| Show I 1 I I The Wolverine State Is Years Old P td f r II By ELMO SCOTT WATSON I 1 I N JANUARY 26 the state of Michigan will celebrate ON its one ate hundredth birthday f Now there may be someone who will wUl take exception i to that statement and say But Michigan has already I celebrated her centennial She did that two years ago ogo and ond the United States Post Office department recognizing N November No vember 1 1835 as os the Wolverine states state's birthday Issued a I special commemorative stamp in her honor All AH of which is perfectly true and if you look in some as reference books you'll find November 1 1835 given as os the I a date of Michigan's admission to the Union But in others you'll also find January 26 1837 as the date So how can cann cana n a state have two birthdays and which is correct correct Novem Novem November e ber bet 1 1835 or January 26 1837 The answer is that both of them are more or less correct but that the latter has the better claim to being the real birthday And thereby hangs the talc tale of the parol paral paradoxical para paro- o l position in which the state of Michigan found it itself Itself Itself It- It self a century ago For at that time it t had passed the 4 territorial stage had a regularly organized state government government govern govern- I ment and was In the United States but it was neither ter- ter J If It nn nor state of if the United States ter-I ter To get at nt the origins of or au oil all j this situation it Is la necessary to toCo toJ togo J Co go o back to the year 1755 when Michigan was still a part of the j empire of Ills His Majesty King Xing George III of ot England In that year one John Mitchell an i English physician and scientist L j published in London a great map of America in eight large sheets T f i This map was accepted as the I i ii i I i f 1 t r S t r. r yap I kr PK I 1 F ir y F 1 basis for determining the bounda bounda- boundaries boundaries x ries rice from that time lime until after th the r treaty of peace which ended th the e x Revolution Mitchells Mitchell's Idea of th the e lay of the tho land in the Old Northwest Northwest North North- west was rather hazy so there ther e were a n number of errors in hl his s mop map Some of these were fortunate fortunate fortunate fortu fortu- nate for the United States fn for they enabled the new nation notion t to tolay u lay Jay claim to more land than i it t would have obtained if U the ma map p had been correct Mitchells Mitchell's Mistake Mitchell made the mistake of i charting the foot of Lake Michigan Michi Michl gan an in latitude 41 degrees 20 minutes Instead of 41 degrees 37 31 minutes His map was used as 81 a 11 guide In 1787 1181 when congress adopted an ordinance for the government government gov gov- of the Northwest Territory Territory Terri Terri- I tory gory Including the present states Kv v of Ohio Michigan Indiana sere sere- Illinois 1111 Illi nol nois and Wisconsin The ordinance ordinance nance trance provided that two of tho the 4 five states should lie north of an W east and west line drawn through the southern bend or extreme of y Lake Michigan The preamble of the ordinance also stated that its Ita articles should forever remain remain re re- main unalterable unless by com corn common mon consent s h hs In 1800 Ohio was set off oft from t the Northwest Territory ing Ina the eastern portion of Michigan Michigan Michi Michi- Michigan gan but in 1802 the whole of the I Lower Peninsula was annexed to 3 t the Territory of Indiana In that j year ear also congress authorized the theA 1 A people of 01 Ohio to form a state It government for lor entrance into the t Union Accordingly a conventi convention conven conven- ti tion Uon was held to draw up a con con- A trapper told the 4 delegates that the actual foot of I Lake Michigan was some dis di t tance south of the point shown on Mitchells Mitchell's map mop So the canny 4 Buckeyes determined to get all aU that was coming to them stipulated that if the east tast and west line laid down by congress should M IV fall so far tar south as to miss Lake Erie Ohio would then claim all alle e territory to the northernmost cape capo of at Miami bay s y On June 30 1805 Michigan was set oft off as a separate territory with substantially its ita present limIts limits lim lim- its and Gen Geo William Hull was k appointed its first territorial gov cov a Hull HuU Is chiefly remembered try because of his surrender of Detroit to the British at the outbreak outbreak out out- break of the War of 1812 when I he gave o up that strategic post t without making any attempt to 4 defend it It He lie was succeeded the following year aa a as governor by Lewis Cass one of the most remarkable remarkable re re- remarkable figures In American history Because of his tance in the f u history of Michigan If he will wUl be considered at more i. i length later in this article i r A Youthful Governor Cass served as governor until 1831 when he was succeeded by byi i Ge George rge Bryan Dryan Porter who died in July 1834 Serving as secre seere- L tary gory of the territory under Porter was a year old Virginian Virgin Virgin- ian named Stevens Thomson Ma Ma- son lon He lie had come to Michigan from Kentucky and after alter Porters Porter's Porters Porter's