Si Quæris Peninsulam Amœnam CircumspiceOne hundred eighty-two years ago to the day, 26 January 1837, Michigan was admitted into the Union as the twenty-sixth state of these United States of America. Under the protocols of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Michigan's admission as a free state balanced Arkansas's 1836 admission as the slave state. The Michigan Territory's state constitution was approved by a convention in 1835, but Congressional approval was delayed until after the resolution of a border dispute with the State of Ohio (admitted 1803), which saw the "Toledo Strip" awarded to Ohio & what is now called the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) given to Michigan as compensation.
("If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you")
Michigan is unique among the several states in being composed of two peninsulas (thus, the state motto at the top of this post). In addition to Michigan being surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, there are almost sixty-five thousand lakes & ponds within these pleasant peninsulas. The name Michigan originates in an Ojibwe language word, mishigamaa, usually translated as "large water," & within the state one is never more than six miles from a natural water source (a lake, pond, or spring) nor more than eighty-five miles from a Great Lake.
Michigan was admitted to the Union, 26 January 1837, one hundred eighty-two years ago today.
TueborThe Rebel Black Dot Song of Michigan
("I will defend")
Jeff Daniels, "Michigan, My Michigan" from Live and Unplugged to Benefit the Purple Rose Theatre (The Last Angry Michigander)
The Wayback Machine Tour of Michigan's Statehood
181 Years—2018
180 Years—2017
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