Wisconsin Historical Society

March on Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project

Primary sources from the UW-Milwaukee Libraries and the Wisconsin Historical Society that provide a window onto Milwaukee’s civil rights history in the 1960s. The efforts of civil rights activists and their opponents are documented in photographs, unedited news film footage, text documents and oral history interviews.

Papers of Lizzie Black Kander

The papers of Lizzie Black Kander (1858-1940), whose social work among Russian Jewish immigrants in Milwaukee earned her the nickname, “Jane Addams of Milwaukee.” The original manuscripts are housed in three boxes (1 cubic foot) at the Milwaukee Area Research Center, Golda Meir Library, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as Milwaukee Mss DN. The papers relate to her founding and operation of the settlement house that ultimately became the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee. They include reports, correspondence, promotional brochures, clippings, materials used in publishing a cookbook for fund-raising purposes, and minutes of meetings. Photographs include portraits of Kander, images of her family, group meetings, and the exterior of the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee.

Public Documents of the State of Wisconsin

Public Documents of the State of Wisconsin, commonly known as Wisconsin Public Documents (WPD), consists of the annual and biennial reports of all important Wisconsin state agencies from 1852 through 1914.

Reminiscences of Lucien B. Caswell

A 1914 memoir by Wisconsin pioneer and civic leader Lucien B. Caswell (1827-1919). Caswell was a lawyer in Fort Atkinson and went on to be elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly and later the United States House of Representatives. Part of the State of Wisconsin Collection, University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

Senator William Proxmire Collection

Materials selected from the papers of Senator William Proxmire, who served for for 32 years in the U.S. Senate (1957-1989). Also includes transcripts of 40 oral history interviews conducted with the Senator’s friends, family and colleagues.

Somos Latinas Project Oral Histories

The Somos Latinas (We Women) History Project (2012-2016) was created to document the many significant and largely hidden contributions of Latinas in Wisconsin engaged in their communities to positively impact society in K-12 and post-secondary education, civil rights, women’s rights, domestic abuse services, immigration reform, political representation, peace and justice, and other areas. The online collection currently includes 52 interviews from 37 Latinas from across Wisconsin.

Turning Points in Wisconsin History

Primary sources, including eyewitness accounts, images and objects documenting key events in Wisconsin history. Resources are divided into ten topic categories: early Native peoples; early explorers, traders and settlers; the territorial period and statehood; immigration and settlement; the Civil War Era; mining, lumber and agriculture; the Progressive Era; 20th century wars; industrialization and urbanization; and 20th century change.

Wisconsin Blue Books

The Wisconsin Blue Book has been published every other year since 1885. Each volume includes information and statistics on life in Wisconsin, including government, population, geography, history, election data, educational resources, social services, finance, agriculture, industry and transportation systems.

Wisconsin Citizen Petitions, 1836-1891

This collection comprises citizen petitions written to the legislatures of the Wisconsin Territory and later the State of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1891. At the time, petitions were the only direct means for citizens to communicate with the government. From requesting dams, roads, and money to build schoolhouses, to recording views on slavery, suffrage, and statehood, these petitions reveal what settlers wished to achieve for their communities, and the ways in which they hoped to connect Wisconsin to the expanding commerce and intellectual life of the United States.

View All