Michigan consists of twopeninsulas.TheLower Peninsularesembles the shape of amitten,and comprises a majority of the state's land area. TheUpper Peninsula(often called "the U.P." ) is separated from the Lower Peninsula by theStraits of Mackinac,a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. TheMackinac Bridgeconnects the peninsulas. Michigan has the longestfreshwatercoastline of any political subdivision in the United States, being bordered by four of the fiveGreat LakesandLake St. Clair.It also has 64,980inland lakes and ponds.Michigan has the second-most water area of any state, behind only Alaska.
The area was first occupied by a succession ofNative Americantribes over thousands of years. In the 17th century, French explorers claimed it as part of theNew Francecolony, when it was largely inhabited by Indigenous peoples. French and Canadian traders and settlers,Métis,and others migrated to the area, settling largely along the waterways. After France's defeat in theFrench and Indian Warin 1762, the region came under British rule. Britain ceded the territory to the newly independent United States after its defeat in theAmerican Revolutionary War.The area was part of the largerNorthwest Territoryuntil 1800, when western Michigan became part of theIndiana Territory.Michigan Territorywas formed in 1805, but some of the northern border withCanadawas not agreed upon until after theWar of 1812.Michigan was admitted into the Union in 1837 as the 26th state, afree one.It soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region, attracting immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from manyEuropean countries.Immigrants fromFinland,Macedonia,and theNetherlandswere especially numerous. Migration fromAppalachiaand ofBlack Southernersas part of theGreat Migrationincreased in the 1930s, with many settling in Metro Detroit.
Although Michigan has developed a diverse economy, in the early 20th century it became widely known as the center of theU.S. automotive industry,which developed as a major national economic force. It is home to the country'sthree major automobile companies(whose headquarters are all in Metro Detroit). Once exploited for logging and mining, today the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula is important for tourism because of its abundance of natural resources. The Lower Peninsula is a center ofmanufacturing,forestry,agriculture,services,andhigh-techindustry. (Full article...)
Beginning in the late 1990s, the White Stripes sought success within theDetroit music scene,releasing six singles and two studio albums, theirself-titled debut album(1999) andDe Stijl(2000). They rose to prominence with their critically acclaimed albumsWhite Blood Cells(2001) andElephant(2003), which propelled them to the forefront of the garage rock revival scene. The single "Seven Nation Army",which used a guitar and anoctave pedalto create the opening riff, became one of their most recognizable songs. The band released two more albums,Get Behind Me Satan(2005) andIcky Thump(2007), and the documentaryUnder Great White Northern Lights(2009), before dissolving in 2011 after a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording. (Full article...)
TheFord Model Tis anautomobilethat was produced by theFord Motor Companyfrom October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relatively low price was partly the result of Ford's efficient fabrication, includingassembly lineproduction instead of individual handcrafting. The savings frommass productionallowed the price to decline from $780 in 1910 to $290 in 1924 ($5,156 in 2023 dollars). It was mainly designed by three engineers,Joseph A. Galamb(the main engineer),Eugene Farkas,andChilde Harold Wills.The Model T wascolloquiallyknown as the "Tin Lizzie".
The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999Car of the Centurycompetition, ahead of theBMC Mini,Citroën DS,andVolkswagen Beetle.Ford's Model T was successful not only because it provided inexpensive transportation on a massive scale, but also because the car signified innovation for the rising middle class and became a powerful symbol of the United States' age of modernization. With over 15 million sold, it was themost sold car in historybefore being surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1972. (Full article...)
Image 8Treaty of Paris,byBenjamin West(1783), an unfinished painting of the American diplomatic negotiators of theTreaty of Pariswhich brought official conclusion to theRevolutionary Warand gave possession of Michigan and other territory to the new United States (fromMichigan)
Image 11Detroitin the mid-twentieth century. At the time, the city was the fourth-largest U.S. metropolis by population, and held about one-third of the state's population. (fromMichigan)
Image 12Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaking at a National Guard ceremony in 2019 (fromMichigan)
Image 26Union members occupying a General Motors body factory during theFlint Sit-Down Strikeof 1937 which spurred the organization of militant CIO unions in auto industry (fromHistory of Michigan)
Image 34A map of Michigan byHenry Schenck Tanner,published in 1842, showing such county names as "Negwegon County," "Okkuddo County," and "Unwattin County," prior to an 1843 legislative action renaming sixteen counties in northern Michigan (fromHistory of Michigan)
State Quarter– Released in 2004
Commons
Wikibooks
Wikidata
Wikinews
Wikiquote
Wikisource
Wikiversity
Wikivoyage
Wiktionary
