict penal laws
that disproportionately affect African Americans.
Historically,
there are close ties between Germany and Wisconsin. Almost half of the
inhabitants are descended from German immigrants. City names such as
Berlin, New Berlin, Kiel, New Holstein and Rhinelander indicate the
origin of the town's founders. Especially after the failed revolution of
1848, many disappointed and persecuted German democrats were drawn to
this part of the USA, which had only recently been opened for
settlement. The German revolutionary Carl Schurz was one such
forty-eight man and lived in Wisconsin for some time. In 1856, his wife
Margarethe Meyer founded the first kindergarten in the United States in
Watertown. In order to look after the immigrants religiously, e.g. B.
1860 Franciscan Minorites from Bremen to America. Among them was u. a.
Constantin Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff (1841–1901), who worked as a
missionary in Wisconsin for over 30 years.
The development of the
state's largest city, Milwaukee, was also heavily influenced by German
influences. According to Samuel Freeman's The Emigrant Handbook, in 1851
there were six German-language newspapers in the city nicknamed "German
Athens." Around 1880, 27 percent of the city's population were native
Germans. One legacy of the first generation of immigrants was the strong
community spirit of Milwaukee citizens. The city has always been
considered very progressive in social matters. In 1910, Emil Seidel
became the first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States.
The German immigrants have also left their mark in the culinary
field. The big breweries Pabst, Blatz, Schlitz and Miller earned
Milwaukee the reputation of the American beer capital. Bratwurst and
sauerkraut are still very popular today. Even the fast food chain
McDonald's briefly offered sausages in Wisconsin, which are usually just
called brats. However, the First World War led to a severe reduction in
the emphasis on German traditions and the relationship to the old
homeland. Even the sauerkraut was temporarily renamed liberty cabbage;
This partly forced, partly voluntary assimilation came to a conclusion
during the Second World War. The Germanfest takes place in Milwaukee
every year. In 2000 about 1% of the population spoke German.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Wisconsin. As of 2000,
there were three major denominations: Catholics, mainline Protestants,
and Evangelicals. The Catholic Church has the largest number of
parishioners. Distribution of state population by religion:
Christians - 81%
Protestants - 50%
Lutheranism - 23%
Methodism
- 7%
Baptist - 5%
Presbyterianism - 2%
United Church of Christ
2%
Other Protestant churches - 15%
Roman Catholic Church - 29%
Other Christian churches - 2%
Other religions - 1%
Unaffiliated -
15%
According to 2012 FBI statistics, there were 173 intentional and negligent homicides, 1,219 rapes, 4,622 robberies, 10,050 aggravated assaults and 140,513 property crimes in Wisconsin. Per 100 thousand residents, the crime rate in the state is noticeably lower than in the United States as a whole; for example, murders are committed by more than a third less.
The state is named after the Wisconsin River. Although the exact
etymology of this name is unknown, it is believed that it came into
English through a French interpretation of a Native American name.
French explorer Jacques Marquette became the first European to reach the
Wisconsin River, visiting in 1673 and naming the river Meskousing in his
journal. The French most likely recorded Meskousing as a Miskasinsin
Algonquian word meaning "place of red stone." However, it is possible
that the name came from the Ojibwe language and means "gathering of
waters" or "large rock". The name was later corrupted by other French
explorers as Ouisconsin, under which name the river and its surrounding
area were marked on French maps, and in the early 19th century, newly
arrived English-speaking settlers anglicized it to its current form.
The current pronunciation was officially adopted by the Wisconsin
Territory Legislature in 1845. The name is usually abbreviated as WI,
Wis or Wisc.
Over the past 12,000 years, Wisconsin has seen a variety of cultures.
The first people appeared here around 10,000 BC., during the Wisconsin
Glaciation. These were Paleo-Indians who hunted now-extinct Ice Age
animals, as evidenced by the Boaz Mastodon, a mastodon skeleton
discovered with a hunting spear in southwestern Wisconsin. After the end
of the Ice Age around 8,000 BC. people of the subsequent Archaic period
lived by hunting, fishing and collecting wild plants. Agricultural
society gradually emerged during the Woodland period (ca. 1000 BC - 1000
AD). By the end of this period, Wisconsin was the center of a
mound-building culture that left behind thousands of figured mounds. The
number of mounds in Wisconsin exceeds the number in the rest of the
United States. Later, between 1000 and 1500, the Mississippian and
Oneotian cultures built fairly large settlements, including a fortified
village near Aztalan in the southeast of the state. The Oneota may be
the ancestors of the modern Iowans and Winnebagos, who shared the
Wisconsin region with the Menominee at the time of European contact.
