Michigan () is a
Midwestern state of the
United States of America. The name Michigan is a French adaptation of the
Ojibwe term
mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake".
Michigan is the eighth most populous state in the United States. It has the longest freshwater shoreline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five
Great Lakes, plus
Lake Saint Clair. In 2005, Michigan ranked third for the number of registered
recreational boats, behind
California and
Florida. Michigan has 64,980 inland lakes. A person in the state is never more than six miles (10 km) from a natural water source, or more than from a Great Lakes shoreline.
Michigan is the only state to consist entirely of two
peninsulas. The
Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is often dubbed "the mitten" by residents, owing to its shape. When asked where in Michigan one comes from, a resident of the Lower Peninsula may often point to the corresponding part of his or her hand. The
Upper Peninsula (often referred to as The U.P.) is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the
Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km)-wide channel that joins
Lake Huron to
Lake Michigan. The Upper Peninsula is economically important for tourism and natural resources.
History
Michigan was home to various
Native Americans centuries before
colonization by Europeans. When the first European explorers arrived, the most populous and influential tribes were
Algonquian peoples—specifically, the
Ottawa, the
Anishnabe (called "Chippewa" in French, after their language, "Ojibwe"), and the
Potawatomi. The Anishnabe, whose numbers are estimated to have been between 25,000 and 35,000, were the most populous.
Although the Anishnabe were well-established in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, they also inhabited northern
Ontario, northern
Wisconsin, southern
Manitoba, and northern and north-central
Minnesota. The Ottawa lived primarily south of the Straits of Mackinac in northern and western Michigan, while the Potawatomi were primarily in the southwest. The three nations co-existed peacefully as part of a loose confederation called the
Council of Three Fires. Other First Nations people in Michigan, in the south and east, were the
Mascouten, the
Menominee, the
Miami, and the
Wyandot, who are better known by their French name, "Huron".
17th century
French
voyageurs explored and settled in Michigan in the 17th century. The first Europeans to reach what later became Michigan were those of
Étienne Brûlé's expedition in 1622. The first permanent European settlement was made in 1668 on the site where Father (
Père, in French)
Jacques Marquette established
Sault Sainte-Marie.
Saint Ignace was founded in 1671 and
Marquette in 1675. Together with Sault Sainte-Marie, they are the three oldest cities in Michigan. "The Soo" (Sault Ste. Marie) has the distinction of being the oldest city in both Michigan and Ontario. It was split into two cities in 1818, a year after the U.S.-Canada boundary in the Great Lakes was finally established by the U.S.-U.K. Joint Border Commission.
In 1679,
Lord La Salle of France directed the construction of the
Griffin, the first European sailing vessel on the upper Great Lakes. That same year, La Salle built
Fort Miami at present-day
St. Joseph.
18th century
In 1701 French explorer and army officer
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded
Le Fort Ponchartrain du Détroit or "Fort Ponchartrain on-the-Strait" on the strait between Lakes St. Clair and Erie, known as the
Detroit River. Cadillac had convinced
King Louis XIV's chief minister,
Louis Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain, that a permanent community there would strengthen French control over the upper Great Lakes and repel
British aspirations.
The hundred soldiers and workers who accompanied Cadillac built a fort enclosing one
arpent (about .85 acre, the equivalent of just under per side) and named it
Fort Pontchartrain. Cadillac's wife,
Marie Thérèse, soon moved to Detroit, becoming one of the first white women to settle in the Michigan wilderness. The town quickly became a major
fur-trading and shipping post. The "Église de Saint-Anne" (Church of Saint Ann) was founded the same year. While the original building does not survive, the congregation of that name continues to be active today.
At the same time, the French strengthened
Fort Michilimackinac at the Straits of Mackinac to better control their lucrative fur-trading empire. By the mid-eighteenth century, the French also occupied forts at present-day
Niles and Sault Ste. Marie, though most of the rest of the region remained unsettled by Europeans.
From 1660 to the end of French rule, Michigan was part of the Royal Province of
New France. In 1759, following the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham, in the
French and Indian War (1754–1763), Québec City fell to British forces. Under the 1763
Treaty of Paris, Michigan and the rest of New France passed to Great Britain.
During the
American Revolutionary War, Detroit was an important British supply center, but most of the inhabitants were either Native Americans or French-Canadians. Because of imprecise cartography and unclear language defining the boundaries in the 1763 Treaty of Paris, the British retained control of Detroit and Michigan. When Quebec was split into Lower and Upper Canada in 1790, Michigan was part of
Kent County, Upper Canada. It held its first democratic elections in August 1792 to send delegates to the new provincial parliament at Newark (now
Niagara-on-the-Lake).
