Immigration in WisconsinStarting point for Projects alongside (background information):• “Strangers in the Midst” Reading• Wisconsin Immigration Reading• Immigration Video• Chapter 8 in your textbook

Overview• End of the 19th century, Wisconsin had the highest population of any

state of foreign-born residents• Primarily Germans, Scandinavians, and Poles• Popular destination in addition to being home to many tribal peoples

• 1820s – emigration of several Indian communities – Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohicans, Oneidas, Brothertown – to escape exploitation in the East

• Secured land from the Menominee and Ho-Chunk and established communities

• Many people – Anglo Americans (“Yankees”), African American, Mexican American, and Puerto Ricans – came to Wisconsin from elsewhere in the United States.• Wisconsin place names remind us of our ethnic diversity and have made a mark

on the cultures of both urban and rural areas.• Settlement patterns shaped the make-up of today’s populations.

• Immigration trends to Wisconsin correspond to periods of American history (Civil War, Industrialization, WWI, Great Depression, WWII, Korean War, Indochina War)• High during Irish potato famine, during failed German revolts, and when

Wisconsin became a state.

Age of Exploration• Fur Trade initially brought French explorers to Wisconsin.• Offered trade goods (beads, kettles, guns, and blankets) to Indian

hunters, in exchange for valuable beaver pelts and other furs.• 1634 – Jean Nicolet was the first French explorer in Wisconsin

(Green Bay)• French modeled their birch bark canoes after those of Indian groups

and followed their routes to explore the Great Lakes region.• French established outposts (trading posts, Catholic missions, and

military forts), until the British conquered their North American empire in 1763.

Changes to the State• 1836-1860: many people flooded to Wisconsin• Population increased from 11,000 to 775,881• First immigrants tended to settle in the southern parts of the state• Came because of social and economic changes in Europe, coupled

with natural disasters such as the potato blight in Ireland• 1850 – one-third of the state’s population was foreign-born

(100,000)• Only about 48,000 could claim English as their native language (half

being Irish)• Germans by far the most numerous non-English speaking

immigrants, followed by Norwegians and Canadians of French descent.

• Yankees rose to dominance because they knew the mechanics of land surveys and sales and had a line of credit to get started• Imposed institutions, ideas, and customs

Why Wisconsin?• 1852-1855: Wisconsin Commission of Emigration actively

encouraged the settlement of European immigrants• Fuel for the state’s growth• Published pamphlets in German, Norwegian, Dutch and English

and distributed them throughout Europe and at eastern port cities.

• 1855 – commission was disbanded with a rising anti-foreign sentiment, primarily directed at Irish Catholics. • Didn’t deter immigrants – foreign population continued to increase• Propaganda produced by land speculators• Letters home encouraged friends and family to come• Books/Guides of personal experiences helped other immigrants plan their

voyage

European Immigration• U.S. took control of Wisconsin in 1815• First new groups to settle were Anglo Americans (English-speaking U.S.

citizens, or “Yankees”) and British (English, Cornish, Scottish, Welsh)• 1840s – waves of large groups of Germans (from various small German-

speaking states) and Irish settlers.• Milwaukee became a heavily German city, with German-language schools,

clubs, and newspapers.• Later in the 19th century, Scandinavians (Norwegians, Swedes, Danes,

Finns, and Icelanders) settled mainly in rural areas.• Other Western European immigrants were Dutch (Netherlands), Belgians

(French- or Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium), Swiss (German-speaking and French-speaking parts of Switzerland), Poles (Polish-speaking regions) and other Eastern Europeans settled in both urban and rural areas.

• Immigration slowed dramatically after the end of WWI due to a growing American mistrust and fear foreigners (especially Germans and those from Southern and Eastern Europe, which national laws restricting immigration).

Groups’ Experiences• British immigrants, easily assimilated into Yankee culture

• Enterprising, aggressive, and well-educated and more likely to be businessmen, merchants, or other professionals (not settling in enclaves)

• Cornish settled in an ethnic island of miners in the lead region of the southwest.• With the decline of mining, they readily assimilated to farming and other small-town

occupations.• Irish were most easily identified English-speaking – poor and Catholic

• Average Irish immigrant spent seven years in the U.S. before moving to Wisconsin – often ghettoized in urban areas by their poverty and faith.

• Worked in the lead region in mines and support industries such as lumbering, smelting, and rail construction.

• Southeastern counties and Milwaukee – laborers, domestics, and artisans• Germans settled in both city and countryside – appeal with land and familiar

climate• Three waves of immigration• Settled into ethnic enclaves – schools, churches, other community organizations based

on German culture and identity. • Norwegian immigrants came with farming background

• Settled in colonies representing their own districts and dialects.• Took whatever land was left and turned it into productive farms “Scandihoovian Indians”

African American Migration• First wave came with Europeans but came in more significant numbers

in the 1850s when they escaped slavery. • Many settled to become farmers (in the rural southwestern part of the

state). • Southeastern and eastern part of the state became a center of abolitionism

and one of the northern destinations of the Underground Railroad.• During WWI, many arrived as part of the Great Migration to work in large

war industries and many more came after WWII.• While the number of African Americans remained small during the 19th century,

segregation remained limited.• As the population grew in the state, so did the amount of segregation.

• In 1940 African Americans lived mostly in the “core” area of Milwaukee due to economic limitations and social prejudice elsewhere – today 80% of the state’s African American population live in Milwaukee, while the other 20% primarily live in Beloit, Madison, and Janesville.• The core continued to expand northward through 1980.• Many African Americans had jobs in the section of the city, called the Industrial

belt.• Prejudice and poverty kept African Americans living in the Core.

Most Recent Arrivals• From Asia and Latin America – most were U.S. citizens before they came to

Wisconsin.• Latinos – include many Latin American groups (largest group being Mexican

Americans)• Many of the first arrivals settled in rural southeastern Wisconsin as farmworkers from

South Texas.• Puerto Ricans (U.S. possession of Puerto Rico – are U.S. citizens) – settled in

Milwaukee after WWII.• Immigrants from Cuba, Central America, and South America have arrived more

recently.• Asians have settled mainly in cities in eastern and central Wisconsin.

• Fled the aftermath of the Vietnam War in the 1970s – fleeing harsh communist rule.• Many settled in California before coming to Wisconsin• Most were Hmong (tribal ethnic group originally from the highlands of Laos)

• Laotians (Buddhist ethnic group originally from the lowlands of Laos)• Vietnamese• Koreans immigrated after the end of the Korean War in 1953• Additional immigrants came from China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and other

countries to Wisconsin to seek work or educational opportunities.