The history of Wisconsin is a familiar one in the American narrative of westward expansion. Seventeenth-century French and British explorers began by trading with the Native Americans and soon ousted them from their land. The European settlers who followed – predominantly Germans, Scandinavians and Poles – tended to be liberal and progressive; such major national social programmes as labour laws for women and children, assistance for the elderly and the disabled, and unemployment compensation found their first manifestation in the USA right here.
Wisconsin today is best known for its liquids. The milk from all those cattle yields cheeses of all kinds, while the beer, as the song says, is what made Milwaukee famous. Sparkling Madison apart, Wisconsin’s other cities can veer toward the quiet and tame side, but they’re also safe and amiable.