Under terms negotiated in the 1794
Jay Treaty, Britain withdrew from Detroit and Michilimackinac in 1796. Questions remained over the boundary for many years, and the United States did not have uncontested control of the Upper Peninsula and
Drummond Island until 1818 and 1847, respectively.
19th century
During the
War of 1812,
Michigan Territory (effectively consisting of Detroit and the surrounding area) was captured by the British and nominally returned to Upper Canada. American forces forced the British out in 1813 and pushed into Canada.
The
Treaty of Ghent implemented the policy of "Status Quo Ante Bellum" or "Just as Things Were Before the War." That meant Michigan stayed American, and the agreement to establish a joint US-UK boundary commission also remained valid. Subsequent to the findings of that commission in 1817, control of the Upper Peninsula and of islands in the St. Clair River delta was transferred from Ontario to Michigan in 1818. Mackinac Island (to which the British had moved their Michilimackinac army base) was transferred to the U.S. in 1847.
The population grew slowly until the opening of the
Erie Canal in 1825. This brought a large influx of settlers to Michigan because it made transportation by ships through the Great Lakes possible. By the 1830s, Michigan had 80,000 residents, which were more than enough to apply for statehood.
In 1836 a state government was formed, although
Congressional recognition of the state was delayed pending resolution of a boundary dispute with Ohio. Both states claimed a 468-square-mile (1,210 km
2) strip of land that included the newly incorporated city of
Toledo on Lake Erie and an area to the west then known as the "
Great Black Swamp." The dispute came to be called the
Toledo War. Michigan and Ohio militia maneuvered in the area but never exchanged fire. Congress awarded the "Toledo Strip" to Ohio. Michigan received the western part of the Upper Peninsula as a concession and formally entered the Union on January 26, 1837.
Thought to be nearly valueless, the Upper Peninsula was discovered to be a rich and important source of lumber, iron, and copper. These became the state's most sought-after natural resources and generated early wealth. Geologist
Douglass Houghton and land surveyor
William Austin Burt were among the first to document many of these resources. Developers rushed to the state. Michigan led the nation in lumber production from 1850s to the 1880s. The lumber harvested in Michigan was shipped to the rapidly developing prairie states, Chicago, to the
eastern states, and even all of the way to Europe.
The first official meeting of the
Republican Party took place July 6, 1854 in
Jackson, Michigan, where the party adopted its platform. Michigan made
a significant contribution to the
Union in the
American Civil War and sent more than forty regiments of volunteers to the Federal armies.
20th century to present
Michigan's economy underwent a massive change at the turn of the 20th century. The
birth of the automotive industry, with
Henry Ford's first plant in
Highland Park, marked the beginning of a new era in transportation. Like the steamship and railroad, it was a far-reaching development. More than the forms of public transportation, the automobile transformed private life. It became the major industry of
Detroit and Michigan, and permanently altered the socio-economic life of the United States and much of the world.
Grand Rapids, the second-largest city in Michigan, is also a center of automotive manufacturing. Since 1838, the city had also been noted for its thriving furniture industry. Started because of ready sources of lumber, the furniture industry declined in the late 20th century.
Michigan held its first
United States presidential primary election in 1910, and in 1920 Detroit's WWJ became the first radio station in the United States to regularly broadcast commercial programs. Throughout that decade some of the country's largest and most ornate
skyscrapers were built in the city. Particularly noteworthy are the
Fisher Building,
Cadillac Place, and the
Guardian Building which are National Historic Landmarks.
Detroit boomed through the 1950s, at one point doubling its population in a decade. After the 1950s, Detroit's population began to shift to its suburbs, accelerating after racial strife in the 1960s and high crime rates in the 1970s and 1980s.
Michigan is the leading auto producing state in the U.S. even though some of the industry has shifted to less expensive labor overseas and in the
Southern United States.
[National Association of Manufacturers (February 2008).. Retrieved on January 11, 2009.] With more than ten million residents, Michigan remains a large and influential state, ranking eighth in population among the fifty states.
The
Metro Detroit area in the southeast corner of the state is the largest metropolitan area in Michigan (roughly 50% of the population resides there) and one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country. The
Grand Rapids/
Holland/
Muskegon metropolitan area on the west side of the state is the fastest growing metro area in the state presently, with over 1.3 million residents as of 2006.
Metro Detroit's population is growing, and Detroit's population is still shrinking, though strong redevelopment in central part of the cities and a significant rise in population in the outskirts of the city are contributing to some population inflow. A period of economic transition, especially in manufacturing, has caused economic difficulties in the region since the
recession of 2001.
