The Territory of Michigan was an

organized incorporated territory of the United States The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internationa ...

that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

as the

State of 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 ...

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 ...

was the territorial capital.

History and government

The earliest European explorers of Michigan saw it mostly as a place to control the fur trade. Small military forces,

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missions to Native American tribes, and isolated settlements of trappers and traders accounted for most of the inhabitants of what would become Michigan.

Early government in Michigan

After the arrival of Europeans, the area that became the Michigan Territory was first under French and then

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

control. The first

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

mission, in 1668 at Sault Saint Marie, led to the establishment of further outposts at

St. Ignace St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered auto ...

(where a mission began work in 1671) and Detroit, first occupied in 1701 by the garrison of the former Fort de Buade under the leadership of Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac. Soon after their arrival, his troops erected Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit and a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

dedicated to

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

, the mother of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. As part of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

, the upper

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

had first been governed from

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...

, then Detroit; this was essentially a military regime that reported to the governor-general at

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Its role was to supply the needs of the fur traders and discourage any settlements not directly supportive of that effort. After the surrender of Montreal in 1760, British troops under

Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...

occupied Detroit and its dependent posts. In 1763, Pontiac's Rebellion saw the fall of

Fort Michilimackinac Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th-century French, and later British, fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac; it was built on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day state of Michigan in the United States. Built aroun ...

to the northern tribes, and a lengthy

siege of Fort Detroit The siege of Fort Detroit was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by North American Indians to capture Fort Detroit during Pontiac's Rebellion. The siege was led primarily by Pontiac, an Ottawa chief and military leader. This rebellion would ...

. The siege was lifted in 1764, and rule under a British lieutenant-governor at Detroit followed soon thereafter. Due to the

Quebec Act The Quebec Act 1774 (french: Acte de Québec), or British North America (Quebec) Act 1774, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which set procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec. One of the principal components of the Act w ...

of 1774, Michigan was governed during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

as part of the

Province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

. Although the 1783

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

gave the fledgling United States a claim to what is now Michigan, British policy was to hold on to Detroit and its dependencies at all costs. In 1784, Baron von Steuben would be sent to Canada by the Congress of the Confederation in a diplomatic capacity to address the question of Detroit and the Great Lakes, but

Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. From 1778 to 1786, he serve ...

, the Governor of Quebec, refused to provide a passport, and negotiations collapsed before they had begun. Starting in 1784, the British administered their Michigan holdings as part of the District of Hesse along with what is now Western Ontario; in 1791 the Province of Quebec was split into

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

(today's

) and

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

(

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

), and the districts of Upper Canada were renamed the next year, with the Hesse District designated as the Western District. In addition to the British remaining in the region, several states also held competing claims on the future state of Michigan. In 1779,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

established Illinois County with boundaries that encompassed all of the land east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, north of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and west of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. For all practical purposes, however, the county government never exercised actual control beyond an area limited to a few old French settlements along the major rivers. The overwhelming majority of the northwestern lands were controlled by the native tribes. New York,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

also claimed portions of what was to become Michigan, but were even less able to enforce their pretensions, given Britain's control of the Great Lakes and the hostility of the tribes. Virginia surrendered its claim to lands north and west of the

effective March 1, 1784. Coincidentally (or not), this was the same day that the findings of a

Congressional committee A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...

on the western lands, chaired by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

since the previous October, were reported. Jefferson's recommendations became the basis for the

Land Ordinance of 1784 The Ordinance of 1784 (enacted April 23, 1784) called for the land in the recently created United States which was located west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River to be divided into separate s ...

, which established that new states equal in all respects to the founding thirteen would be erected in the territory, that they would forever be a part of the United States, and that their governments would be republican in form. The Land Ordinance of 1785 would go further by establishing a procedure for land sales in the new territory. However, the Ohio River remained an effective boundary between the United States and the Northwest tribes for a few more years. The other states with claims in the Northwest eventually followed Virginia's example, and in 1787, the Congress of the Confederation enacted the Northwest Ordinance, which created the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

. The first settlement under the Northwest Ordinance was at Marietta (Ohio) in 1788. The region that became Michigan was initially unorganized territory and essentially remained under British control; that did not stop Arthur St. Clair, the first Governor of the Northwest Territory, from establishing a structure of government for the area, if only on paper. Knox County was established on June 20, 1790 with boundaries that included the western half of the