Por Por- ter's tens death he was made acting governor As such he played a D leading role In the exciting but bloodless Toledo war But Dut before belore beginning the story of that affair it is necessary to cut back briefly to 1805 when Michigan was made a D territory The act of congress creating the Territory of Michigan fixed the southern boundary as provided Inthe In Inthe inthe the ordinance of 1787 The result result re re- sult suit was that the new territory claimed a strip of land some five or six miles wide across the entire southern side of Lake Erie including the port of To To- ledo But Dut retorted the Buckeyes Buckeyes Buck Duck eyes our land Wo We laid claim to it three years ago and we Intend to have it So S there was an acrid dispute which dragged along unsettled for 30 years By Dy 1835 Michigan was ready to become a state slate and sought to enforce enforce enforce en en- force its Us claim on the Lake Erie Eri e strip But Dut Ohio had its Miami Miam i and Erie canal system under construction and wanted an outlet outlet outlet out out- let for tor it ft in Toledo Mason th the e youthful denounced governor of Michigan denounced this Ohio steal nn and d the people of his state stole barked backs d him up in his determination t to assert Michigan's claim to lh the e Lake Erie strip In n March 1835 lea leahe 5 he rushed a thousand Michigan n militiamen into Toledo resolved resolve d to hold it t against the Buckeyes Buckeye s at all costs At the same some time dine Gov If Robe RoberT bert r Lucas of Ohio called out his m mi- mi I w l J i M I 1 1 f fr fr r r S 1 M ii All All' CASS CLIFF MEMORIAL lORIAL On Mackinac 1 Island litla litia and marched to Perrysburg rg with of them to protect t U the Ohio surveyors who were runni running ng a northern boundary line line far far farenough ar enough north to Include Toledo Toted Moreover the Ohio legislature re formed a county out of the d dIsputed disputed dis dIs- territory including Toledo Toled o and gave It the name of Luc Lucas in honor of their governor An Early Night Court When Wien the Michigan militia I 1 forcibly ejected the Ohio surveyors survey survey- y ors it was up to Lucas to asse assert rl t not only military but Judicial so sovereignty sovereignty sov sov- over this region I He lIe Ie I began issuing commissions to county officers and at midnight one night while the Michigan d defenders de de- fenders of Toledo slept a gro group up of Buckeyes stole into the to town with law books and judicial p papers papers pa pa- pers and hurriedly went through t h the formalities of hold holding ng court Having laving done this till they raced their horses back to the protection of the Ohio troops troop s Michigan's retort to such actio actions ns was to catch and imprison eve every Inhabitant of the disputed terrItory terri terrI- ter tory who accepted a commission commissi on from Governor Lucas or otherwise otherwise other other- oth wise indicated allegiance to Oh Ohio id Next the Ohio legislatures legislature in s special p pee e c I a I session appropriated ed and authorized Its fig fight ht ing tag governor to borrow more to maintain Ohio's la L f x s A j r egy vt V i tk fr 1 14 tL r s Ec r 7 t J T ta od f 1 r i t 4 4 L A K y t q I 4 4 a v JOHN JOliN MITCHELL'S MITCHELLS 1755 MAP 1 OF THE TilE OLD NORTHWEST I tion over the Lake Erie strip The Ohio adjutant general reported reported re re- ported to Lucas that militia militia mili mili- mIHi i tia were ready to march and drive the out of Lucas Lucas Lu Lu- Lucas cas county where fights between en the rival factions were occurring almost daily dally Jackson Intervenes As the situation became Increasingly increasingly Increasingly In in- critical the federal government began to take notice President Andrew Jackson requested requested re re- requested quested both sides to declare a truce until congress could settle the dispute That was perfectly satisfactory to the Buckeyes for they knew that the President wason wason was wason on their side in the matter In congress Illinois and Indiana lined up with Ohio and her cause was further aided in August 1835 1833 when Governor Mason was removed from office for his warlike warlike war war- like activities General Brown Drown then disbanded the Michigan troops and the Toledo war was over While it was In progress Michigan MichIgan Mich Mich- igan had begun Its long struggle for statehood In January 1835 the territorial legislature had ha d I passed an act enabling the peo pen people people pie of Michigan to form farm a and draw up a By a census taken th the e previous year there were some rota residents in Michigan 27 27 more than the minimum o of t demanded by congress A constitutional convention wa waT ar held on May 11 and not only waa was wa wasa s a constitution drawn up but a an n election of state officers members members mem mem- bers to the legislature and representatives representatives representatives rep rep- to congress was wa s planned for the first Monday i in n October Congress was unwilling to accept accept accept ac ac- Michigan's bid for statehood d because of the southern boundary boundary boundary bound bound- ary described in the state constitution constitution i because the election o of t 1838 1836 was at Dt hand