Government
]]
State government
Michigan is governed as a
republic, with three
branches of government: the
executive branch consisting of the
Governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the
legislative branch consisting of the
House of Representatives and
Senate; and the
judicial branch consisting of the
one court of justice. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by
initiative,
referendum,
recall, and
ratification.
Lansing is the
state capital and is home to all three branches of state government.
The
Governor of Michigan and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once. The current
Governor is
Jennifer Granholm. Michigan has two official
Governor's Residences; one is in Lansing, and the other is at
Mackinac Island.
The
Michigan Legislature consists of a 38-member
Senate and 110-member
House of Representatives. Senators serve four-year terms and Representatives two. The
Michigan State Capitol was dedicated in 1879 and has hosted the state's executive and legislative branches ever since.
Law
The
Michigan Court System consists of two courts with primary jurisdiction (the Circuit Courts and the District Courts), one intermediate level appellate court (the
Michigan Court of Appeals), and the
Michigan Supreme Court. There are several administrative courts and specialized courts. The
Michigan Constitution provides for voter initiative and referendum (Article II, § 9, defined as "the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature, called the referendum. The power of initiative extends only to laws which the legislature may enact under this constitution").
Michigan was the first state in the Union, as well as the first English-speaking government in the world,
to abolish the death penalty, in 1846.
David Chardavoyne has suggested that the
abolitionist movement in Michigan grew as a result of enmity towards the state's neighbor, Canada, which under British rule made public executions a regular practice.
Politics
Voters in the state elect candidates from both major parties. Economic issues are important in Michigan elections. The three term Republican Governor
John Engler (1991-2003) preceded the current Democratic Governor
Jennifer Granholm. The state has re-elected its current Republican Attorney General
Mike Cox since 2003. Michigan supported the election of Republican Presidents
Ronald Reagan and
George H.W. Bush. However, the state has supported Democrats in the last five presidential election cycles. In 2008,
Barack Obama carried the state over
John McCain, winning Michigan's seventeen electoral votes with 57% of the vote. Democrats have won each of the last three, nine of the last ten, and fifteen of the last eighteen
U.S. Senate elections in Michigan with confidence on national economic issues posing a challenge. Republican strength is greatest in the western, northern, and rural parts of the state, especially in the Grand Rapids area. Republicans also do well in suburban Detroit which tends to be an important factor in deciding statewide elections. Democrats are strongest in the east, especially in the cities of
Detroit,
Ann Arbor,
Flint, and
Saginaw.
Historically, the first formal meeting of the
Republican Party took place in
Jackson, Michigan on July 6, 1854 and the party thereafter dominated Michigan until the
Great Depression. In the
1912 election, Michigan was one of the six states to support progressive Republican and third party candidate
Theodore Roosevelt for President after he lost the Republican nomination to
William Howard Taft.
Michigan remained fairly reliably Republican at the presidential level for much of the twentieth century. The state was one of only a handful to back
Wendell Willkie over
Franklin Roosevelt in
1940, and supported
Thomas E. Dewey in his losing bid against
Harry Truman in
1948. Michigan went to the Democrats in presidential elections during the 1960s, and voted for Republican
Richard Nixon in 1972.
Michigan was the home of
Gerald Ford, the 38th
President of the United States. He was born in Nebraska and moved as an infant to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up there.
[ ] The
Gerald R. Ford Museum is located in Grand Rapids.
Administrative divisions
State government is decentralized among three tiers — statewide, county and township. Counties are administrative divisions of the state, and townships are administrative divisions of a county. Both of them exercise state government authority, localized to meet the particular needs of their jurisdictions, as provided by state law. There are 83
counties in Michigan.
Cities,
state universities, and villages are vested with
home rule powers of varying degrees. Home rule cities can generally do anything that is not prohibited by law. The fifteen state universities have broad power and can do anything within the parameters of their status as educational institutions that is not prohibited by the state constitution. Villages, by contrast, have limited home rule and are not completely autonomous from the county and township in which they are located.
There are two types of
township in Michigan:
general law township and
charter.
Charter township status was created by the Legislature in 1947 and grants additional powers and stream-lined administration in order to provide greater protection against annexation by a city. As of April 2001, there were 127 charter townships in Michigan. In general, charter townships have many of the same powers as a city but without the same level of obligations. For example, a charter township can have its own fire department, water and sewer department, police department, and so on—just like a city—but it is not
required to have those things, whereas cities
must provide those services. Charter townships can opt to use county-wide services instead, such as deputies from the county sheriff's office instead of a home-based force of ordinance officers.
Geography
Michigan map, including territorial waters.
