As settlers continued moving westward during the nineteenth century, the United States was a mix of states and large territories. From 1805-1837, Wisconsin was part of the Michigan territory. James Duane Doty spearheaded the movement …
Government
OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe
This Ojibwe presentation pipe consists of two pieces: a pipe bowl and a pipe stem. It was most likely for spiritual ceremonies. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the pipe bowl is carved from heavy …
Wisconsin Bicycle Tourism
M.C. Rotier, the publisher and editor of The Pneumatic, a Wisconsin periodical and trade journal dedicated to bicycles in the 1890s, called bicycling “the most independent, healthful, rapid, and convenient mode of travel” in the …
Wisconsin’s Ancient History in the Kickapoo Valley
If you look closely, the landscapes around us tell stories about the past. Sometimes in the curve of a road, a line of trees, or stretch of prairie careful observers can find evidence of the …
OBJECT HISTORY: Old Abe, the Live War Eagle
A bald eagle stands guard over the State Assembly Chamber in Wisconsin’s Capitol building. Between two and three feet tall, the raptor has the characteristic white head and tail feathers, a brown body, and a yellow beak and talons. He sits atop a tree stump in front of a large mural called Wisconsin that represents the state’s…
OBJECT HISTORY: CCC Pillow Sham
Created in 1933, this commemorative pillow sham was just one of a number of textiles created by second-generation Hungarian immigrant Rose Mary Drab to honor her brother Edward’s service in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Rose Mary appliquéd the black cotton sateen sham with a small cotton tent, a blue eagle and two small stars, and hills, pine…
OBJECT HISTORY: A Ballot Box
When was the last time you voted? Today? Yesterday? Maybe last week? Voting can be simple and a good way to let people know what you want. You may have voted, for example, on where …
The Works Projects Administration – An Answer to the Great Depression
In 1929, the United States fell into the deepest economic hole the country has known: the Great Depression. Over the three years following the economy’s collapse in 1929, 3,392 banks across the country closed their …
Wisconsin’s 1918 Special Election for Senate and the Trial of Victor Berger
In 1918, Wisconsin held a special election to fill the seat of recently deceased Senator Paul Husting, who had been elected in 1914. The election was a three-way race between Democrat Joseph E. Davies, Republican Irvine L. Lenroot, and Socialist Victor L. Berger. Running under federal indictment, Berger placed third. He won 26% of the vote statewide in the April Senate election, winning 11 counties.
Victor Berger and the Sewer Socialists
Victor Berger, one of the “Sewer Socialists,” became the first Socialist to serve in the United States House of Representatives, winning the election in Wisconsin’s 5th congressional district in 1910.