Michigan

(mish'e-găn,) a N.W. State of the American Union, geographically divided into two distinct peninsulas, the upper one of which is b. N. by Lake Superior, N.E. by Canadian territory, S. by the Lower Peninsula, Lake Michigan, and Wisconsin, and W. by the latter State; the lower division, separated from the upper on the N. by the Straits of Mackinaw, is b. E. by Lakes Huron, St. Clair, and Erie, S. by Ohio and Indiana, and W. by Lake Michigan. United area, 56,243 sq. m., or 35,995,520 acres. Extent of the Upper and smaller peninsula-length, 316 m.; breadth, fluctuating bet. 36 and 120 m. The S. division is 416 m. long, by from 50 to 300 m. wide. Aggregate lake-shore line, 1,400 miles. The Upper, or N., Peninsula consists chiefly of an elevated plateau, expanding into the Porcupine mountain system, attaining a maximum height of some 2,000ft. Its shores along Lake Superior are eminently bold and picturesque, and its area is rich in minerals, its product of copper constituting an important source of industry. Both divisions are heavily wooded, and the S. one, in addition, boasts of a deep, rich, loamy soil, throwing up excellent crops of cereals and other agricultural produce. Its interior water-system comprises the rivers (in the S. peninsula) Au Sable, Huron, Saginaw, and Raisin all emptying into Lakes Erie and Huron; with the Kalamazoo, Grand, Manistee, Muskeg on, and St. Joseph, having their outlets in Lake Michigan. The Menomonee is the main stream of the upper section, and falls into Green Bay. The chief islands included within the State limits are those of Isle Royale and Grand Island, in Lake Superior, and those of Drummond, Mackinaw, Beaver, Bois Blano, & c., at the lower end of Lake Michigan, and bet. it and the Canadian shore. The climate is generally mild and humid, though the winter colds are severe. The chief staples of farm husbandry include the cereals, gra es, maple sugar, sorghum, tobacco, fruits, and dairy-stuffs. In 1870, the acres of land in farms were improved 5,096,939; unimproved woodland 4,080,146; other unimproved land 842,057. The cash value of land was $398,240,578; of farming implements and machinery $13,711,979. In the same year the value of forest products was $2,559,682; of home manuf. $338,008. The value of live-stock was $49,809,869. The farm crops in 1870 were as follows: wheat 16,265,773 bshs., rye 144,508 bshs., Indian corn 14,086,238 bshs., oats 8,954,466 bshs., barley 834,558 bshs., buckwheat 436,755 bshs., tobacco 5,385 lbs., wool 8,726,145 lbs., peas and beans 349,365 bshs., potatoes 10,318,799 bshs., wine 21,832 gls., butter 24,400,185 lbs., cheese 670,804 lbs., hay 1,290,923 tons, clover 49,918 bshs., hops 828,269 lbs.,flax 240,110 lbs., maple sugar 1,781,855 lbs., (mola es) sorghum 94,686, and maple 23,637 gls., (bees) wax 14,571 and honey 280,325 lbs. In 1869 there were shipped from the Lake Superior ports 874,582 tons of iron-ore, and 45,762 of smelted pig, along with 14,188 tons of copper (ore and ingot). Coal is another article largely mined. Inland communication is provided for by an admirably organized railroad system, and by the St. Mary's Ship Canal, connecting Lakes Huron and Superior. M. is politically divided into 78 cos.; its chief urban centres are Detroit, Lansing (cap.), Ann Arbor, Marquette, Bay City, Niles, Ypsilanti, Grand Haven, . The governor of the State is elected biennially. The legislature consists of a Senate of 32 members, and a House of Representatives of 100 members, all chosenbi-yearly. The present constitution dates from August 5, 1850, and the State is represented in the National Congre by 2 senators and 9 representatives. On November 30, 1870, the aggregate bonded debt of M. amounted to $2,385,028, and the a e ed valuation of land to $266,929,278, representing an estimated cash value of $800,000,000. Education is largely diffused and most excellently conducted and provided for. The State university at Ann Arbor, the colleges of Detroit and Kalamazoo, the Albion Female College, the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, and the State Agricultural College at Lansing, are chief among the academic institutions. M. (a term of Chippeway origin, and signifying "Great Lake) was discovered and first settled by French Canadians, who, in 1670, founded Detroit, the pioneer of a series of trading-posts on the Indian frontier. During the " Conspiracy of Pontiac," following the French lo of Canada, M. became the scene of a sanguinary struggle between the whites and aborigines. In 1796, it became annexed to the United States, which incorporated this region with the N.W. Territory, and then with Indiana Ter., till 1803, when it be a me territorially indep. M. was the theatre of warlike operations during the war of 1812 with Great Britain, and in 1819 was authorized to be represented by one delegate in Congre ; in 1837 she was admitted into the Union as a State, and in 1869 ratified the 15th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Pop. 1,184,059. [s. 599]