The Pointe Mouillee State Game Area.
Michigan consists of two peninsulas that lie between 82°30' to about 90°30' west longitude, and are separated by the Straits of Mackinac. With the exception of two small areas that are drained by the
Mississippi River by way of the
Wisconsin River in the Upper Peninsula and by way of the
Kankakee-
Illinois River in the Lower Peninsula, Michigan is drained by the
Great Lakes-
St. Lawrence watershed and is the only state with the majority of its land thus drained.
The Great Lakes that border Michigan from east to west are
Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and
Lake Superior. It has more
lighthouses than any other state. The state is bounded on the south by the states of Ohio and Indiana, sharing land and water boundaries with both. Michigan's western boundaries are almost entirely water boundaries, from south to north, with Illinois and Wisconsin in Lake Michigan; then a land boundary with Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula, that is principally demarcated by the
Menominee and
Montreal Rivers; then water boundaries again, in Lake Superior, with Wisconsin and Minnesota to the west, capped around by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and east.
The heavily forested Upper Peninsula is relatively mountainous in the west. The
Porcupine Mountains, which are part of one of the oldest mountain chains in the world, rise to an altitude of almost 2,000
feet (610 m) above sea level and form the watershed between the streams flowing into Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. The surface on either side of this range is rugged. The state's highest point, in the
Huron Mountains northwest of Marquette, is
Mount Arvon at . The peninsula is as large as Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island combined but has fewer than 330,000 inhabitants. They are sometimes called "Yoopers" (from "U.P.'ers"), and their speech (the "
Yooper dialect") has been heavily influenced by the numerous
Scandinavian and Canadian immigrants who settled the area during the lumbering and mining boom of the late nineteenth century.
The Lower Peninsula, shaped like a mitten, is long from north to south and from east to west and occupies nearly two-thirds of the state's land area. The surface of the peninsula is generally level, broken by conical hills and glacial
moraines usually not more than a few hundred feet tall. It is divided by a low water divide running north and south. The larger portion of the state is on the west of this and gradually slopes toward Lake Michigan. The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is either Briar Hill at , or one of several points nearby in the vicinity of
Cadillac. The lowest point is the surface of Lake Erie at .
The geographic orientation of Michigan's peninsulas makes for a long distance between the ends of the state.
Ironwood, in the far western Upper Peninsula, lies 630 highway miles (1,015 km) from
Lambertville in the Lower Peninsula's southeastern corner. The geographic isolation of the Upper Peninsula from Michigan's political and population centers makes the U.P. culturally and economically distinct. Occasionally U.P. residents have called for
secession from Michigan and establishment as a new state to be called "
Superior."
A feature of Michigan that gives it the distinct shape of a mitten is
the Thumb. This peninsula projects out into Lake Huron and the
Saginaw Bay. The geography of the Thumb is mainly flat with a few rolling hills. Other peninsulas of Michigan include the
Keweenaw Peninsula, making up the
Copper Country region of the state. The
Leelanau Peninsula lies in the
Northern Lower Michigan region.
See Also Michigan RegionsNumerous
lakes and
marshes mark both peninsulas, and the coast is much indented. Keweenaw Bay,
Whitefish Bay, and the Big and
Little Bays De Noc are the principal indentations on the Upper Peninsula. The
Grand and
Little Traverse,
Thunder, and
Saginaw bays indent the Lower Peninsula. After Alaska, Michigan has the longest shoreline of any state—. An additional can be added if islands are included. This roughly equals the length of the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida.
The state has
numerous large islands, the principal ones being the
Manitou,
Beaver, and
Fox groups in Lake Michigan;
Isle Royale and
Grande Isle in Lake Superior; Marquette,
Bois Blanc, and
Mackinac islands in Lake Huron; and
Neebish,
Sugar, and
Drummond islands in
St. Mary's River. Michigan has about 150
lighthouses, the most of any U.S. state. The first lighthouses in Michigan were built between 1818 and 1822. They were built to project light at night and to serve as a landmark during the day to safely guide the passenger ships and freighters traveling the Great Lakes. See
Lighthouses in the United States.
The
state's rivers are generally small, short and shallow, and few are navigable. The principal ones include the
Detroit River,
St. Marys River, and
St. Clair River which connect the Great Lakes; the
Au Sable,
Cheboygan, and
Saginaw, which flow into Lake Huron; the
Ontonagon, and
Tahquamenon, which flow into Lake Superior; and the
St. Joseph,
Kalamazoo,
Grand,
Muskegon,
Manistee, and
Escanaba, which flow into Lake Michigan. The state has 11,037 inland lakes and of Great Lakes waters and rivers in addition to of inland water. No point in Michigan is more than six miles (10 km) from an inland lake or more than from one of the Great Lakes.