Lower Peninsula of Michigan The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

and roughly the middle third of the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

. In 1792, the boundaries of Hamilton County were expanded to include the eastern portions of Michigan not included in Knox County. American claims to Michigan were frustrated by Britain's refusal to evacuate the forts at

, Mackinac and elsewhere. Britain's tacit support for the Northwest tribes during the Northwest Indian War was dependent on Detroit remaining out of American hands. But the position of the British and their allies in the Northwest deteriorated after the signing of

Jay's Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

and the

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United State ...

in 1794, and after negotiations, the British evacuated Detroit on July 11, 1796. The United States had finally established a presence in Michigan. Fort Mackinac was turned over soon after but

Drummond Island Drummond may refer to: Places Antarctica * Drummond Peak, King Edward VII Land * Drummond Glacier, Graham Land Canada * Drummond (electoral district), a Quebec federal riding * Drummond (provincial electoral district), Quebec * Drummon ...

remained as part of Canada until 1828.

Beginnings of American rule

By proclamation of acting governor and territorial secretary

Winthrop Sargent Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was a United States patriot, politician, and writer; and a member of the Federalist party. Early life Sargent was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight childre ...

, the "first" Wayne County was established from Knox and Hamilton counties on August 15, 1796, and included most of the area that later became the Michigan Territory, as well as portions of what are now Ohio and Indiana. In 1800, the western half of the Lower Peninsula and most of the Upper Peninsula were attached to the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, ...

when it was established as a separate government from the Northwest Territory. Wayne County was thereby reduced to the remainder of the two peninsulas, and continued under the government of the Northwest Territory. St. Clair County, another Indiana Territory county, was also expanded at this time to include the western portion of the Upper Peninsula and a small sliver of the Lower Peninsula along the shore 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 ...

. When Ohio was admitted as a state in early 1803, the eastern half of Michigan was incorporated into the Indiana Territory. One of the first acts taken that year by the Indiana government under

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

was to reorganize Wayne County under Indiana law, adding territory from Knox and St. Clair counties. Michigan's first county now encompassed all of the Lower Peninsula, much of the Upper Peninsula, and those portions of today's Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin that drained into Lake Michigan. In many respects, the change from the government of the Northwest Territory to that of the Indiana Territory had little effect on Wayne County's limited operations. By Governor Harrison's proclamation of January 11, 1803, the courts of Wayne County—common pleas, orphans, and quarter sessions—kept their organization under the new territorial government, with almost identical composition. But the logistics of government went from difficult to almost impossible, with the mail between Detroit and the capital at

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

being routed at one point through Warren in northeastern Ohio. The deciding factor may have come when an election was called by Governor Harrison for September 11, 1804, to decide whether Indiana Territory (which by this time was responsible for not only the settlements in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, but the newly acquired

District of Louisiana The District of Louisiana, or Louisiana District, was an official and temporary United States government designation for the portion of the Louisiana Purchase that had not been organized into the Territory of Orleans or "Orleans Territory" (the p ...

as well) should progress to the second stage of territorial government. But word failed to reach Detroit until after the date had passed, and the settlers of Michigan petitioned Congress in December 1804, asking that Wayne County be set off as an independent territory.

Organization

Michigan Territory was established by an act of 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 ...

on January 11, 1805, effective June 30 of that year. The act defined the territory as "all that part of the Indiana Territory, which lies North of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of lake Michigan, until it shall intersect lake Erie, and East of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States." A historical marker at a roadside park, approximately three miles east of Naubinway at , commemorates the northernmost point of Lake Michigan, which is located approximately one mile west of the park. The first territorial governor,

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was appointed as Governor of Michigan Territory (1805–13), gaining large land cessions from several Am ...

, abolished Wayne County and established new districts of his own making, which proved to be short-lived. Lewis Cass became governor in 1813 and promptly undid Hull's work and re-established a third incarnation of Wayne County that included all lands within Michigan Territory that had been ceded by Indians through the 1807

Treaty of Detroit The Treaty of Detroit was a treaty between the United States and the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi Native American nations. The treaty was signed in Detroit, Michigan on November 17, 1807, with William Hull, governor of the Mich ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, following General

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

's capture of Detroit on August 16, 1812, the Michigan Territory was at least nominally a part of the Province of Upper Canada. On August 24, Colonel Henry Proctor proclaimed the continuation of civil government under existing laws with Proctor acting as Governor and Chief Justice

