Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Post-war African-American Migration
Throughout its history, Wisconsin has attracted people from diverse backgrounds. Unlike many of the older states to the east and south, Wisconsin was not a place where white Protestant and English-speaking people developed a social, political, and economic dominance. The tensions and conflicts that occurred were primarily centered along religious and linguistic lines, rather than race, as various ethnic groups settled in the state. However, in the twentieth century, as more African Americans came to Wisconsin seeking jobs in urban areas, race became the overriding factor that determined the circumstances under which they were allowed to settle and become a... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | African American housing conditions in Milwaukee in 1955 |
 | A survey of black families in rural Wisconsin, 1959 |
| Milwaukee residents discuss the city's racial problems, 1965 |
| Wisconsin's African American population from statehood through 1910 |
| A 1950 guide to African American businesses |
| A survey of African Americans in Madison, 1966 |
| Interviews with residents of South Madison |
| A survey of African American housing in Madison, 1959 |
 | A detailed look at Milwaukee's black community in 1946 |
| William Rasche advocates on behalf of African American workers |
| An African American woman describes her migration to Wisconsin in 1917 |
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