The Wisconsin Frontier

by Mark Wyman

Book Overview

From 17th-century French coureurs de bois to lumberjacks of the 19th century, Wisconsin's frontier era saw thousands arriving from Europe and other areas seeking wealth and opportunity. Indians mixed with these newcomers, sometimes helping and sometimes challenging them, often benefiting from their guns and other trade items. This captivating history reveals the conflicts, the defeats, the victories, and the way the future looked to Wisconsin's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253223326
• ISBN13: 9780253223326
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

The Wisconsin Frontier

This book traces the development of Wisconsin from its days as a French outpost to the farming and lumber empire it eventually became. Wisconsin experienced a gradual northwest growth from north of Chicago to the port at Superior. But this is not to say its history is either dull or predictable. The mightly rivers that dissect the state and the several Indain tribes that originally called Wisconsin home had much influence over the whites who eventually became known as the states first "settlers." This account is fast-paced and is an interesting read. People from this part of the country will enjoy reading about the formation of their state. The modern Republican Party owes its birth to Wisconsin as does the former political movement known as "Progressivism." Wisconsin also boasts of being a leading (former the leading) dairy-producing state. Timber barons denuded its northern forests (some never grew back, and would be miners found a small amount of iron. Wisconsin has a dynamic past and this book captures that development superbly.