Other American Indians who inhabited Wisconsin during European
colonization, including the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo
tribes, migrated to Wisconsin from the east during the 16th and 17th
centuries.
In 1634, French explorer Jean Nicolet, attempting to
find the Northwest Passage, landed near Green Bay and became the first
European in what is now Wisconsin. Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Chouart de
Groselier visited the Green Bay area in 1654–1666 and Shequamegon Bay of
Lake Superior in 1659–1660, where they traded furs with local Indians.
In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet first crossed Wisconsin by
canoe along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, thus reaching the Mississippi.
The region belonged to France until 1763, but after the Seven Years' War
it became part of Great Britain.
After the American Revolution,
Wisconsin became part of the Northwest Territory of the United States,
but the British effectively continued to control the area until the
Anglo-American War of 1812–1815. As this territory split, Wisconsin
became part of the Indiana, Illinois and Michigan territories. The
Wisconsin Territory organized on July 3, 1836 and became the thirtieth
state on May 29, 1848.
Under U.S. control, Wisconsin's primary
economy shifted from the fur trade to mining. During the first half of
the 19th century, Wisconsin was an important source of lead. As treaties
and Indian Wars opened up the territory to white settlers, thousands of
miners flocked to southern Wisconsin, many of them immigrants from
Cornwall. At one time, Wisconsin produced more than half of America's
lead. During the lead boom, it even seemed that the metal-rich southwest
of the state would become the most populous, and the city of Belmont
briefly became its capital. However, by the late 1840s, readily
available reserves were largely depleted, and many miners were caught up
in the California gold rush. Wisconsin is still full of echoes of the
events of this period. Galena is the state's official mineral, and
Wisconsin is nicknamed the "Badger State" because many miners, who
arrived faster than housing could be built, lived with their families in
the mines, like badgers in dens. Place names like Mineral Point also
recall this period of Wisconsin history.
At the end of the 19th
and beginning of the 20th centuries, thousands of immigrants from
Germany and Scandinavian countries settled in Wisconsin.
In
1941-1943, the world's largest ammunition production plant, Badger Army
Ammunition Plant, was built in Wisconsin near the city of Baraboo on an
area of 30 km².
Two battleships were named in honor of the state:
USS Wisconsin (BB-9) and USS Wisconsin (BB-64).
The flag of Wisconsin is a blue flag with the Wisconsin Seal centered on it. In the middle, under the lettering 'Wisconsin' and above the year '1848', there is the state coat of arms from 1851, which shows a sailor and a miner as symbols of work on land and at sea as a shield holder.
Wisconsin will have ten voters in the Electoral College for the 2024
United States presidential election, as it has since 2004.
In
Germany, people temporarily became aware of Wisconsin in 2002 because
the then Prime Minister of Hesse, Roland Koch, also propagated the local
welfare model Welfare to Work (work instead of welfare). This model goes
back to the former governor and ex-US Secretary of Health Tommy
Thompson, who introduced the “Wisconsin Works” (W-2) program in 1997 and
was able to significantly reduce the number of welfare recipients.
Whether and how this concept can also be implemented in Germany is
controversial. In terms of its population and economic structure,
Wisconsin can hardly be compared to German conditions. Only in the south
(Madison, Milwaukee) are there larger cities where social problems are
tangible to a significant extent.
Wisconsin politicians,
regardless of party affiliation, have consistently been champions of
progressive politics and social reform. The most important political
figures in the history of the state include Robert M. La Follette Sr.,
1901-1906 governor and 1905-1925 Republican senator of Wisconsin and
later founder and presidential candidate of the Progressive Party,
Joseph McCarthy, a Republican in the 1950s hunted down actual or alleged
communists in social life, and Russ Feingold, a well-known former
senator who belonged to the progressive-liberal wing of the Democrats.
Wisconsin is one of the states that can currently be described as swing states in the USA. Its contrasts between rural-conservative and metropolitan-liberal regions ensure a balanced political balance between the major parties in the USA. As a result, the results of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections in Wisconsin were very close. In 2004, John Kerry won the ten electoral votes with a lead of 0.4 percent; Al Gore's victory four years earlier was even closer. Originally, however, Wisconsin is one of the states where the Democrats have slight advantages over the Republicans. Between 1932 and 2004, the Democrats won eleven times and the Republicans only eight times. From 1988 to 2012 there were only Democratic victories in presidential elections. In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won with 47.2% of the vote (Hillary Clinton 46.5%). Trump, however, lost the 2020 election to his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
In the Senate of the 117th Congress, Wisconsin is represented by Republican Ron Harold Johnson and Democrat Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin. The state's delegation in the House of Representatives consists of five Republicans and three Democrats.
