River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1925-06-25
Am Interesting History
Of the Badger State
State Has Oldest Constitution in
+ Middle West. Prohibited Internal
improvements


ern part of Wisconsin there was a
rush of settlers to the state, all
coming with the hope Of making a
fortune in the newly opened mines?
In the community around New Dig
gins, in Lafayette county, where the
first mines were opened, typical
mining craze prevailed and the life
was full of excitement. When the
state was organized as Territory in
1886, this mining region had larg-
er population and more settled
mode of life than any other section.
The story Of white settlement in
Wisconsin is that Of the American
ization of French settlement. In
this respect it differs from the
story of most Of its neighbors. In
the Indian days Wisconsin had been
meeting place for the tribes in the
west. During the white settlement
the same fate controlled, and it be-
came the meeting place Of settlers of
distinct types from different sections
of the country. 1t was not popu-
lated exclusively by the overflow
from its neighbors and thus was not
made up Of people entirely similar
to those in the adjacent states,
Melting Pot for Colonies
While Wisconsin received imnli-
grants from Michigan, Indiana and
Illinois who settled in the southeast
ern part Of the state, in addition
from the east came another type,
the Yankee, travelling long dis
lance via the Great Lakes and I'M
familiar with the western pioneer
life and its habits and its mode of
thought. From the South came the
Southerners of Kentucky stock, or
iginally springing from Virginia.
They were attracted by the lead
mines in southern Wisconsin.
This purely American stock made
UP the early population in the ter
ri1orial period from 1886 to 1913.
These were the men who framed the
state constitution and fought a
strenuous battle over the provision Of
this historic document. 1t is the old
est constitution in the Middle West,
having been amended but never re-
vised. 1t has been for n years a
monument to the foresight of the
pioneers. At that period many of
the older states had nearly bank
rupted themselves for internal i'm
ACCOMPLISHMENTS and railroads.
No Mortgage on the Future
The wise farmers of Wisconsin
took valuable lesson from their
neighbors and when the constitution
was framed in 1848 inserted clause
forbidding the state to incur indebt-
edness of any kind Except in case Of
war;" or to undertake any work of
internal improvement. This section
has been amended only once-in re-
cent years, and that only to permit
the state to enter on the work Of
highway improvement. AS conse-
quence the state has no public debt
and has paid as it built. 1t has laid
no mortgage on the future of its
citizens.
The problem of Wisconsin after
1850 was to secure additional set
tiers to occupy its virgin lands, so
there was established a bureau for
the purpose of attracting settlers
from Europe. This campaign be-
came intensive after the civil war,
and from then on heavy influx of
foreign immigration followed. The
bulk of the immigrants were Ger
mans, the Norweigans being next in
number. Other large groups were
Danes, Swedes, Irish, Belgians and
Poles. Nearly half million new
settlers came to the state in the de-
cade from 1850 to 1860--nearly twice
the increase in population for any
later decade.
Mines Attract Settlers
Wisconsin's first industry was the
fur trade. With the settlement Of
the state it receded in Importance
and today it is merely incidental
being now carried on only on a small
scale, by trappers, largely in north
ern Wisconsin. The value of skins
of wild animals sold in the state in
1913 amounted to $3,OOO,00O.
From its nature the fur trade had
little influence on the permanent set
Element of the state. The first in
dustry to have such an influence,
strangely enough was not agricul-
ture, but mining. Lead mining was
an important industry in the early
days in the northwestern part of the
state. For a period this bore all the