The 30th state admitted to the US was on Wisconsin, on May 29th, 1848. Wisconsin's name was from the Algonquian-speaking Tribe's name for the Wisconsin River, which was "Meskousing". French explorer Jacques Marquette recorded this name in 1673, and over time it shifted into Ouisconsin, Wiskonsan, and finally settled into the current name, Wisconsin. It is the state where the very first kindergarten classes in the country were held, as well as the first ever ice cream sundae. Wisconsin adopted the term "cheesehead" from the German soldiers who used it to insult the Dutch during World War II. It is now the name to describe the cheese-lovers of Wisconsin. Ginseng grown from Wisconsin is currently ten percent of the world's supply, and almost all of the total production for the US. Wisconsin is also the producer of 60% of the nation's cranberries. In this state, you can experience the most snowfall ever recored in one season, as well as the "Malibu of the Midwest" for freshwater surfing in another season. Madison is the capitol of Wisconsin. The state bird is the American Robin, the state flower is the Common Blue Violet, and the state tree is the Sugar Maple.
About 13,000 years ago, indigenous people arrived to the land now called Wisconsin during, or shortly after, the last continental glacier melted away in the last Ice Age. They hunted wooly mammoth, bison, and mastodon. Over time, the Woodland Indians evolved into pottery and Earthen home builders that were connected to the land, growing corn and other crops, and building weapons to hunt with like the bow-and-arrow. Years later, the Mississippian Culture was formed through migration from what is now known as St. Louis, and they traded pottery and goods. Plazas were built, and fortified towns were created. The Mississippians moved out of the state and the Oneota culture arose. Descendants of the Oneota were the Menominee, Ho-Chunk (Winnegbago), and Dakota (Eastern Sioux). After them, the Ojibwe (Chippewa) migrated to the area around CE 1500. There was much more migration in the mid-1600's from the East during the Iroquois Wars. The Sauk, Meskwaki (Fox), Potawatomi, Mascouten, Kickapoo, Ottawa, Miami, and Huron were some of the tribes that arrived. Each of the different peoples that arrived came with their own beliefs, customs, language, and culture, and they tried to share land in Wisconsin.
In 1634, Jean Nicolet and missionary Jacques Marquette were the first white settlers that came to trade fur. Both the French and the English had worked with Native Americans for over 150 years until this point. Settlers needed room to expand, and the government created room for them without any regard to the Indigenous who had lived there for thousands of years. In 1804, a fake treaty was used to force the Sauk and Fox tribes to cede their land claims. This led to the Black Hawk War of 1832, and this eventually led to a treaty that forced the Sauk and Fox tribes to give up around 50 million acres of land to the US in exchange for $2,234.50 and $1000 per year annuity. Native Americans were placed onto reservations and treaties were discontinued by 1871. The federal government worked to shift the culture of the indigenous to the image of white settlers. The General Allotment Act of 1887 caused more tribes to lose more land. By 1934, Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) that dismantled the reservation system and the protection of the Native Americans and their property, and in 1975, one tribe called the Menominee were able to restore their status with the help of grassroots activist groups. For more than a century, Wisconsin tribes have shown courage and strength in fighting the federal government to maintain their sovereignty.
Wisconsin became a state in 1848 after the citizens of the area approved a new constitution. This process started in 1836 when the state separated from other territories after decades of governance. The population grew to over 130,000, and the people voted in a new constitution that was more moderate and allowed the legislature to charter banks, omitted women's property rights, and helped Black male suffrage. It was approved in a March 1848 referendum.
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