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Wisconsin
Wisconsin (state), in the north central United States, bordered by Lake Superior on the north, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the northeast, Lake Michigan on the east, Illinois on the south, and Iowa and Minnesota on the west. Wisconsin received its name from the Wisconsin River, the name of which is derived from the French version of an Ojibwa term that may mean "gathering of the waters" or "place of the beaver." It is customarily known as the Badger State because the miners who were among the first settlers in the region lived in mine shafts or dug their homes out of the hillside and lived underground, as badgers do. Madison is the capital of Wisconsin. Milwaukee is the largest city.
Wisconsin entered the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state. It is one of the leading states in agriculture. Especially noted for its cheese production, the state is sometimes called the Cheese Capital of the Nation or America's Dairyland. The greater part of the state is composed of rolling plains that yield productive crops and fodder for the dairy industry. Wisconsin also has substantial heavy industry, centered around Milwaukee and nearby cities along the shore of Lake Michigan.
In Wisconsin at the beginning of the 20th century, Robert La Follette and the Progressives evolved their theories of good government in close collaboration with leading scholars at the University of Wisconsin. Roughly half a century later, Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy stirred deep controversy among Americans with his views on Communism and how to eradicate it in the United States.
Wisconsin ranks 22nd in size among the states. It covers 169,639 sq km (65,498 sq mi), including 4,740 sq km (1,830 sq mi sq mi) of inland water. Also under jurisdiction of the state is 24,237 sq km (9,358 sq mi) of waters in lakes Michigan and Superior. Wisconsin is roughly rectangular in shape, except for the Door Peninsula, which is about 130 km (about 80 mi) long and separates Green Bay from Lake Michigan. Wisconsin has a maximum length from north to south of about 480 km (about 300 mi) and a width from east to west of about 450 km (about 280 mi).
Other cities in Wisconsin
Appleton
Beloit
Brookfield
Eau Claire
Fond Du Lac
Germantown
Green Bay
Janesville
Lake Geneva
Milwaukee
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