Shipwrecks are junction points of history. In seeking to make sense of the submerged material culture found in shipwrecks, this book explores maritime-related stories that shaped the Midwest and the nation during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In shipwrecks, we find stories of the frontier, the environment, immigration, politics, and the rise of large-scale agriculture, lumbering, and heavy industry. Individually and collectively, the chapters that comprise this book also place the Great Lakes against a broader background of international and national maritime processes that shaped the Upper Midwest during the 19th and early 20th centuries. For those interested in the Wisconsin or Midwestern history, yet unfamiliar with ships and the historical power of water, this book will also provide exciting new perspectives for understanding the past"--