History

May 29, 1848

Following approval of statehood by the terriroy’s citizens, Wiconsin enters the Union as the 30th state.  In 1634, French explorer Jean Nicolet landed at Green Bay, becoming the first European to visit the lake-heavy northern region that would later become Wisconsin. In 1763, at the conclusion of the French and Indian Wars, the region, a major center of the American fur trade, passed into British control. Two decades later, at the end of the American Revolution, the region came under U.S. rule and was governed as part of the Northwest Territory. However, British fur traders continued to dominate Wisconsin from across the Canadian border, and it was not until the end of the War of 1812 that the region fell firmly under American control.

In the first decades of the 19th century, settlers began arriving via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to exploit Wisconsin’s agricultural potential, and in 1832 the Black Hawk War ended Native American resistance to white settlement. In 1836, after several decades of governance as part of other territories, Wisconsin was made a separate entity, with Madison, located midway between Milwaukee and the western centers of population, marked as the territorial capital. By 1840, population in Wisconsin had risen above 130,000, but the people voted against statehood four times, fearing the higher taxes that would come with a stronger central government. Finally, in 1848, Wisconsin citizens, envious of the prosperity that federal programs brought to neighboring Midwestern states, voted to approve statehood. Wisconsin entered the Union the next May.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 28, 1918, the Battle of Cantigny began during World War I as American troops captured the French town from the Germans; the Americans were able to resist German counterattacks in the days that followed.

On this day…

In 1863, the first black regiment from the North left Boston to fight in the Civil War.

In 1937, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington signaling that vehicular traffic could begin crossing the just-opened Golden Gate Bridge in California.

In 1937, Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain.

Ten years ago: Pakistan matched India with five nuclear test blasts of its own, raising fears of a nuclear arms race. Comic actor Phil Hartman of “Saturday Night Live” and “NewsRadio” fame was shot to death at his home in Encino, Calif., by his wife, Brynn, who then killed herself. California astronomer Susan Terebey announced she had photographed what may be a planet some 450 light years from Earth.

Five years ago: President Bush signed a 10-year, $350 billion package of tax cuts, saying they already were “adding fuel to an economic recovery.” Amnesty International released a report saying the U.S.-led war on terror had made the world a more dangerous and repressive place, a finding dismissed by Washington as “without merit.” Actress Martha Scott died in Southern California at age 90.

One year ago: The United States and Iran broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze with a four-hour meeting in Baghdad about Iraqi security. President Bush, during a Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery, honored U.S. troops who had fought and died for freedom and expressed his steely resolve to succeed in the war in Iraq. Miss Japan Rita Mori was crowned Miss Universe 2007 at the pageant in Mexico City.