WI

States, 1848

The first Europeans to reach Wisconsin were French. Jean Nicolet arrived on the shores of Green Bay in 1634, on an unsuccessful quest for a passage to China. The first mission was established in 1660 and thereafter, French trappers and missionaries explored the region. The French maintained good relations with the Indians until 1712, when war broke out between the French and the Fox Indians. The French prevailed but at a cost to their reputation with the Indians.

Following the French and Indian War, the Treaty of Paris obliged to France to cede most of its claims in North America, including Wisconsin, to Britain. British trappers and traders replaced the French and Wisconsin was appended to the province of Quebec. Following the War for Independence, Britain relinquished control to the United States.

Wisconsin was organized successively in the territories if Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. When Michigan desired to become a state, it was obliged to settle a territorial dispute with Ohio. The issue was resolved by giving the contested land on Lake Erie to Ohio, with Michigan being compensated with land from the Upper Peninsula that was taken from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's territory was organized in 1836, including some of what is now Minnesota. In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state with boundaries as they are today.

Anti-slavery sentiment was strong in Wisconsin. In early 1854, a protest meeting was held in Ripon that is considered to be the starting point of the Republican Party. Republicans dominated Wisconsin politics for most of the next century, but there was a progressive bent. In 1924, Robert La Follette, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, ran for the presidency. He received the electoral votes of only one state, Wisconsin.