Immigration in Wisconsin

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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).

7. 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”

8. 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.

9. 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.