Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes, and four other U.S. states (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota). Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee.

In 1634, the Frenchman Jean Nicolet was the first European to explore Wisconsin. He founded the Green Bay colony. During the next 100 years, the area was settled primarily by French fur traders. France then transferred the territory to Britain in 1763. The United States acquired the Wisconsin territory after the Revolution in 1783 but it remained under British administration until the War of 1812. The nineteenth century saw settlement by Yankees, Cornish miners, and German, Scandinavian and Swiss settlers.

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 on March 13, 1848, and was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state. 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.