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The state tree is the sugar maple, the state song is "On Wisconsin", the state flower is the wood violet, the state bird is the American [[robin]], the state animal is the [[badger]], the state [[fossil]] is the [[trilobite]], and the state fish is the [[muskellunge]]. [http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/scc/kids/facts.htm]

The state tree is the sugar maple, the state song is "On Wisconsin", the state flower is the wood violet, the state bird is the American [[robin]], the state animal is the [[badger]], the state [[fossil]] is the [[trilobite]], and the state fish is the [[muskellunge]]. [http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/scc/kids/facts.htm]

Wisconsin's nickname, "The Badger State," recalls the lead mining boom of the 1830s. Wisconsin was a mining state before it was a farm state. Native Americans knew about lead deposits; initially, metallic lead could be picked up from the ground without digging. Cornish miners were some of the earliest European settlers of the state.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-026/?action=more_essay Lead Mining in Southwestern Wisconsin]</ref> Southwestern Wisconsin is now a sparsely populated agricultural region, but for a while it was the economic center of the state. The first state capital was Belmont,<ref>{http://www.belmontwi.com/pages/1/index.htm Belmont Wisconsin] town website</ref> located about thirty miles from Dubuque, Iowa). Lead mining peaked in the mid-1840s, and the California gold rush of 1849 drew many miners away. The current population of Belmont is 891.<ref>[http://www.idcide.com/citydata/wi/belmont.htm Belmont profile], idcide website.</ref>

Wisconsin's nickname, "The Badger State," recalls the lead mining boom of the 1830s. Wisconsin was a mining state before it was a farm state. Native Americans knew about lead deposits; initially, metallic lead could be picked up from the ground without digging. Cornish miners were some of the earliest European settlers of the state.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-026/?action=more_essay Lead Mining in Southwestern Wisconsin]</ref> Southwestern Wisconsin is now a sparsely populated agricultural region, but for a while it was the economic center of the state. The first territorial capital was Belmont,<ref>{http://www.belmontwi.com/pages/1/index.htm Belmont Wisconsin] town website</ref> located about thirty miles from Dubuque, Iowa). Lead mining peaked in the mid-1840s, and the California gold rush of 1849 drew many miners away. The current population of Belmont is 891.<ref>[http://www.idcide.com/citydata/wi/belmont.htm Belmont profile], idcide website.</ref>

Wisconsin cannot be stereotyped politically. It is often associated with the name of anti-communist crusader [[Joseph McCarthy]], but is equally tied to that of Robert M. La Follette and his Progressive Party. [[Victor Berger]], the first socialist elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Frank Zeidler, the Mayor of Milwaukee from 1948-1960 was the last in a string of twelve socialist mayors of Milwaukee, whose emphasis on the basics of municipal service led them to be called "sewer Socialists."<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-043/?action=more_essay Milwaukee Sewer Socialism], Wisconsin State Historical Association]</ref>

Wisconsin cannot be stereotyped politically. It is often associated with the name of anti-communist crusader [[Joseph McCarthy]], but is equally tied to that of Robert M. La Follette and his Progressive Party. [[Victor Berger]], the first socialist elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Frank Zeidler, the Mayor of Milwaukee from 1948-1960 was the last in a string of twelve socialist mayors of Milwaukee, whose emphasis on the basics of municipal service led them to be called "sewer Socialists."<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-043/?action=more_essay Milwaukee Sewer Socialism], Wisconsin State Historical Association]</ref>