Adjacent States & Provinces
Protected lands
The state is home to one
national park:
Isle Royale National Park, located in Lake Superior, about southeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Other national
protected areas in the state include:
Keweenaw National Historical Park,
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore,
Huron National Forest,
Manistee National Forest,
Hiawatha National Forest,
Ottawa National Forest and
Father Marquette National Memorial. The largest section of the
North Country National Scenic Trail also passes through Michigan.
With 78
state parks, 19 state recreation areas, and 6
state forests, Michigan has the largest state park and
state forest system of any state. These parks and forests include
Holland State Park,
Mackinac Island State Park,
Au Sable State Forest, and
Mackinaw State Forest.
Climate
Michigan USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
.
Michigan has a
humid continental climate, although there are two distinct regions. The southern and central parts of the Lower Peninsula (south of
Saginaw Bay and from the Grand Rapids area southward) have a warmer climate (
Koppen climate classification Dfa) with hot summers and cold winters. The northern part of Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula has a more severe climate (Koppen
Dfb), with warm, but shorter summers and longer, cold to very cold winters. Some parts of the state average high temperatures below freezing from December through February, and into early March in the far northern parts. During the winter through the middle of February the state is frequently subjected to heavy
lake-effect snow. The state averages from of precipitation annually.
The entire state averages 30 days of thunderstorm activity per year. These can be severe, especially in the southern part of the state. The state averages 17
tornadoes per year, which are more common in the extreme southern portion of the state. Portions of the southern border have been nearly as vulnerable historically as parts of
Tornado Alley. Farther north, in the Upper Peninsula, tornadoes are rare.
[ srh.noaa.gov. Last accessed November 1, 2006.]Geology
The geological formation of the state is greatly varied. Primary boulders are found over the entire surface of the Upper Peninsula (being principally of primitive origin), while Secondary deposits cover the entire Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula exhibits Lower
Silurian sandstones, limestones, copper and iron bearing rocks, corresponding to the Huronian system of Canada. The central portion of the Lower Peninsula contains coal measures and rocks of the
Permo-Carboniferous period.
Devonian and sub-Carboniferous deposits are scattered over the entire state.
Demographics
Michigan population distribution.
Map showing ancestry.
As of the July 1, 2008 population estimate, Michigan has an estimated population of 10,003,422, an increase of 64,930, or 0.7%, since the year 2000. As of 2000, the state had the 8th largest population in the Union.
The
center of population of Michigan is located in
Shiawassee County, in the southeastern corner of the
civil township of
Bennington, which is located directly north of the village of
Morrice.
As of 2005-2007 three-year estimate, the state had a foreign-born population of 610,173, or 6% of the total population. In recent years, the foreign-born population in the state has grown. Michigan has the largest Dutch-American, Finnish-American and Macedonian-American populations in the United States.As of 2008 the population of Caucasians made up 79.6% of the population, Black or African American at 14.2%, Hispanic or Latino at 4.1%, American Native at 0.6%, Asian at 2.4%, Hawaiian or other is less than 0.1%.
The five largest reported ancestries in Michigan are:
German (20.4%),
African American (14.2%),
Irish (10.8%),
English (9.9%), and
Polish (8.6%).
Michigan has a large
white population (79.6%). Americans of European descent including
German,
Irish,
French, and
British ancestry live throughout most of Michigan and Metro Detroit. People of
Nordic (especially
Finnish) and
Cornish ancestry have a notable presence in the Upper Peninsula. Western Michigan is known for the
Dutch heritage of many residents (the highest concentration of any state), especially in metropolitan Grand Rapids. Metro Detroit also has residents of Polish and Irish descent.
Dearborn has become the center of a large
Arab-American community, now mostly Lebanese, who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s. About 300,000 people trace their roots to the
Middle East. African-Americans, who came to Detroit and other northern cities in the
Great Migration of the early 20th century, form a majority of the population of the city of Detroit and of other industrial cities, including Flint and
Benton Harbor.
An individual from Michigan is called a "
Michigander" or "Michiganian". Also at times, but rarely, a "Michiganite". Residents of the Upper Peninsula are sometimes referred to as "Yoopers" (a phonetic pronunciation of "U.P.ers"), and Upper Peninsula residents sometimes refer to those from the lower as "
trolls" (they live below the
bridge).
