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Wisconsin's Life In The 19th Century

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The 19th century was a pivotal point in our state’s foundation. That being said, one cannot discuss the imperativeness of Wisconsin and its connection to the outside world without maintaining its staples of industry at the forefront of conversation. Though Wisconsin brought a cornucopia of cultures and new ideas into it from Europe in the 1800s, the chief bridge between it and the rest of the world is, unequivocally, its labor complex and the fruits it bore. At the conception of its settlement, Wisconsin’s expansive wilderness was nothing short of irresistible to all those who witnessed its magnitude. Even before its permanent settlement, both Native Americans and French explorers preceded the eventual constancy and relished in the bounty of fresh resources and adequate life. A majority of the land and climate was prime for the most efficient farming …show more content…

Though agriculture clearly played a fundamental role in Wisconsin’s existence, no component proved more paramount than that of timber. This realm more than any else molded Wisconsin into the self sufficient commercial-centric state that it is today, and thus propelled it into the public eye. Even Eau Claire early on was notable for maintaining a distinct and reputable timber industry itself. Not only did the plethora of wood provide more than enough resources to aid in constructing the ever-expanding popular railroads, which physically connected Wisconsin to everywhere else, but it also metaphysically shifted Wisconsin from settlement transience to established permanence. Settlers would no longer live in rudimentary shacks, but true, massively statured buildings. As a result of the booming timber industry, Wisconsin served as the idyllic autonomy in the eyes of everyone who dared looked. Wisconsin’s cities leaped in both size and population as its major production fields symbiotically erected and evolved them from the ground

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