Wisconsin and 

 Tobacco 



round the time that the Democratic 

 national convention nominated James K. Polk for the 

 presidency in 1844, settlers were crowding into Wis- 

 consin Territory. Among their essential supplies was cer- 

 tain to be a good quantity of tobacco ready for use. The 

 Chippewas — in whose language "Wisconsin" meant 

 "grassy place"- the Winnebagos, and other tribes grew 

 tobacco. But newcomers to lands inhabited by Indians 

 invariably rejected the harsh native tobacco, having 

 long accustomed themselves to the superior leaf pro- 

 duced in various eastern and southern American states. 

 Before their supplies ran out — and an ardent chewer 

 or smoker could consume a surprising amount of to- 

 bacco in a short time — settlers were growing and curing 

 leaf produced on their own lands. There was no thought 

 then that this agriculture might develop valuable cash 



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