Americanization and the Bennett Law
In the mid-nineteenth century, reformers began to view education as a means of social change. As the number of immigrants continued to grow and diversify the population, a series of efforts were launched by policy makers to assimilate these disparate groups into mainstream American culture. Learning the English language became a central focus of many Americanization efforts.
In the 19th century, Wisconsin's first white settlers were mainly Yankees from New York and New England, but in the 1840s large numbers of European immigrants, primarily Germans and Norwegians, began settling in Wisconsin. Waves of ethnic conflict periodically swept through Wisconsin, though... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
![Link to article: A white man praises the transformation of Indian children into "Americans," 1894](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A white man praises the transformation of Indian children into "Americans," 1894 |
![Link to article: Wisconsin newspapers take a stand on the Bennett Law, 1889.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Wisconsin newspapers take a stand on the Bennett Law, 1889. |
![Link to article: A Republican Senator defends the Bennett Law and Governor Hoard, 1890](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A Republican Senator defends the Bennett Law and Governor Hoard, 1890 |
![Link to article: Milwaukee's Jewish community honors the work of Lizzie Kander in 1932](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Milwaukee's Jewish community honors the work of Lizzie Kander in 1932 |
![Link to article: Ho-Chunk women form a homemaking club, 1933](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Ho-Chunk women form a homemaking club, 1933 |
![Link to article: An 1886 visit to the Menominee community of Keshena](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | An 1886 visit to the Menominee community of Keshena |
![Link to artifacts: A miniature kit teaches mothers about safe homebirths, 1938](/turningpoints/images/artifacts.gif) | A miniature kit teaches mothers about safe homebirths, 1938 |
![Link to artifacts: A hand-made prom dress](/turningpoints/images/artifacts.gif) | A hand-made prom dress |
![Link to book: A group of Democrats break from party opposition to the Bennett Law](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A group of Democrats break from party opposition to the Bennett Law |
![Link to book: A German American editor provides reasons to oppose the Bennett Law](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A German American editor provides reasons to oppose the Bennett Law |
![Link to book: An 1892 rulebook for Indian schools](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | An 1892 rulebook for Indian schools |
![Link to book: An 1898 manual for running Indian schools.](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | An 1898 manual for running Indian schools. |
![Link to book: What the government thought Indian girls needed to know (1911)](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | What the government thought Indian girls needed to know (1911) |
![Link to book: Excerpts from The Settlement Cookbook](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Excerpts from The Settlement Cookbook |
![Link to book: Reports on the progress of reform in mission kindergartens throughout Milwaukee, 1892](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Reports on the progress of reform in mission kindergartens throughout Milwaukee, 1892 |
![Link to book: A Republican Party pamphlet in support of the Bennett Law](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A Republican Party pamphlet in support of the Bennett Law |
![Link to book: Theodora Youmans emphasizes the need to educate women voters](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Theodora Youmans emphasizes the need to educate women voters |
![Link to book: Conditions on Wisconsin Indian reservations, 1909-1910](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Conditions on Wisconsin Indian reservations, 1909-1910 |
![Link to book: Statistics on government schools for Indians, 1899](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Statistics on government schools for Indians, 1899 |
![Link to book: The "Best" Books for Children, 1890](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | The "Best" Books for Children, 1890 |
![Link to images: Ojibwe girls learn to use sewing machines, 1895](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Ojibwe girls learn to use sewing machines, 1895 |
![Link to images: Oneida Indians at church and school in Hobart, Wis., ca. 1910](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Oneida Indians at church and school in Hobart, Wis., ca. 1910 |
![Link to images: Pictures of the Potawatomi from the 1820's to the 1920's](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Pictures of the Potawatomi from the 1820's to the 1920's |
![Link to manuscript: William Dempster Hoard defends the Bennett Law](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | William Dempster Hoard defends the Bennett Law |
![Link to manuscript: Alfred Bridgman's English-Menominee word list from the 1870s](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Alfred Bridgman's English-Menominee word list from the 1870s |
![Link to manuscript: Frank Bridgman's Menominee vocabulary, 1878](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Frank Bridgman's Menominee vocabulary, 1878 |