In the spring of 2011, a power struggle raged in Wisconsin between Republican Governor Scott Walker and a large portion of public sector employees because Walker wanted to de facto abolish union bargaining power in order to impose drastic spending cuts. This led to chaotic conditions, such as the occupation of the State House in Madison by demonstrators. Democratic senators also left the state to block a vote on the bill. The opposition's planned recall of the governor failed, with Walker receiving 54% of the vote.
The current governor of Wisconsin is Democrat Anthony Steven Evers, his deputy (Lieutenant Governor) is Sara Rodriguez, who is also a Democrat.
The Wisconsin Legislature consists of two chambers, the Wisconsin State Assembly (House of Representatives) with currently 96 members (3 vacant, regular 99) and the Wisconsin Senate which currently has 33 members. Each 3 assembly districts (lower house constituencies) form a Senate constituency. Republicans held the majority in both chambers in July 2022.
The real gross domestic product per capita (per capita real GDP) was
USD 53,565 in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states: USD 57,118;
national ranking: 20). The unemployment rate was 3.2% in November 2017
(national average: 4.1%).
The main industry is still agriculture.
Because of its intensive dairy farming, the state is called “America’s
Dairyland.” The country's residents are also jokingly called
Cheeseheads, so fans of the famous Green Bay Packers football team like
to wear hats in the shape of a triangular Emmentaler. The heyday of
Wisconsin's dairy industry began in the 1880s with the introduction of
silage technology and the use of refrigerated cars on the railroad. Both
made it possible to produce dairy products of consistent quality and
export them outside of Wisconsin. As early as 1899, more than 90% of all
agricultural businesses specialized in dairy farming. Between 1915 and
1993, Wisconsin was the largest producer of dairy products in the United
States. The state was then replaced by California, where dairy farms
were often of “industrial size” compared to the family farms of
Wisconsin. However, in 2020, Wisconsin was still the largest producer of
cheese in the United States.
But Wisconsin also has a strong
industrial economic base. Milwaukee became “America’s toolbox” during
the New Deal and World War II eras. The Kohler plumbing factory is based
in Sheboygan, Harley-Davidson motorcycles as well as Briggs & Stratton
lawnmowers come from Milwaukee, and the bicycle manufacturer Trek has
its headquarters in Waterloo. The mail order company Lands' End, which
is also represented in Germany, has its headquarters in Dodgeville.
Wisconsin is often called "America's Dairy Farm" because the state is
famous for its cheese production. According to a common stereotype,
Wisconsin is a remote place with nothing but cows. Residents of the
state are sometimes jokingly called cheeseheads. Since Wisconsin, like
other states of the continental north, was populated primarily by
Germans at the beginning of the 20th century, large quantities of beer
are produced and consumed there.
Wisconsin's two main cities,
Milwaukee and the capital, Madison, are centers of cultural life in the
state. Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of
the top public universities in the United States, and the small town is
built largely around it. In contrast, Milwaukee is a large city and part
of the Chicago metropolis. The Milwaukee Art Museum is known for its
distinctive architecture.
The Green Bay Packers have played in the National Football League
since 1921 and hold the record for titles with 13. The Milwaukee Bucks
have played in the National Basketball Association since 1968, winning
two national championships and three conference titles.
The
Milwaukee Braves played Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1965, winning
one World Series and two National Leagues, after which they moved
states. The Milwaukee Brewers have competed since 1970. In 1982, they
won the American League to play in the World Series.
In college
sports, the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference have won three
Rose Bowls and 14 conference championships in football, as well as a
national championship in men's basketball. Meanwhile, the Marquette
Golden Eagles won a men's basketball national championship.
The
Milwaukee Mile Oval is the oldest active road course in the world,
opening in 1903. It is known for hosting the AAA National Championship,
AAA National Championship, CART and currently the IndyCar Series, as
well as the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR Truck Series. For its
part, the CART, the IMSA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series,
the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the CanAm and the Trans-Am have competed
at Road America.
Whistling Straits Golf Course has hosted the PGA
Championship and the US Veterans Open.