December 14: Consolation Prize Accepted
On 14 December 1836, the Toledo War ended when the Michigan territorial government accepted a compromise whereby Michigan gave up its claim to Toledo and accepted what is now known as the upper peninsula as a consolation prize.
The origins of the Toledo War began when the Northwest Ordinance was enacted in 1789. The Northwest Ordinance created the Northwest Territory that would be broken into the states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Unfortunately, at the time, it was assumed that the southern tip was Lake Michigan was further north than it actually is. As a result of this misunderstanding, the creation of the 1803 Ohio constitution, and the creation of the Michigan territory in 1805, it would become possible for both Michigan and Ohio to claim a 486 square mile strip that included the city of Toledo.
At the height of the Toledo War, Michigan Governor Stephens T. Mason raised a militia which marched south to the Maumee River. However, there was no armed confrontation between the Michigan and Ohio troops—with the exception of some shoots that were reportedly fired into the air.
In 1836, the United States Congress proposed that Michigan give up its claim to the Toledo strip in exchange for statehood—which had been blocked by the Ohio delegation in congress—as well as the Upper Peninsula. After initially turning down the offer, on December 14, the Michigan territory accepted the terms of the compromise. On 26 January 1837, Michigan became the 26th state to join the union.
Michigan’s consolation prize became much more desirable after State Geologist Douglass Houghton confirmed that copper was located in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The significance of this find has been explained Laura Marton, “King Copper generated more than $9.6 billion—10 times more money than the California gold rush…. From 1845 to 1895, the Keweenaw Peninsula produced 75 percent of U.S. copper; during the Civil War, it produced 90 percent.” Although the copper mines have closed, the area around the Keweenaw Peninsula is still known as copper country.
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Photo Caption: The 1775 “Mitchell Map” which was used when Congress created created the Northwest Territory.
Although Today in History is primarily student written, there are some days when we do not have a student author. You will enjoy another student entry tomorrow.
Throughout time, there have been several secession attempts to establish the UP as the 51st state. In the spring of 2012 that idea floated around in Marquette’s County Board of Commissioners. This sentiment has long been part of the upper peninsula’s history. In 1975 the UP’s fight for statehood was put to a vote and narrowly defeated, but it was not the first time for the Lake Superior Region.
Before Michigan became a state many wondered what would happen as the US began to expand. Even Thomas Jefferson had proposed a state encompassing the UP and parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, which he called “Sylvania”. While Jefferson’s state never came to be, since Michigan’s ratification there have been several times when secessionist attitudes have reached the surface in the UP. In recent years debate over Michigan’s tax law has sparked in interest in the conversation. Is it possible, that in the not so distant future,Michigan’s upper peninsula might not be Michigan’s anymore?