Editing Michigan Territory (section)

===Organization===
[[Image:Michigan Territory 1805-1818.png|thumb|upright|From 1805 to 1818, the western border was a line through [[Lake Michigan]]. Disputed territory in red.]]

Michigan Territory was established by an act of the [[United States Congress]] on January 11, 1805, effective June 30 of that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.in.gov/history/2454.htm |title=Act Dividing Indiana Territory, 1805 |access-date=January 28, 2018 |archive-date=January 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129142839/http://www.in.gov/history/2454.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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, Michigan|Naubinway]] at {{Coord|46|05|50|N|85|23|51|W|}},<ref>{{Cite GNIS|2359901|Naubinway Rest Area}}</ref> commemorates the northernmost point of Lake Michigan, which is located approximately one mile west of the park.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704221523/http://www.michmarkers.com/Pages/S0258.htm Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan]}}, Michigan Historical Markers</ref>

The first territorial governor, [[William Hull]], 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 [[Native Americans of the United States|Indians]] through the 1807 [[Treaty of Detroit]].

During the [[War of 1812]], following General [[Isaac Brock]]'s capture of Detroit on August 16, 1812, the Michigan Territory was at least nominally a part of the [[Upper Canada|Province of Upper Canada]]. On August 24, Colonel [[Henry Procter (British Army officer)|Henry Proctor]] proclaimed the continuation of civil government under existing laws with Proctor acting as Governor and Chief Justice [[Augustus B. Woodward]] acting as Secretary. On February 4, 1813, Proctor suspended civil government and imposed [[martial law]].

[[Image:Michigan Territory 1818-1833.png|thumb|left|By 1818, both Illinois and Indiana had been admitted as states; the unincorporated land from their territories was made part of the Michigan Territory; and a strip of land in southern Michigan was given to Indiana. Disputed territory in red.]]

When [[Indiana]] (1816) and [[Illinois]] (1818) joined the Union, remnants of their territories were joined to Michigan Territory. An area equal to 30 [[civil township|townships]] 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 Native American tribes and acquiring their lands.

In 1818, a [[1818 Michigan Territory general assembly referendum|general assembly referendum]] was held to determine whether a majority of the territory's [[Freehold (law)|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.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Territorial Papers of the United States|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015071178845|volume=10|pages=769–770|year=1942|editor-last=Carter|editor-first=Clarence E.|place=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=2019-10-17|archive-date=December 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225175321/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015071178845}}</ref>

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 [[Michigan Territorial Council|Legislative Council]], of which nine were approved by the [[President of the United States|President]], 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]] opened in 1825, allowing settlers from [[New England]] and New York to reach Michigan by water through [[Albany, NY|Albany]] and [[Buffalo, NY|Buffalo]].

[[Image:Michigan Territory 1833-1836.png|thumb|Between 1833 and 1836, all the remnants of the old Northwest Territory were part of the Michigan Territory along with portions of the [[Louisiana Purchase]]. Disputed territory in red.]]

In 1834, all of the lands acquired in the [[Louisiana Purchase]] that were as yet unallocated and lay east of the [[Missouri River]] (generally, [[the Dakotas]], Iowa and the western half of [[Minnesota]]) were attached to the Michigan Territory, an area that was officially characterized as "north of [[Missouri]] and east of the [[Missouri River|Missouri]] and [[White Earth River (North Dakota)|White Earth River]]s." At this point, Michigan Territory included what is now the states of Michigan, [[Wisconsin]], [[Iowa]], [[Minnesota]] and a large portion of the [[Dakotas]].

[[File:Disputed Toledo Strip.png|left|upright|thumb|The disputed portion of Michigan Territory, referred to as the ''Toledo Strip'']]
[[Image:Michigan 1837.png|left|thumb|Michigan became a state when it agreed to the boundaries dictated by Congress, giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip, and accepted the western portion of the Upper Peninsula.]]

Meanwhile, in 1835, the [[Toledo War]] was fought with Ohio because Michigan Territory wanted to retain the [[disputed territory|disputed]] "[[Toledo Strip]]." The Toledo area of Ohio was finally surrendered in exchange for the western section of the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]].<ref>Faber, D. (2008). ''The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry''. (p.142-143) University of Michigan Press.</ref>

Slavery was forbidden in the territory under the [[Northwest Ordinance]], but British and French residents in [[History of slavery in Michigan|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<ref>Williams, George Washington (1883). ''History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880'', Vol. II, p. 9. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.</ref> and 32 in 1830.<ref>Fess, Simeon D. (1910). ''The History of Political Theory and Party Organization in the United States'', p. 272. Boston: Ginn and Company.</ref> It is believed that those counted as slaves were, in many cases, Indians rather than blacks.

[[Image:Michigan and Wisconsin Territories 1836.png|thumb|Michigan shrank in 1836 with the creation of the Wisconsin Territory. Wisconsin Territory was established in 1836 with the present boundary in the Upper Peninsula. Disputed territory in red.]]

On July 3, 1836, in preparation for Michigan statehood, the [[Wisconsin Territory]] 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 [[Toledo Strip]], which had blocked Michigan statehood for several years. The western border of the Upper Peninsula was marked at the [[Montreal River (Wisconsin-Michigan)|Montreal River]] on the [[Lake Superior]] shoreline and the [[Menominee River]] on the coast of [[Lake Michigan]].<ref>Temple, Robert D. (2010). How Wisconsin got its borders. http://www.wisconsintrails.com/culture/How-Wisconsin-got-its-borders-261151011.html {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629051332/http://www.wisconsintrails.com/culture/How-Wisconsin-got-its-borders-261151011.html |date=June 29, 2016 }}</ref> Detroit remained the capital until March 17, 1847 when [[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]] 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.