The State of Superior (or State of Ontonagon) is a proposed "

51st state "51st state" is a phrase used in the United States of America to refer to the idea of adding an additional state to the current 50-state Union. Proposals for a 51st state may include granting statehood to one of the U.S. territories or Washing ...

" that would be created by the

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

of the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—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 b ...

from the rest of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, named for adjacent

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

. Some proposals would also incorporate territory from the northern Lower Peninsula, northern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and even

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The proposals are spurred by cultural differences, geographic separation from Lower Michigan, and a belief that the problems of the "Superior Region" are ignored by distant state governments. When 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 part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

was being organized by the fledgling U.S. government,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

proposed a state which he named Sylvania, including the Upper Peninsula and territory that is now northern Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota. The idea has gained serious attention at times, but faces substantial practical obstacles.

History

The state of Michigan was admitted to the Union in 1837, incorporating both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Efforts for the U.P. to secede and form a new state date to 1858, when a convention was held in

Ontonagon, Michigan Ontonagon ( ) is a village in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,285 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontonagon County, and is the only incorporated place within the county. The village is loca ...

, for the purpose of combining the Upper Peninsula, northern

, and northeast

into a new state to be called either ''Superior'' or ''Ontonagon''. At the time, ''The New York Times'' editorialized:

Unless Congress should interpose objections, which cannot reasonably be apprehended, we see no cause why the new "State of Ontonagon" should not speedily take her place as an independent member of the union.

In 1897, another proposal for creating a state of Superior included areas in the Upper Peninsula along with portions of

. In 1959, following the statehood of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Ironwood, Michigan Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County, Michigan, Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The city is on U.S. Route 2 in Michigan, US Highway 2 across the Montreal River (Wisconsin-Michig ...

resident Ted Albert sued for "divorce" between the two peninsulas. In 1962, an Upper Peninsula Independence Association was founded to advocate for the formation of a state of Superior. A secession bill was submitted to the

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

, and 20,000 petition signatures were collected—36,000 short of the number needed—for a ballot referendum on separation. Efforts continued into the mid-1970s (one bumper sticker suggested naming the 51st state "North Michigan"), when residents of the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin, each resentful of perceived tax drains and other slights from their downstate cousins, and fears that environmental regulations would harm their economies, worked together to pursue the desired legislation. Several prominent legislators, including Upper Peninsula politician Dominic Jacobetti, attempted enacting such legislation in the 1970s, with no success. Some support for statehood still exists in the region, although no organized movement was active as of 2012.

Issues

The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the

Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; ) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects the Great Lakes of Lake M ...

, and was not included in initial proposals to form the state of Michigan, but rather added by the federal government in the settlement of the Toledo War with

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The Lower Peninsula developed an economy based on agriculture and manufacturing, while the Upper Peninsula's became based on forestry and mining. Travel between the two peninsulas remained difficult (especially in winter), and the people of the Upper Peninsula developed a distinct cultural identity as " Yoopers" (derived from "U.P.-ers"). Later, as the mining industry declined, Yoopers came to feel that their concerns were ignored by the state government, which was dominated by the populous cities of southern Lower Michigan. The construction of the

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ; also referred to as the Mighty Mac or Big Mac) is a suspension bridge that connects the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It spans the Str ...

in 1957 created a direct highway connection to the rest of the state, and tourism by Lower Michigan residents has grown substantially, creating greater economic and social connection. Secession from Michigan would require approval from the state legislature, and there is little support for it in the Lower Peninsula. There are also questions about Superior's viability as a separate state. The region receives a large amount of funding from the Michigan government based on tax revenue from the Lower Peninsula. If it were just the Upper Peninsula, it would have a smaller population than any other state, with its 301,609 residents representing only just over 50 percent of

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

's population. It would rank 40th in land area, slightly larger than

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Its most populous city, Marquette, has a population of about 21,000; currently, the smallest city that is the largest of its state is

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, with 44,000 people.

References

External links

Remembering the UP’s break-away movement

"A 51st State In...Michigan?"

Wiles, Rick (January 2017). "The Great State of Superior". Mackinac Journal.
{{coord, 46, N, 87, W, region:US-MI_scale:1250000, display=title Politics of Michigan Politics of Wisconsin Proposed states and territories of the United States Upper Peninsula of Michigan

History

Issues

See also

References

Further reading

External links