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[[Image:Wisconsin ref 2001.jpg|300 px|thumb|right|Geographic map of Wisconsin]]

[[Image:Wisconsin ref 2001.jpg|300 px|thumb|right|Geographic map of Wisconsin]]

'''Wisconsin''', the "Badger State", or unofficially "America's Dairyland", was the thirtieth state to enter the union, on May 29, 1848. The capital city of Wisconsin is [[Madison]].  The state is expected to be a key battleground in the [[2008 Presidential Election]].  It is the home state of former Secretary of Health and Human services, [[Tommy Thompson]], who served as a four-term governor from 1987 to 2001.

'''Wisconsin''', the "Badger State", or unofficially "America's Dairyland", was the thirtieth state to enter the union, on May 29, 1848. The capital city of Wisconsin is [[Madison]].   

The town of Ripon in Wisconsin was "The Birthplace of the [[Republican Party]]" in 1854.

The town of Ripon in Wisconsin was "The Birthplace of the [[Republican Party]]" in 1854.

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>

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>

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.

 

Wisconsin was the first state to allow women to vote in local elections, in 1840, though the right was later rescinded.

 

[[File:C-library.jpg|thumb|290px|The Carnegie Library in Ripon, built 1910]]

[[File:C-library.jpg|thumb|290px|The Carnegie Library in Ripon, built 1910]]