| | 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]].<ref>http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/scc/kids/facts.htm</ref> | | 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]].<ref>http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/scc/kids/facts.htm</ref> |
| | The first people believed to have inhabited Wisconsin are called "Paleo-Indians", adaptable communities believed by those who accept [[evolution]] to have lived around 12,500 to 8,000 years ago,<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-002/?action=more_essay First Peoples]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> although evidence strongly points to a more recent timeframe. In the centuries surrounding the life of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]], the natives began to domesticate and build great mounds—culminating in the Effigy Mounds culture during the [[Early Middle Ages]].<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-004/?action=more_essay Effigy Mounds Culture]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> Around AD 1000, a new people and a relatively advanced culture, the Middle Mississippian culture, penetrated the area, emigrating from ceremonial city of Cahokia, which is estimated to have had tens-of-thousands of inhabitants.<ref name="Mississippian">[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-003/?action=more_essay Mississippian Culture and Aztalan]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> They built several communities in Wisconsin, which was at the far north of their reach, and they lasted until about AD 1200.<ref name="Mississippian"/> After European settlers started advancing inward, numerous native peoples moved westward, many of them settling in Wisconsin.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-005/?action=more_essay Iroquois Wars of the 17th Century]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> | | The first people believed to have inhabited Wisconsin are called "Paleo-Indians", adaptable communities believed by those who accept [[evolution]] to have lived around 12,500 to 8,000 years ago,<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-002/?action=more_essay First Peoples]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> although evidence strongly points to a more recent timeframe. In the centuries surrounding the life of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]], the natives began to domesticate and build great mounds—culminating in the Effigy Mounds culture during the [[Early Middle Ages]].<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-004/?action=more_essay Effigy Mounds Culture]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> Around AD 1000, a new people and a relatively advanced culture, the Middle Mississippian culture, penetrated the area, emigrating from ceremonial city of Cahokia, which is estimated to have had tens-of-thousands of inhabitants.<ref name="Mississippian">[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-003/?action=more_essay Mississippian Culture and Aztalan]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> They built several communities in Wisconsin, which was at the far north of their reach, and they lasted until about AD 1200.<ref name="Mississippian"/> After European settlers started advancing inward, numerous native peoples moved westward, many of them settling in Wisconsin.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-005/?action=more_essay Iroquois Wars of the 17th Century]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> |
| − | Europeans began exploring Wisconsin around the 1620s-30s, with Etienne Brule widely believed to have been the first European explorer to visit in 1622, although the authenticity of the account is disputed.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-006/?action=more_essay Arrival of the First Europeans]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> Wisconsin was under [[France|French]] influence until 1760, when the [[British Empire|British]] took over.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-008/?action=more_essay Colonialism Transforms Indian Life]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> | + | Europeans began exploring Wisconsin around the 1620s-30s, with Etienne Brule widely believed to have been the first European explorer to visit in 1622, although the authenticity of the account is disputed.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-006/?action=more_essay Arrival of the First Europeans]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> Wisconsin was under [[France|French]] influence until 1760, when the [[British Empire|British]] took over.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-008/?action=more_essay Colonialism Transforms Indian Life]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> The [[Fur Trade]] dominated economic activity in Wisconsin during the colonial period, where Europeans sold various items to the natives for [[beaver]] skins.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-007/?action=more_essay The French Fur Trade]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> |
| | + | On July 13, 1787, the [[Northwest Ordinance]] was adopted by the American [[Second Continental Congress]], which created a provisional government over the land northwest of the [[Ohio River]], including present-day Wisconsin.<ref name="Northwest1787">[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-009/?action=more_essay The Northwest Ordinance, 1787]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> [[Slavery]] was prohibited in this territory.<ref name="Northwest1787"/> Wisconsin only saw one conflict on its territory during the [[War of 1812]] at Fort Shelby on St. Feriole Island at Prairie du Chien in 1814.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-010/?action=more_essay The War of 1812]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> Several battles of the 1832 [[Black Hawk War]], including the [[Battle of Wisconsin Heights]], were fought in Wisconsin.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-012/?action=more_essay The Black Hawk War]. ''Wisconsin Historical Society''. Retrieved November 22, 2016.</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> | | 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> |