Augustus B. Woodward Augustus Brevoort Woodward (born Elias Brevoort Woodward; November 1774 – June 12, 1827) was the first Chief Justice of the Michigan Territory. In that position, he played a prominent role in the reconstruction of Detroit following a d ...

acting as Secretary. On February 4, 1813, Proctor suspended civil government and imposed

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. When

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

(1816) and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

(1818) joined the Union, remnants of their territories were joined to Michigan Territory. An area equal to 30

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

was also transferred from Michigan Territory to Indiana to allow that state access to Lake Michigan. Soon afterward, the federal government rapidly began signing treaties with local Indian tribes and acquiring their lands. In 1818, a general assembly referendum was held to determine whether a majority of the territory's freeholders favored the creation of a general legislative assembly to replace the system of governors and judges in effect at the time, as provided for by the Northwest Ordinance. The election was called by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass, and results showed a majority opposed changing the system of government. In 1824, the Michigan Territory graduated to the second grade of territorial status, and the government's power was transferred from the Governor and a handful of judges to the people. The people elected 18 to the Legislative Council, of which nine were approved by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, and it first sat in council on June 7, 1824. This council was expanded from nine members to 13 in 1825, with the 13 being chosen by the President from a field of 26. The

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

opened in 1825, allowing settlers from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and New York to reach Michigan by water through Albany and Buffalo. In 1834, all of the lands acquired in the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

that were as yet unallocated and lay east of the Missouri River (generally,

the Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

, Iowa and the western half of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) were attached to the Michigan Territory, an area that was officially characterized as "north of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and east of the

and White Earth Rivers." At this point, Michigan Territory included what is now the states of Michigan,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and a large portion of the Dakotas. Disputed Toledo Strip

Meanwhile, in 1835, 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 ...

was fought with Ohio because Michigan Territory wanted to retain the disputed "

Toledo Strip 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 ...

." The Toledo area of Ohio was finally surrendered in exchange for the western section of the

. Slavery was forbidden in the territory under the Northwest Ordinance, but British and French residents in Michigan were permitted to retain possession of slaves already owned at the time the territory became organized. Census records show that the slave population in the territory numbered 24 in 1810 and 32 in 1830. It is believed that those counted as slaves were, in many cases, Indians rather than blacks. On July 3, 1836, in preparation for Michigan statehood, 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 ...

was organized from Michigan Territory, consisting of the present states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and the eastern portion of the Dakotas. Michigan became a state on January 26, 1837, and included the Upper Peninsula as part of the resolution to the conflict over the

, which had blocked Michigan statehood for several years. The western border of the Upper Peninsula was marked at the Montreal River on the

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

shoreline and the

Menominee River The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Dece ...

on the coast of

. Detroit remained the capital until March 17, 1847 when

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

was chosen as a replacement. The population of Michigan at the time of statehood is estimated to have been about 200,000, which was well above the Northwest Ordinance's minimum requirement of 60,000.

Territorial acquisition

The area that became Michigan had been British territory, and was ceded to the United States in 1783, although the native peoples of the area had not ceded control to either the British or Americans for most of the territory by 1783. The majority of it was gained by cession, coerced or otherwise. The people who resided in Michigan before American settlement were the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, the Potawatomi, Ojibwa and the

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language Wyandot (sometimes spelled Wandat) is the Iroquoian language traditionally spoken by the people known variously as Wyandot or Wya ...

. Treaties ceding the land were signed between 1795 (the

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples ...

) and 1842 (the

Treaty of La Pointe The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American peoples. In addition, the Isle Royale Agreement, an adhesion to the first Trea ...

). Other notable treaties were Governor Hull's treaty of 1808, the

Treaty of Saginaw The Treaty of Saginaw, also known as the Treaty with the Chippewa, was made between Gen. Lewis Cass and Chief Mash Kee Yosh, Chief John Okemos, Chief Wasso and other Native American tribes of the Great Lakes region (principally the Ojibwe, b ...

in 1819, the two Treaties of Chicago ( 1821 and

1833 Events January–March * January 3 – Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (1833), Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. * February 6 – His Royal Highness Prince Otto ...

), the

Carey Mission The Carey Mission was established by Baptist missionary Isaac McCoy among the Potawatomi tribe of American Indians on the St. Joseph River near Niles, Michigan, United States in December, 1822. It was named for William Carey, a noted English Bap ...

in 1828 and the Treaty of Washington in 1836 and a later treaty of January 14, 1837.

