Isaac Edwin Crary (October 2, 1804 – May 8, 1854) was an American politician. He was the first elected

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from 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 ...

Early life

Crary was born in

Preston, Connecticut Preston is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,788 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Long Society, Preston Ci ...

, where he attended the public schools and graduated from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, in its first class in 1827. He studied law, was admitted to the

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, and commenced practice in Hartford. During this time he was also assistant editor of the ''New England Weekly Review''. He moved to

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a U.S. city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It has been referred to by t ...

, in 1833.

Career

Crary was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1835 and upon the admission of Michigan as a state into the Union, he was elected on October 5 and 6, 1835, as a Jacksonian to the

Twenty-fourth Congress The 24th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1835, ...

. Due to Michigan’s dispute with

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

over the

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 ...

(see 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 ...

), Congress refused to accept his credentials and he was seated as a delegate until Congress admitted Michigan as a state of the Union on January 26, 1837. He was re-elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses, and served until March 3, 1841. In 1840, during the

William Henry Harrison 1840 presidential campaign In 1840, William Henry Harrison was elected President of the United States. Harrison, who had served as a general and as United States Senator from Ohio, defeated the incumbent president, Democrat Martin Van Buren, in a campaign that broke new ...

, on February 14, 1840, as the House of Representatives debated funding for the

Cumberland Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, Crary essayed an attack on Harrison's record as an Indian fighter, deeming him a bogus hero. Crary sat down to applause from his fellow Democrats. The next day, Ohio's

Thomas Corwin Thomas Corwin (July 29, 1794 – December 18, 1865), also known as Tom Corwin, The Wagon Boy, and Black Tom was a politician from the state of Ohio. He represented Ohio in both houses of Congress and served as the 15th governor of Ohio and the ...

, known as a humorist, rose in the House, and depicted Crary, a militia general in his home state, having to deal with the terrors of the militia's parade day, until afterwards, safe with the survivors, "your general unsheathes his trenchant blade... and with an energy and remorseless fury he slices the watermelons that lie in heaps around him." According to longtime Washington journalist

Benjamin Perley Poore Benjamin Perley Poore (November 2, 1820 – May 30, 1887) was a prominent American newspaper correspondent, editor, and author in the mid-19th century. One of the most popular and prolific journalists of his era, he was an active partisan for the ...

, Corwin's response to Crary was "one of the most wonderful speeches ever delivered at Washington," leaving the House "convulsed with laughter" at Crary's expense.Poore, Ben. Perley, ''Perley's Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis'', Vol.1, p.235 (1886)
As word of Corwin's speech reached newspapers in February and March, there was much amusement across the nation; Crary failed to be renominated to Congress. He served as regent of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1837 to 1844, and with John D. Pierce wrote the education article of the 1835 constitution. Crary was appointed a member of the State board of education from 1820 to 1852. Crary and Pierce planned Michigan's public school system and established a separate department of education run by a superintendent, introducing uniform schooling in Michigan. He was editor of the ''Marshall Expounder'' for several years and a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

from 1842 to 1846, serving as speaker of the house in 1846.

Death

Crary died in Marshall, Michigan and is interred at Oakridge Cemetery in Marshall.

Legacy

Isaac E. Crary Elementary School in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

and Isaac E. Crary Middle School in

Waterford, Michigan Waterford Township is a charter township in the geographic center of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. In 2020, the population of Waterford Township was 70,565. Communities Waterford Township has five unincorporated communities: * Clin ...

were named in his honor.

References

External links