Politics, Society & Government

Vernon County / La Farge / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve / Region 6 - South West / Politics, Society & Government / Object Histories / Nature & Environment / 1960-1980 / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve

This concrete obelisk stands near the Kickapoo River and is located a mile north of the village of La Farge.  It rises nearly a hundred feet above the river valley floor. The tower was constructed more than forty years ago as part…

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September 9, 2020

Sheboygan County / Region 5 - Center East / Greenbush / 1800-1820 / 1820-1840 / 1840-1860 / Politics, Society & Government / Object Histories

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 to get dinner. You and one family…

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September 9, 2020

Studio portrait of Increase A. Lapham in suit and tie, photographic print, c 1859. Image ID: 43831 Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Waukesha County / Region 8 - South East / Delafield / Lapham Peak Observation Tower / Related Stories / 1820-1840 / 1840-1860 / Politics, Society & Government / 1860-1880 / Science & Medicine / Nature & Environment

Increase Lapham and the Founding of the United States Weather Bureau

As immigration to Wisconsin swelled in the 1840s, so, too, did the state’s scientific and technological community, with innovations across industries ranging from agriculture and manufacturing to geology and environmental studies. Among Wisconsin’s first “pioneer scientists” was Increase A. Lapham, a young…

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September 8, 2020

An official WPA poster. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons.

Lapham Peak Observation Tower / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960

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 doors and over $1 billion in deposits…

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September 8, 2020

Map of Indian Settlements - including Potawatomi of Forest County, c. 1962. Image ID: 91434 Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Forest County / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat' / Region 2 - North East / Related Stories / Politics, Society & Government / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment / Ethnicity & Identity / Religion

Missionaries and Land Rights: The Story of Erik Morstad and the Potawatomi

Some histories are not as straightforward as others, especially when cultures collide. It may come as no surprise that stories about the interactions between Native Americans and white settlers are sometimes one-sided. We can partly attribute this to the European tradition of…

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September 8, 2020

Victor Berger Campaign Banner / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Related Stories / Milwaukee County / Politics, Society & Government / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Ethnicity & Identity / Curators' Favorites / Global Connections

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.

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April 13, 2020