Territorial subdivisions

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The coun ...

, originally part of the vast Northwest Territory, was eventually whittled down into its current size by the separation of several tracts: Monroe in 1817, Michilimackinac County (later called Mackinac) and Macomb counties in 1818, St. Clair and

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

counties in 1820 and

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county in 1826. Washtenaw ...

in 1822. The first township organization was Detroit, in Wayne County, in 1802. Also organized in 1818 were two counties that survive in present-day

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

was set up to govern the settlements on the upper

from its seat at

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...

, while

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

performed a similar function for the settlements around Green Bay. These would become part of the

in 1836.

Oakland County, Michigan Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...

was created in 1819, and over time was subdivided into all or parts of

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...

, Lapeer, Sanilac, Shiawassee and

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

counties. Saginaw County would be split further into eight separate counties, three of which (

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, Arenac and Midland) were established during the territorial period. FARMER(1884) p164 ELECTION SCENE - FIRST STATE ELECTION

Lenawee County Lenawee County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 99,423. The county seat is Adrian. The county was created in 1822, from territory partitioned from Monroe County. Its g ...

was created in 1822 from what had been Indian lands, and

Hillsdale County Hillsdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 45,746. The county seat is Hillsdale. Hillsdale County is the only county in Michigan to border both Indiana and Ohio. Due to an ...

was separated from it in 1829. Other parts of Lenawee were turned into

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

and Berrien.

Branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

also sprung fully formed from Michigan Territory in 1829. Chippewa County was created from Michilimackinac County in 1826.

Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo– Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Kalamazoo Count ...

, established 1829 from St. Joseph County, was the dominant tract in

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

and was divided and subdivided into many other counties: Allegan,

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois * Calhoun, Kansas * Calhoun, Kentuc ...

, Eaton,

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

, Montcalm,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Clinton (some created during the territorial period, others split off later).

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

and Ingham were created in 1829 from Washtenaw;

was created from parts of Saginaw and Midland counties in 1831. Gratiot County was also established in 1831, with land from Saginaw and Clinton counties. Seven of the 12 counties created in 1829 were named for members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet, and one was named for Jackson himself. Iowa County, with its seat at Mineral Point, was established in 1829 and transferred to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Michigan Territory briefly governed lands west of the Mississippi, after the statehood of

left the area north of the new state as unorganized territory; this comprised what is now

and that part of Minnesota west of the river. Such was the case until 1834, when that area was placed under the government of Michigan Territory.

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

and

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

counties were created in 1834, and transferred to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 upon its organization. Milwaukee County was established in 1834 and was also transferred to Wisconsin Territory two years later.

Territorial population

These census numbers do not include most Native Americans, defined in the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

as "Indians not taxed" (Article I, Sec. 2). Under the Northwest Ordinance, a territory could apply for statehood once it had surpassed 60,000 inhabitants. The 1830 United States census reported the following population counts for 13 counties in present-day

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 ...

and 3 in

. The boundaries of counties at that time differed significantly from present-day boundaries. The 1810 United States census was reported in terms of four Civil Districts of a single Wayne County: Michilimackinac, Detroit, Erie, and Huron. The 1810 population shown in the table for Mackinac County is that reported for Michilimackinac Civil District, for Macomb County that reported for Huron Civil District. for Monroe County that reported for Erie Civil District, and for Wayne County that reported for Detroit Civil District.

Territorial officers

Governors

Secretaries

Supreme Court

From 1805 through 1823, Territorial Supreme Court Justices were appointed by the U.S. president, with consent of the U.S. Senate. Their terms had no fixed limits. In 1823, the U.S. Congress passed an act reorganizing territorial government and setting a four-year term of office for justices.

Congressional delegates

In 1819, Michigan Territory was given the authority to elect a Congressional delegate.

References

External links

Act Dividing Indiana Territory, 1805
(the law that created the Michigan Territory)

* ttp://bay-journal.com/maps/maphistory.html Bay County Map History: Michigan Territory to Present {{Slavery in Michigan States and territories disestablished in 1837 Pre-statehood history of Iowa Pre-statehood history of Michigan Pre-statehood history of Minnesota Pre-statehood history of North Dakota Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin Pre-statehood history of South Dakota