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The state attracted fur trappers before the American Revolution, and enjoyed a lead mining boom in the 1830s. Wisconsin was a mining state before it was a farm state. Metallic lead could be picked up from the ground without digging. Cornish miners (from Britain) 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>  

The state attracted fur trappers before the American Revolution, and enjoyed a lead mining boom in the 1830s. Wisconsin was a mining state before it was a farm state. Metallic lead could be picked up from the ground without digging. Cornish miners (from Britain) 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 less heavily 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>

Southwestern Wisconsin is now a less heavily 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> The Southeast, which includes Milwaukee and the suburban corridor running south to Chicago, is now the most populous section of the state.

Wisconsin cannot be stereotyped politically. It is often associated with the name of anti-communist crusader of the 1950s [[Joseph McCarthy]], but is equally tied to that of [[Robert M. La Follette]] and his Progressive faction of the Republican Party and the [[Progressive Party]]. Socialists flourished in [[Germania]] in Milwaukee, typified by [[Victor Berger]], the first Socialist Party candidate elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. 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> The state is usually a battleground in presidential elections.  Its Republicans tend to be moderates, such as [[Tommy Thompson]], who served as a four-term governor from 1987 to 2001, then entered the cabinet. Currently, Republicans control the Wisconsin Senate by a 19-14 seat margin and the State Assembly by a 60-38-1 margin.

Wisconsin cannot be stereotyped politically. It is often associated with the name of anti-communist crusader of the 1950s [[Joseph McCarthy]], but is equally tied to that of [[Robert M. La Follette]] and his Progressive faction of the Republican Party and the [[Progressive Party]]. Socialists flourished in [[Germania]] in Milwaukee, typified by [[Victor Berger]], the first Socialist Party candidate elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. 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> The state is usually a battleground in presidential elections.  Its Republicans tend to be moderates, such as [[Tommy Thompson]], who served as a four-term governor from 1987 to 2001, then entered the cabinet. Currently, Republicans control the Wisconsin Senate by a 19-14 seat margin and the State Assembly by a 60-38-1 margin.