and the administration administration administration ad ad- ministration was afraid of ot losing g gal the important bloc of electoral elector al votes from Ohio Indiana and IllinoIs Il 11 Il- Il if the Michigan boundaries were accepted and because th the e admittance of Michigan would woul d upset the equilibrium of pro an and d slave anti states At the state election former forme r Governor Mason more popular r than ever because of his activity I around Toledo was elected go governor governor gov gov- v and during the first three thre e days of November 1835 a d de e facto state was organized MIchIgan's Mich MIch- igans igan's representative and her two senators were refused their seats In congress although Senator Thomas Benton Denton of Missouri championed the cause of the Wolverines in reporting the senate senate sen sen- ate bill for tor admission For more than a year the wordy battle batUe and the parliamentary struggle had continued All AU this time timo Michigan existed in the embarrassing embarrassing em em- position of being a government within the bounda bounds boundaries boundaries ries of the United States and ye yet not a part of the Union Vietor Victory at Last Finally congress proposed i e a compromise Ohio was to get ge the disputed wide seven strip and in return Michigan was wes given the upper peninsula although the east end of the peninsula peninsula peninsula pe pe- pe- pe had always been Michi Michi- gans In this trade Michigan gained the Lake Superior copper district although its true value was not known for lor some time Arkansas having been admitted to the Union the slave states no longer opposed Michigan's en en- trance tranco and on January 28 26 1837 1831 the Wolverine state was formally admitted into the Union Earlier In la this article reference was made to the importance o of one ono man in the history of the thi state which is celebrating its one hundredth birthday on m 1 January 26 28 Although Lewis Cass did t f. f play any direct part in the sll ug gle of ot Michigan for statehood had it not been for his earlier cattier activities there might not have been a commonwealth of Michigan MIchigan Michi MIchi- gan g an or at least its entrance into the sisterhood of states might have been delayed even longer Cass was born in New Hampshire Hampshire Hamp Hamp- shire in 1782 and at an early age Joined his father in Ohio where the elder Cass a major inthe inthe in inthe the army was commandant at Fort Hamilton Young Cass studied studIed stud stud- fed law began his practice at Zanesville Zanes in 1802 and at the age of twenty five was elected to the Ohio volunteers then a colonel in the regular army and as a brigadier general fought under Harrison at the Battle Dattle of the Thames Themes where the great Indian chief Tecumseh was killed Cass' Cass Long Service A few weeks later General Cass was appointed governor of the Territory of Michigan and with the exception of a few occasional occasional occasional oc oc- absences he lived In that territory for the next 18 years ears He was also ex officio superintendent superintendent superintendent of Indian attains affairs and concerning his work in that capacity Caone capacity ca ca- one biographer has declared declared de de- de- de dared It Is no exaggeration to say that to his exertions and Influence luau ence race is due the actual possesSion possession possession posses posses- sion of the Old Northwest lie He negotiated a score of treaties of great Importance traveled through the wilderness studying study study- ing how haw he could civilize civilize- the red man and how haw he might open up the vast western region re we- gion gran to peaceful settlement He lIe started slanted surveys built roads and military works lighthouses along the lake shore arranged counties and townships started the democratic machinery of self-government self and made the taws laws which were codified and published and have since sloes been known as the Cass Cas code The record of his management of the Indian affairs Is one almost almost al al- most without parallel in the history of the United States Slates In 1831 Cass was appointed secretary of war in Jacksons Jackson's cabinet and served there until 1836 1636 when he was made ambassador ambassador ambassador ambas ambas- to France He lie resigned in 1842 because he disapproved of the Webster Ashburton treaty which fixed the boundary line between between between be be- tween Canada and Maine and which gave gove England the better military frontier Returning to Michigan Cass was elected to t i i i the United States senate in 1845 and served until 1857 except for fora a brief period In 1848 while he was the Democratic nominee for the Presidency but was defeated by Gen Zachary T Taylor In 1852 he lost the Democratic nomination nomina nomina- tion to Franklin Pierce and in 1857 he was appointed secretary of state by President Buchanan but resigned in 1860 because of Buchanan's refusal to strengthen the forts In Charleston harbor barbor Although Cass was sympathetic to the South until th the time of secession he became one of Lincoln's Lincoln's Lin Lin- coln's coins staunchest supporters dur dur- ing trig U tie e Civil war wl He ne died in Detroit In 1868 O C Wt western Wern l ro Newspaper |
