MICHIGAN

constituent state of the United States of America. Although its 58,527 square miles (151,586 square kilometres) rank the state only 23rd in size nationally, the inclusion of Great Lakes waters over which it has jurisdiction raises the figure to 97,102 square miles (251,495 square kilometres), placing it 10th. The capital is Lansing. The state's name is derived from an Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian word meaning large lake. Michigan is the only one of the 49 continental states to be split into two large land segments: the sparsely populated but mineral-rich Upper Peninsula slices eastward from northern Wisconsin between Lakes Superior and Michigan, and the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula reaches northward from Indiana and Ohio. The two landmasses have been connected since 1957 by Big Mac, the five-mile (eight-kilometre) Mackinac Bridge across the Straits of Mackinac, which separate Lake Michigan on the west from Lake Huron on the east. Between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, in the southeast, the Lower Peninsula is separated from the Canadian province of Ontario by Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers. Since its admission on Jan. 26, 1837, as the 26th state of the Union and the fourth to be carved from the Northwest Territory, Michigan has become a mainspring in the economic life of the United States; the name of its largest city, Detroit, has become a byword throughout the world for the American automotive industry. The state also has retained its prominence in agriculture, and, because of its many inland lakes, its borders on four of the five Great Lakes, and its many wilderness tracts, Michigan has evolved into one of the nation's leading tourist regions. More than 70 percent of the state's residents live in urban areas, with a heavy concentration in the industrialized centres of the Lower Peninsula. This factor, together with a broad array of ethnic and national stocks among the people and a high number of lesser-skilled workers attracted to Michigan by the union-dominated labour scene, has created in many cities the typical marks of economic progress and poverty existing side by side, with a sometimes tenuous social stability. The state government coordinates a vast network of programs attempting to reduce these contrasts, and it has provided a system of public higher education that is among the most diversified and renowned in the nation. The Midwest. constituent state of the United States of America, lying in the Middle West, in the north-central United States, surrounded almost entirely by the Great Lakes. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, across from which is the Canadian province of Ontario; on the east by Lakes Huron and Erie and the southern tip of Ontario province; on the south by Ohio and Indiana; and on the west by Lake Michigan and Wisconsin. The capital is Lansing. Michigan's original inhabitants were mainly Algonquian-speaking Indians. The French settled parts of the area in the 17th century, founding Sault Ste. Marie in 1668 and Detroit in 1701; fur trading was their primary activity. The English gained control of Michigan in 1763, the Americans in 1783, though the English maintained a presence until 1796 and actually recaptured Detroit in the early years of the War of 1812. After that war, settlement accelerated, and Michigan became the 26th state in 1837. Michigan is divided into two large land segments: the Upper and Lower peninsulas. The western region of the Upper Peninsula is part of the Superior Upland, a rugged, mineral-rich area where elevations reach more than 1,900 feet (579 m). The remainder of the state is part of the Central Lowland, a mildly rolling area comprising largely denuded white-pine forests and sandy soil, though a fertile clay soil abounds in the south. The climate, which is tempered by the Great Lakes, is mild. Though the Upper Peninsula is cooler, the difference in temperature range between far northern and far southern cities is not excessive. In July, the average temperature in Sault Ste. Marie is 64 F (18 C); in Detroit, 73 F (23 C). The corresponding January averages are 14 to 16 F (-10 to -8.9 C) and 26 F (-3 C). Southern Michigan is the wettest part of the state; the average annual precipitation for the entire state is 31 inches (787 mm). The coastal strip along Lake Michigan receives an unusually large snowfall from westerly storms moving across the lake. From its French period, Michigan had a sizable Roman Catholic population that was augmented by later waves of immigrants from Poland and Italy. The Upper Peninsula attracted a number of Finns and Cornishmen, and western Michigan was settled extensively by Dutch who brought their Reformed religious tradition with them. Germans settled throughout the state, but the Irish population remained largely urban. The migration of blacks to Michigan has been significant. In 1980 the state was nearly 13 percent black, but the city of Detroit was more than 63 percent black. Hispanic, Arab, and Asian immigrants constituted increasingly significant elements of the urban population in the 1980s. Michigan's rate of growth from 1970 to 1980 exceeded that of the other heavily industrial states in the Middle West but was still well below the national average. The city of Detroit continued to lose population20 percent between 1970 and 1980but the Detroit metropolitan area still represented almost half of the state's total population. Agriculture is important but has not been as important as manufacturing during the 20th century. Grains are grown in the south, potatoes in the north. Fruit is grown along the coastal strip of Lake Michigan. The Upper Peninsula is rich in copper and iron ores, and mining is a mainstay of its economy. Tourism has become a major industry, but manufacturing remains the basis of Michigan's economic strength. The automobile industry has long been synonymous with Detroit. Machinery, fabricated metals, food products, and chemicals are other major manufactures. Water transportation is still important; exports are shipped from Detroit harbour, and metal ores (especially iron) travel by way of the Great Lakes. Railways date from 1836. The state is well served by roads and highways. Detroit is the cultural centre of Michigan, with a symphony orchestra and the Institute of Arts. There are some 90 colleges and universities in the state, including the University of Michigan, opened in 1837. The Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids and the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor are relatively recent additions to the state's cultural resources. Local ethnic festivals include Holland's Tulip Time Festival and Frankenmuth's Bavarian Festival. Area 58,527 square miles (151,586 square km). Pop. (1990) 9,295,297. Additional reading Writers' Program, Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State (1941, reissued 1973), is still a useful overview. The state's physical features are described in Lawrence M. Sommers, Michigan: A Geography (1984); and Richard A. Santer, Michigan, Heart of the Great Lakes (1977). Maps of the state may be found in Lawrence M. Sommers (ed.), Atlas of Michigan (1977); and DeLorme Mapping Company, Michigan Atlas & Gazetteer, 5th ed. (1995). Interesting studies of Michigan's ethnic origins include James A. Clifton, George L. Cornell, and James M. McClurken, People of the Three Fires: The Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibway of Michigan (1986); C. Warren Vander Hill, Settling the Great Lakes Frontier: Immigration to Michigan, 18371924 (1970); Reginald Larrie, Black Experiences in Michigan History (1975); and James M. Anderson and Iva A. Smith (eds.), Ethnic Groups in Michigan (1983). George S. May, A Most Unique Machine: The Michigan Origins of the American Automobile Industry (1975); and Angus Murdoch, Boom Copper: The Story of the First U.S. Mining Boom (1943, reissued 1964), focus on Michigan's economy. Useful general histories include Richard J. Hathaway (ed.), Michigan: Visions of Our Past (1989); George S. May, Michigan: An Illustrated History of the Great Lakes State (1987); Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz, Michigan (1981); and Willis F. Dunbar, Michigan, rev. ed. by George S. May (1980). Richard J. Hathaway The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica