The Sixth Michigan Territorial Council was a meeting of the

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

governing

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

, known formally as the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan. The council met in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in two regular sessions, one extra session, and one special session between January 7, 1834, and August 25, 1835, during the terms of George B. Porter and

Stevens T. Mason Stevens Thomson Mason (October 27, 1811 – January 4, 1843) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. Coming to political prominence at an early age, Mason was appointed his territory's ...

as territorial governors. In addition to the regular business of governing the territory, during these sessions the council dealt with a number of matters related to Michigan's desire for statehood, including petitioning both the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

for action on the matter, organizing a census of the territory, trying to find a resolution of the ongoing dispute with Ohio known as the

Toledo War The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo S ...

, and calling a state constitutional convention in order to force Congress to act. This was the final meeting of the territorial council in its role as the legislative body for all of Michigan Territory. The people of the portion of the territory east of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

ratified a state constitution in 1835 that created a new

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

, elections for which were held that same year. A

7th Michigan Territorial Council The Seventh Michigan Territorial Council, also known as the Rump Council, was a meeting of the legislative body governing Michigan Territory in January 1836, during the term of Acting Governor John S. Horner. At the time, most of Michigan Territor ...

, also known as the Rump Council, was convened in 1836, but was composed of members only from that portion of the territory not governed by the new constitution, which later became the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

Sessions

The council met in two regular sessions, one in 1834 and one in 1835. An extra session was held in late 1834, and a special session in August 1835.

First regular session

The first session convened at

on January 7, 1834. The length of the session was limited by law to sixty days, but the pending application for statehood for Michigan before the

—and its anticipated failure—prompted the council on March 7, the final day of the session, to request that Congress authorize an extra thirty-day session, callable by the territorial governor, for the purpose of arranging a census of the territory. Congress approved the request on June 30.

Extra session

Territorial Governor George B. Porter died during a cholera epidemic in July, leaving Acting Governor

to call the extra session, which convened in Detroit on September 1, 1834. In his message to the council, Mason reiterated the purpose of conducting a census to ascertain that the territory had more than the 60,000 inhabitants necessary to qualify for statehood under the terms of the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

. Anticipating a constitutional convention, he wrote, "The State of Michigan will then have a right to demand admission into the Union; and it is not to be anticipated, that the Congress of the United States will hesitate to yield as a matter of right, what they have heretofore refused to grant to us as a favor." Mason also asked the council to end the practice of imprisoning debtors, and to organize counties and courts in land newly attached to Michigan Territory—the area of present-day Iowa and Minnesota. In this session, the council extended the territorial laws to the newly-acquired lands and created

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

in the area of present-day Wisconsin. The council also called for a census of the lands both east and west of

to be conducted the following month, to be completed by November 2, and issued a resolution calling for statehood if the census showed a population above the 60,000 threshold. The council adjourned on September 8, 1834, until November 11, after the census was due to be completed. The extra session resumed on November 12, a day late due to a lack of quorum the day before. Mason reported to the council that the census showed 85,856 inhabitants, and exhorted them to authorize the election of delegates to a state constitutional convention. The council authorized all "free white inhabitants" of the territory to vote for delegates in April 1835, and reiterated Michigan's claim to the strip of land at dispute in the

with Ohio. On December 26, the council passed an act providing for the appointment of three commissioners to negotiate and settle all disputes with Ohio. The extra session was adjourned on December 31. The second regular session was set to begin the following day, January 1, 1835, but the council immediately adjourned until January 12.

Second regular session

The second regular session convened in Detroit on January 12, 1835. The council wrote a lengthy petition to President

imploring him to intervene to stop Ohio's pending claim of the disputed strip of land, saying, "What! Because the state of Ohio contains a million of inhabitants, and this territory but one hundred thousand, are our rights less sacred than hers? Or is justice in this free country to be measured by the number or strength of the parties?" In February, Ohio Governor Robert Lucas rejected the idea of negotiating with the commissioners, saying the council had no authority to negotiate and any agreement would not be binding on Michigan as a state. In addition, he asked the

Ohio Legislature The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

to declare that "all counties bordering on the northern boundary of the state of Ohio shall extend to and be bounded on the north by the line running from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northern cape of Maumee bay", and direct local authorities to begin exercising jurisdiction in these areas, and the legislature complied. The Michigan Territorial Council, in response, passed on act on February 12 punishing by heavy fines or imprisonment any person who would "exercise or attempt to exercise any official functions" within the territory without authority from either the territory or the United States. Militias from Ohio and Michigan, under command of their respective governors, faced off across the

Maumee River The Maumee River (pronounced ) ( sjw, Hotaawathiipi; mia, Taawaawa siipiiwi) is a river running in the United States Midwest from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph and ...

. Anticipating the upcoming constitutional convention, the council authorized the territorial governor to apportion seats on the council among the remaining counties not covered by the constitution.

Special session

President Jackson dispatched a pair of commissioners to the Maumee River to meet with both governors, and they proposed a compromise which effectively gave Ohio what it wanted. Mason opposed the compromise, and called the council into special session on August 17, 1835, to consider it. The council unanimously rejected the proposed compromise on August 20. The state constitutional convention had met in the meantime, and its own resolution called for the territory not to interfere with re-marking the previously-surveyed "Harris line" that Ohio preferred, as long as Ohio did not exercise any jurisdiction over the disputed territory in the meantime. Ohio agreed, and the Toledo War effectively ended. The council adjourned on August 25, 1835. That same day, Mason issued a proclamation apportioning membership on the council among the territory's remaining counties, and called for the newly-constituted council to meet in Green Bay on January 1, 1836; this would be the 7th council, which became known as the Rump Council.

Leadership and organization

After adoption of the standing rules for the session on January 13, 1834,

John McDonell Captain John McDonell of Aberchalder (also spelled MacDonell; c. 1758-21 November 1809) was a soldier, judge, and political figure in Upper Canada following the American Revolution. He was elected as the first speaker for the Legislative Assembly ...

was elected president,

John Norvell John Norvell (December 21, 1789April 24, 1850) was a newspaper editor and one of the first U.S. Senators from Michigan. History Norvell was born in Danville, Kentucky, then still a part of Virginia, where he attended the common schools. He is t ...

secretary, Seneca Allen recording clerk, Theodore Williams enrolling clerk, Elisha L. Atkins sergeant-at-arms, Harvey Chubb doorkeeper, and Solomon J. Matthews and Pitt Phillips messenger and assistant messenger, respectively. At the second regular session,

Morgan Lewis Martin Morgan Lewis Martin (March 31, 1805December 10, 1887) was a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Territory during the 29th United States Congress (1845–1847). He also served as a member of the Wisconsin State ...

was elected president, and Charles W. Whipple secretary.

Members

A January 1827 act of the

provided for the direct election of a 13-member legislative council by the people of the territory; the same act gave the council responsibility for determining the apportionment of seats. The council apportioned the seats as follows in an 1828 act:

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Citation , last1 = Utley , first1 = Henry M. , last2 = Cutcheon , first2 = Byron M. , title = Michigan as a Province, Territory, and State, the Twenty-Sixth Member of the Federal Union , publisher = Publishing Society of Michigan , volume = 2 , date = 1906 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0Sk5AQAAMAAJ , access-date = 2019-01-01 006 1834 in Michigan Territory 1835 in Michigan Territory

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...