Religion
The Roman Catholic Church was the only organized religion in Michigan until the 19th century. Detroit's
St. Anne's parish, established in 1701, is the second-oldest Catholic parish in the country. The original French-Roman Catholics, reduced to a small minority by the influx of American Protestants, were soon reinforced by the arrival of Catholic immigrants from Ireland, and, later, from eastern and southern Europe. The Lutheran religion was introduced by German and Scandinavian immigrants; Lutheranism is second largest religious denomination in the state. The first Jewish synagogue in the state was Temple Beth El, founded by twelve Jewish families in Detroit in 1850. Islam was introduced by immigrants from the Near East during the 20th century.
The largest
denomination by number of adherents according to a survey in the year 2000 was the
Roman Catholic Church with 2,019,926 parishioners. The largest Protestant denominations were the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod with 244,231 adherents, followed by the
United Methodist Church with 222,269 and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 160,836 adherents. In the same survey, Jewish adherents in the state of Michigan were estimated at 110,000, and Muslims at 80,515.
Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated Michigan's 2004 gross state product at $372 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $31,178 and ranked twentieth in the nation. In May 2009, Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 14.1%,
[. Retrieved on June 23, 2009.] the highest in the nation during the
recession.
Some of the major industries/products/services include automobiles, cereal products, pizza, information technology, aerospace, military equipment, copper, iron, and furniture. Michigan is the third leading grower of
Christmas trees with of land dedicated to Christmas tree farming. The beverage
Vernors was invented in Michigan in 1866, sharing the title of oldest soft drink with
Hires Root Beer.
Faygo was founded in Detroit on November 4, 1907. Two of the top four pizza chains were founded in Michigan and are still headquartered there:
Domino's Pizza by
Tom Monaghan and
Little Caesars Pizza by
Mike Ilitch.
Michigan has experienced economic difficulties brought on by volatile stock market disruptions following the
September 11, 2001 attacks. This caused a pension and benefit fund crisis for many American companies, including General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Since the
early 2000s recession and the
September 11, 2001 attacks, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have struggled to overcome the benefit funds crisis which followed an ensuing volatile stock market which had caused a severe underfunding condition in the respective U.S. pension and benefit funds (
OPEB). Although manufacturing in the state grew 6.6% from 2001 to 2006,
[National Association of Manufacturers (February 2008).. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.] the high speculative price of oil became a factor for the U.S. auto industry during the
economic crisis of 2008 impacting industry revenues. During this
economic crisis, President
George W. Bush extended loans from the
Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds in order to help the GM and Chrysler bridge the recession. In January 2009, President
Barack Obama formed an automotive task force in order to help the industry recover and achieve renewed prosperity for the region. With retiree health care costs a significant issue, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler reached agreements with the
United Auto Workers Union to transfer the liabilities for their respective health care and benefit funds to a 501(c)(9)
Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA). In spite of these efforts, the severity of the recession required Detroit's automakers to take additional steps to restructure, including idling many plants. With the U.S. Treasury extending the necessary
debtor in possession financing, Chrysler and GM filled separate 'pre-packaged'
Chapter 11 restructurings in May and June 2009 respectively.
[Garrett, Major (March 31, 2009)..Fox News. Retrieved on June 23, 2009.]Michigan ranks fourth nationally in high tech employment with 568,000 high tech workers, which includes 70,000 in the automotive industry.
[MEDC (2009).. State of Michigan. Retrieved on June 23, 2009.] Michigan typically ranks third or fourth in overall
Research & development (R&D) expenditures in the
United States. Its research and development, which includes automotive, comprises a higher percentage of the state's overall
gross domestic product than for any other U.S. state. The state is an important source of
engineering job opportunities. The domestic auto industry accounts directly and indirectly for one of every ten jobs in the U.S. Michigan ranked second nationally in new corporate facilities and expansions in 2004. From 1997 to 2004, Michigan was listed as the only state to top the 10,000 mark for the number of major new developments;
[ however, the effects of the late 2000s recession have slowed the state's economy. In 2008, Michigan ranked third in a survey among the states for luring new business which measured capital investment and new job creation per one million population.][.Siteselection.com. Retrieved on July 8, 2009.] In August 2009, Michigan and Detroit's auto industry received $1.36 B in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for the manufacture of electric vehicle technologies which is expected to generate 6,800 immediate jobs and employ 40,000 in the state by 2020.[Priddle, Alisa and David Shepardson (August 6, 2009)..The Detroit News. Retrieved August 6, 2009.]
As leading research institutions, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, and Wayne State University are important partners in the state's economy. Michigan's workforce is well-educated and highly skilled, making it attractive to companies. Michigan's infrastructure gives it a competitive edge; Michigan has 38 deep water ports. In 2007, Bank of America announced that it would commit $25 billion to community development in Michigan following its acquisition of LaSalle Bank in Troy.[Crain's Detroit Business (October 4, 2007).. Metro Mode Media.Retrieved on January 3, 2008.]
Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the nation's most recently expanded and modernized airports with six major runways, and large aircraft maintenance facilities capable of servicing and repairing a Boeing 747. Michigan's schools and colleges rank among the nation's best. The state has maintained its early commitment to public education.Taxation
Michigan's personal income tax is set to a flat rate of 4.35%. Some cities impose additional income taxes. Michigan's state sales tax is six percent. Property taxes are assessed on the local, not state, level. In 2007, Michigan repealed its Single Business Tax (SBT) and replaced it with a Michigan Business Tax (MBT) in order to stimulate job growth by reducing taxes for seventy percent of the businesses in the state. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, recent growth in Michigan is 0.1%.Agriculture
A wide variety of commodity crops, fruits, and vegetables are grown in Michigan, making it second only to California among U.S. states in the diversity of its agriculture. Michigan is a leading grower of fruit, including blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes, and peaches. These fruits are mainly grown in West Michigan. Michigan produces wines, beers and a multitude of processed food products. Kellogg's cereal is based out of Battle Creek, Michigan and processes many locally grown foods. Thornapple Valley, Ballpark Franks, Koegel's, and Hebrew National sausage companies are all based in Michigan.
Michigan is home to very fertile land in the Flint/Tri-Cities and "Thumb" areas. Products grown there are corn, sugar beets, navy beans, and soy beans. Sugar beet harvesting usually begins the first of October. It takes the sugar factories about five months to process the 3.7 million tons of sugarbeets into 970 million pounds of pure, white sugar. Michigan's largest sugar refiner, Michigan Sugar Company is the largest east of the Mississippi River and the fourth largest in the nation. Michigan Sugar brand names are Pioneer Sugar and the newly incorporated Big Chief Sugar. Potatoes are grown in Northern Michigan, and corn is dominant in Central Michigan. Michigan State University is dedicated to the study of agriculture.Tourism
thumb|The [[Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island)|Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island is a classic image of Michigan tourism.]]
Michigan has a thriving tourist industry. Visitors spend $17.5 billion per year in the state, supporting 193,000 tourism jobs. Michigan's tourism website ranks among the busiest in the nation. Destinations draw vacationers, hunters, and nature enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada. Michigan is fifty percent forest land, much of it quite remote. The forests, lakes and thousands of miles of beaches are top attractions. Event tourism draws large numbers to occasions like the Tulip Time Festival and the National Cherry Festival.
In 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education mandated that all public schools in the state hold their first day of school after the Labor Day holiday, in accordance with the new Post Labor Day School law. A survey found that 70% of all tourism business comes directly from Michigan residents, and the Michigan Hotel, Motel, & Resort Association claimed that the shorter summer in between school years cut into the annual tourism season in the state.
Tourism in metropolitan Detroit draws visitors to leading attractions, particularly The Henry Ford, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Detroit Zoo, and to sports in Detroit. Other museums include the Detroit Historical Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, museums in the Cranbrook Educational Community, and the Arab American National Museum. The metro area offers four major casinos, MGM Grand Detroit, Greektown, Motor City, and Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada; moreover, Detroit is the largest American city and metropolitan region to offer casino resorts.[Mink, Randy, and Karen Mink (July 2001).Detroit Turns 300 - Detroit 300 Festival. Travel America, World Publishing Co., Gale Group.]
Hunting and fishing are significant industries in the state. Charter boats are based in many Great Lakes cities to fish for salmon, trout, walleye and perch. Michigan ranks first in the nation in licensed hunters (over one million) who contribute $2 billion annually to its economy. Over three-quarters of a million hunters participate in white-tailed deer season alone. Many school districts in rural areas of Michigan cancel school on the opening day of firearm deer season, because of attendance concerns.
Michigan's Department of Natural Resources manages the largest dedicated state forest system in the nation. The forest products industry and recreational users contribute $12 billion and 200,000 associated jobs annually to the state's economy. Public hiking and hunting access has also been secured in extensive commercial forests. The state has highest number of golf courses and registered snowmobiles in the nation.
The state has numerous historical markers, which can themselves become the center of a tour. The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
With its position in relation to the Great Lakes and the countless ships that have foundered over the many years in which they have been used as a transport route for people and bulk cargo, Michigan is a world-class scuba diving destination. The Michigan Underwater Preserves are 11 underwater areas where wrecks are protected for the benefit of sport divers.Transportation
thumb|The current [[Vehicle registration plates of Michigan|state license plate design, introduced in 2007.]]
Michigan has nine international crossings with Ontario, Canada:
- Canadian Pacific Railway tunnel.
Railroads
Michigan is served by four Class I railroads: the Canadian National Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, and the Norfolk Southern Railway. These are augmented by several dozen short line railroads. The vast majority of rail service in Michigan is devoted to freight, with Amtrak and various scenic railroads the exceptions.
Amtrak passenger rail services the state, connecting many southern and western Michigan cities to Chicago, Illinois. There are plans for commuter rail for Detroit and its suburbs (see SEMCOG Commuter Rail).Roadways
thumb|right|Welcome sign.
Interstate 75 is the main thoroughfare between Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw extending north to Sault Sainte Marie and providing access to Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. The expressway crosses the Mackinac Bridge between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Branching highways include I-275 and I-375 in Detroit; I-475 in Flint; and I-675 in Saginaw.
Interstate 69 enters the state near the Michigan-Ohio-Indiana border, and it extends to Port Huron and provides access to the Blue Water Bridge crossing into Sarnia, Ontario.
Interstate 94 enters the western end of the state at the Indiana border, and it travels east to Detroit and then northeast to Port Huron and ties in with I-69. I-194 branches off from this freeway in Battle Creek. I-94 is the main artery between Chicago, Illinois and Detroit.
Interstate 96 runs east-west between Detroit and Muskegon. I-496 loops through Lansing. I-196 branches off from this freeway at Grand Rapids and connects to I-94 near Benton Harbor. I-696 branches off from this freeway at Novi and connects to I-94 near St Clair Shores.
U.S. Route 2 enters Michigan at the city of Ironwood and runs east to the town of Crystal Falls, where it turns south and briefly re-enters Wisconsin northwest of Florence. It re-enters Michigan north of Iron Mountain and continues through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the cities of Escanaba, Manistique, and St. Ignace. Along the way, it cuts through the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests and follows the northern shore of Lake Michigan. Its eastern terminus lies at exit 344 of I-75, just north of the Mackinac Bridge. This is generally regarded as the main route through the Upper Peninsula, although some prefer to travel on M-28 as it tends to save time (U.S. 2 hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline for much of its length.)
Major bridges include the Ambassador Bridge, Blue Water Bridge, Mackinac Bridge, and International Bridge. Michigan also has the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel crossing into Canada.Airports
The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is by far Michigan's busiest airport, followed by the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.Important cities and townships
A Lansing sunset.
The largest municipalities in Michigan are (according to 2007 census estimates):
Other important cities include:
- Traverse City ("Cherry Capital of the World", making Michigan the country's largest producer of cherries)
Half of the wealthiest communities in the state are located in Oakland County, just north of Detroit. Another wealthy community is located just east of the city, in Grosse Pointe. Only three of these cities are located outside of Metro Detroit. The city of Detroit itself, with a per capita income of $14,717, ranks 517th on the list of Michigan locations by per capita income. Benton Harbor is the poorest city in Michigan, with a per capita income of $8,965, while Barton Hills is the richest with a per capita income of $110,683.Education
Colleges and universities
- University of Michigan System
Community colleges and technical schools
Professional sports teams
Michigan's major-league sports teams include:
Detroit Tigers baseball team,
Detroit Lions football team,
Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team,
Detroit Pistons men's basketball team, and
Grand Rapids Rampage Arena Football League team.
The Shock currently play at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons played at Detroit's Cobo Arena until 1978 and at the Pontiac Silverdome until 1988 when they moved into the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Detroit Lions played at Tiger Stadium in Detroit until 1974, then moved to the Pontiac Silverdome where they played for 27 years between 1975-2002 before moving to Ford Field in 2002.The Detroit Tigers Played at Tiger Stadium (Detroit) (formerly known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium) It hosted the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team from 1912 to 1999,In 2000 they moved to Comerica Park. The Red Wings played at Olympia Stadium before moving to Joe Louis Arena in 1979. The Rampage play at the Van Andel Arena in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids' entertainment district.
Ten-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams was born in Saginaw. Professional hockey got its start in Houghton, when the Portage Lakers were formed.
Other notable sports teams include:Former professional teams
State symbols and nicknames
- State nicknames: Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, Water-Winter Wonderland
- State wildflower: Dwarf Lake Iris (since 1998). Known as Iris lacustris, it is a federally listed threatened species.
- State stone: Petoskey stone (since 1965). It is composed of fossilized coral (Hexagonaria pericarnata) from long ago when the middle of the continent was covered with a shallow sea.
- State soil: Kalkaska Sand (since 1990), ranges in color from black to yellowish brown, covers nearly a million acres (400,000 ha) in 29 counties.
Sister states
See also
