Smith - From Exploration to Statehood

THE HISTORY OF
WISCONSIN

THE HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
in six volumes

William Fletcher Thompson
General Editor

VOLUME I:
From Exploration to Statehood
By Alice E. Smith
VOLUME II:
The Civil War Era, 18481873
By Richard N. Current
VOLUME III:
Urbanization & Industrialization, 18731893
By Robert C. Nesbit
VOLUME IV:
The Progressive Era, 18931914
By John D. Buenker
VOLUME V:
War, a New Era, and Depression, 19141940
By Paul W. Glad
VOLUME VI:
Continuity and Change, 19401965
By William F. Thompson

THE HISTORY OF
WISCONSIN

VOLUME I

From Exploration to Statehood

ALICE E. SMITH

WILLIAM FLETCHER THOMPSON
General Editor

WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESS

Copyright 1973 by
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN

E-book edition 2013

SECOND PRINTING, 1985

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www.wisconsin history .org

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Smith, Alice Elizabeth, 1896
The history of Wisconsin.
CONTENTS: v. 1. From exploration to statehood.
1. WisconsinHistory.
F581.S64 977.5 7212941
ISBN 0-87020-122-0

EDITORS PREFACE

IN 1964 A GRANT from the Western Publishing Company of Racine allowed the State Historical Society of Wisconsin to plan the production of a definitive multi-volume History of Wisconsin. The primary purpose was to afford the opportunity for a better understanding of Wisconsins distinguished record of effort and achievement. This was to be accomplished by synthesizing more than a century of scholarship in Wisconsin history, by undertaking new research where needed, and by striving for literary as well as scholarly excellence in the writing of the volumes. By 1965 an Advisory Committee had secured generous gifts from Wisconsin business firms and foundations to supplement substantial pledges of support from the Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin; the authors had been chosen; a research staff had begun work under the direction of the editor and authors. Now, after seven years of research and writing, the Society offers the first of the six volumes to be published, Alice E. Smiths History of Wisconsin. Volume I: From Exploration to Statehood. The remaining five volumes, carrying the history of the state from 1848 into the decade of the 1960s, will be published over the next several years.

This undertaking has received help and support on a genuinely statewide basis. State and local government agencies, church, farm, business, and labor organizations, and many private individuals have graciously made available their records, knowledge, and talent. Their contributions will be acknowledged in the appropriate volumes.

Still other individuals and organizations have supported and assisted this undertaking in its entirety: Leslie H. Fishel, Jr., Richard A. Erney, and James Morton Smith, and the staff of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin; the members of the History of Wisconsin Advisory Committee, Donald C. Slichter, its chairman, and Horace M. Benstead, Andrew H. Clark, Bernard C. Cohen, Charles N. Glaab, J. Willard Hurst, Bryant E. Kearl, Robert C. Nesbit, Frederick I. Olson, Francis Paul Prucha, and Walker D. Wyman; and Fred Harvey Harrington, the Graduate School, the Social Science Data and Computation Center, and the Cartographic Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin. To each of these, to Paul H. Hass, Book Editor of the State Historical Society, and to the many research assistants whose recognition will come in this or succeeding volumes, the Editor here expresses his thanks for their loyal and patient support.

WILLIAM FLETCHER THOMPSON

AUTHORS PREFACE

ANY ATTEMPT TO RELATE two and a half centuries of history in a single volume demands compression. In introducing this series of six volumes on the history of Wisconsin, a special problem presents itself: the fact that the period of French and British exploration and exploitation had been covered nearly a half century earlier by Louise Phelps Kellogg and published by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in two volumes, one on the French regime in 1925, one on the British regime ten years later. For the years of American rule, however, there was no comparable study. The fulfillment of the need for such a study was greatly facilitated by the opening of the immense collection of records in the National Archives in Washington pertaining to the Wisconsin region during the years when it was part of the Michigan Territory (18181836) and Wisconsin Territory (18361848).

The scholars answer to the dilemma of combining the old with the new, actually of writing two books in one, has been in the nature of a compromise. The early yearsthose preceding the direct assumption of authority by the United States at the close of the War of 1812receive a general treatment, on the assumption that readers who desire detailed information will consult the Kellogg volumes. The later years receive a more intensive treatment. In other words, this volume is basically a history of Wisconsin from 1815 to 1848, preceded by a survey of the years leading up to 1815.

The sense of obligation in preparing any work of scholarship is strong. A word of appreciation seems to be in order for countless individuals and groups who have cleared the way: writers of journals and letters; compilers of biographical dictionaries and guides to collections; census enumerators and office workers who tabulated results; librarians and archivists who made books and records available to researchers; writers of theses and more mature scholars who fitted seemingly disparate pieces together, placed them in their historical setting, and explained their meaning. More immediately, to the librarians and archivists who administer and service the wealth of historical material at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin, I extend my thanks.

To others who have contributed even more directly to the writing of this book, I am particularly grateful. Harold Moser deciphered dozens of rolls of microfilmed archival records, scanned newspapers, and scrutinized the chapters on politics. Jack Holzhueter explored a wide range of missionary records for the chapter on religious history. George Roeder and Jeanne Delgado were tireless in ascertaining the truth and eliminating error, both in text and footnotes. Grace Argall and Delores Prosser typed what must often have seemed to be never-ending revisions. Ruth Davis patiently indexed what finally became a very large book. Bill Thompson, Peerless Leader of the research group and General Editor of the series, was the catalyst who held all phases of the work together. He suggested improvements in the style and content of the manuscript, and always had an optimistic faith that the end product would be a credit to the many who have made this volume possible.

ALICE E. SMITH

CONTRIBUTORS

THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.

FIRST WISCONSIN FOUNDATION, INC.

THE JOURNAL COMPANY