Editing Michigan (section)

===19th century===
{{Main|Indiana Territory|Organic act#List of organic acts|Michigan Territory|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union|Michigan in the American Civil War}}

During the [[War of 1812]], the United States forces at Fort Detroit surrendered [[Michigan Territory]] (effectively consisting of Detroit and the surrounding area) after a nearly bloodless [[Siege of Detroit|siege]] in 1812. A U.S. attempt to retake Detroit resulted in a severe American defeat in the [[River Raisin Massacre]]. This battle, still ranked as the bloodiest ever fought in the state, had the highest number of American casualties of any battle of the war.

Michigan was recaptured by the Americans in 1813 after the [[Battle of Lake Erie]]. They used Michigan as a base to launch an invasion of Canada, which culminated in the [[Battle of the Thames]]. But the more northern areas of Michigan were held by the British until the peace treaty restored the old boundaries. A number of forts, including [[Fort Wayne (Detroit)|Fort Wayne]], were built by the United States in Michigan during the 19th century out of fears of renewed fighting with Britain.

[[ File:Detroit in 1820 and steamboat Walk-in-the-Water.jpg |thumb|''[[Walk-in-the-Water]]'' steamboat at Detroit, 1820]]
Michigan Territory governor and judges established the [[University of Michigan]] in 1817, as the Catholepistemiad, or the University of Michigania.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pence |first=Studio |date=2016-10-16 |title=Why 1817 Matters |url=https://historyofum.umich.edu/why-1817-matters/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=The History of the University of Michigan |language=en-US}}</ref>

The population grew slowly until the opening in 1825 of the [[Erie Canal]] through the Mohawk Valley in New York, connecting the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and New York City.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://eriecanalway.org/learn/history-culture | title=Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor :: History and Culture }}</ref> The new route attracted a large influx of settlers to the Michigan territory. They worked as farmers, lumbermen, shipbuilders, and merchants and shipped out grain, lumber, and iron ore. By the 1830s, Michigan had 30,000 residents, more than enough to apply and qualify for statehood.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://crcmich.org/almanac/population/michigan-population-trends | title=Michigan Population Trends }}</ref>

On November 1, 1935, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative 3-cent stamp celebrating the 100th anniversary of Michigan statehood. Michigan's statehood, however, wasn't officially established until January 26, 1837, but since the campaign for statehood actually began in 1835, Michigan chose to hold its centennial celebration in 1935, the year the stamp was first issued.<ref name=centennial>{{cite web |first= |last= |title=Michigan Centenary Issue |publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum |year= |accessdate=November 3, 2023 |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-commemorative-issues-1934-1935/michigan-centenary |ref=smithsonian35 |archive-date=November 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104024922/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-commemorative-issues-1934-1935/michigan-centenary |url-status=live }}</ref>

A constitutional convention of assent was held to lead the territory to statehood.<ref name="Progress">{{cite book |title = Men of Progress: Embracing Biographical Sketches of Representative Michigan Men with an Outline History of the State |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lPlAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA313 |year = 1900 |publisher = Evening News Association. |page = 313 |access-date = October 31, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180818082123/https://books.google.com/books?id=lPlAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA313 |archive-date = August 18, 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref> In October 1835 the people approved the constitution of 1835, thereby forming a state government. [[United States Congress|Congressional]] recognition was delayed pending resolution of a boundary dispute with [[Ohio]] known as the [[Toledo War]]. Congress awarded the "Toledo Strip" to Ohio. Michigan received the western part of the Upper Peninsula as a concession and formally entered the Union as a [[slave and free states|free state]] on January 26, 1837. The Upper Peninsula proved to be a rich source of lumber, iron, and copper. Michigan led the nation in lumber production from the 1850s to the 1880s. [[History of railroads in Michigan|Railroads]] became a major engine of growth from the 1850s onward, with [[History of Detroit|Detroit the chief hub]].
[[File:Co. D, 21st Michigan Infantry. Sherman's Volunteers MET DP70807.jpg|thumb|The [[21st Michigan Infantry Regiment|21st Michigan Infantry]], a company of [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]'s veterans]]
A second wave of French-Canadian immigrants settled in Michigan during the late 19th to early 20th century, working in lumbering areas in counties on the Lake Huron side of the Lower Peninsula, such as the Saginaw Valley, Alpena, and Cheboygan counties, as well as throughout the Upper Peninsula, with large concentrations in Escanaba and the [[Keweenaw Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite book |last = Dulong |first = John |title = French Canadians in Michigan |year = 2001 |publisher = Michigan State University Press |location = Lansing, Michigan |isbn = 978-0-87013-582-8 |pages = 3–5}}</ref> 

The first statewide meeting of the [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] took place on July 6, 1854, in [[Jackson, Michigan]], where the party adopted its platform.{{cn|date=February 2024}} The state was predominantly Republican until the 1930s, reflecting the political continuity of migrants from across the Northern Tier of New England and New York.{{cn|date=February 2024}} Michigan made [[Michigan in the American Civil War|a significant contribution]] to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in the [[American Civil War]] and sent more than forty regiments of volunteers to the federal armies.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Michigan modernized and expanded its system of education in this period.{{cn|date=February 2024}} The Michigan State Normal School, now [[Eastern Michigan University]], was founded in 1849, for the training of teachers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-01-04 |title=EMU : Historic Tour |url=http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/hist.htm |access-date=2025-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104155406/http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/hist.htm |archive-date=January 4, 2008 }}</ref> It was the fourth oldest [[normal school]] in the [[United States]] and the first [[normal school#United States|U.S. normal school]] outside [[New England]].{{cn|date=February 2024}} In 1899, the Michigan State Normal School became the first normal school in the nation to offer a four-year curriculum. Michigan Agricultural College (1855), now [[Michigan State University]] in [[East Lansing, Michigan|East Lansing]], was founded as the first [[agricultural college]] in the nation.{{cn|date=February 2024}} Many private colleges were founded as well, and the smaller cities established high schools late in the century.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Dunbar |last2 = May |title = Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State |url = https://archive.org/details/michiganhistoryo01dunb |url-access = registration |chapter = Chapter 14 |year = 1980 |publisher = Eerdman |isbn = 9780802870438 |name-list-style = amp}}</ref>