Michigan is a state in the United States. The name is derived from Lake Michigan, which in turn is believed to come from the Chippewa Indian word meicigama, meaning "great water." Bounded by four of the Great Lakes, Michigan has the longest state shoreline in the continental United States, and more recreational boats than any state in the union.

The state is primarily known as the birthplace of the automobile industry. However, it is also home to a thriving tourist industry, with destinations such as Traverse City, Mackinac Island and the entire Upper Peninsula drawing vacationers, hunters and nature enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada.

When outsiders think "Michigan," they often conjure images of gritty, industrial Detroit. In reality, the state is a vast rural territory, graced with thousands of square miles of pristine wilderness. The clang and clamor of the Motor City's crowded freeways and labor-union battles stand in vivid counterpoint to the tranquility found in virtually every corner of the famously glove-shaped state.

An individual from Michigan is called a "Michigander" or "Michiganian." A resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula ("the U.P.") is often called a "Yooper" (for "U-Per"). In turn, residents of the lower peninsula may be jokingly referred to as "trolls" -- because they "live below the Mackinac Bridge."

Its U.S. postal abbreviation is "MI" (old style: "Mich."). The U.S. Navy's USS Michigan was named in honor of the state.

Contents [showhide]
1 History

1.1 Early European history
1.2 U.S. history
1.3 Major historical events

2 Law and Government

3 Geography

3.1 National parks

4 Economy

5 Demographics

6 Important cities

7 Education

7.1 Colleges and universities
7.2 Community Colleges and Technical Schools

8 Professional sports teams

8.1 Other notable sports teams

9 State symbols

10 Miscellaneous information

10.1 Quick trivia
10.2 Related articles

11 External links

[edit]
History
Once a thriving lumber capital and supplier of iron and copper minerals, Michigan's economy underwent a massive shift at the turn of the 20th century. The birth of the automotive industry, with Henry Ford's first plant in the Highland Park suburb of Detroit, marked the beginning of a new era in personal transportation. It was a development that not only transformed Detroit and Michigan, but permanently altered the socio-economic climate of the United States.

Today, many automotive manufacturing plants remain. However, Detroit's industrial base steadily eroded after World War II, as auto companies abandoned some of the area's industrial parks in favor of less expensive labor found overseas and in the largely non-unionized southern United States.

[edit]
Early European history
1622 Étienne Brûlé and his fellow explorers from Grenoble, France, were probably the first white men to see Lake Superior.
1668 Père (Father) Jacques Marquette establishes Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, first European settlement in Michigan
1701 Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac, with his lieutenant Alphonse de Tonty, established a trading post on the Detroit River which they named Fort Pontchartrain; present site of Detroit.
[edit]
U.S. history
1805 Michigan Territory was created, with Detroit designated as the seat of government. William Hull appointed as governor. Detroit was destroyed by fire.
1828 Territorial Capitol was built at Detroit at a cost of $24,500.
1835 First Constitutional Convention. Stevens T. Mason inaugurated as the first Governor. Stevens T. Mason started a minor conflict with Ohio over the city of Toledo, (now Toledo, Ohio) known as the Toledo War the same year: Ohio was awarded Toledo but Michigan was given a majority of Michigan's upper peninsula.
1837 Admitted as a free state into the union (the 26th state), it was admitted with the slave state of Arkansas
[edit]
Major historical events
January 26, 1837 Michigan became the 26th US State.
1838 Patriot War
1847 A law was passed by the State Legislature to locate the State Capital "in the township of Lansing, in the county of Ingham."
1879 New State Capitol dedicated in Lansing. The structure cost $1,510,130.
1890s and 1900s Ford, Chrysler and General Motors founded in southeastern Michigan.
1937 Flint Sit-down Strike ends with official recognition of the United Auto Workers by General Motors.
1957 Five-mile long Mackinac Bridge opened November 1.
1974 Gerald R. Ford of Grand Rapids became the 38th President of the United States.
1976 Throw away bottles banned by referendum vote.
1987 Michigan celebrated 150 years of statehood.
[edit]
Law and Government
Capital: Lansing
Law/Government of state
governor -- current, previous governors
Current: Jennifer Granholm
Michigan Legislature -- bicameral
Michigan State House of Representatives
Michigan Senate
structure of state judicary
state constitution
Referendum and Voter Initiative: Michigan's constitution provides for voter initiative and referendum (Article II, § 9 [ [1] (http://www.michiganlegislature.org/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=mcl-Constitution-II-9&queryid=3791545&highlight=referendum)] ), defined as "the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature, called the referendum. The power of initiative extends only to laws which the legislature may enact under this constitution."
Michigan counties and townships are statutory units of government, meaning that they have only those powers expressly provided or fairly implied by state law. Cities and villages are vested with home rule powers, meaning that they can do almost anything not prohibited by law.

There are two types of townships in Michigan: general law and charter. Charter township status was created by the state legislature in 1947 and grants additional powers and stream-lined administration in order to provide greater protection against annexation by a city. As of April 2001, there were 127 charter townships in Michigan.

See: List of Michigan Governors, List of United States Senators from Michigan, List of United States Representatives from Michigan

[edit]
Geography
See: List of Michigan counties Islands of Michigan List of Michigan rivers

Michigan borders Indiana and Ohio to the south, and Wisconsin to the southwest of the Upper Peninsula. Michigan also borders Minnesota, Illinois and Ontario but only on water boundaries in the Great Lakes system. The highest point is Mount Arvon in the Upper Peninsula at 1979 feet (603 m). The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is Briar Hill at 1705 feet (520 meters).

Michigan consists of two peninsulas:

the Lower Peninsula and
the Upper Peninsula
The Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten and is 277 miles long from north to south and 195 miles from east to west. The heavily forested Upper Peninsula (often called simply "The U.P.") is as big as Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island combined, but has less than 320,000 inhabitants, who are sometimes called "Yoopers" (from "U.P.'ers") and whose speech has been heavily influenced by the large number of Scandinavian and Canadian immigrants who settled the area during the mining boom of the late 1800's.

These two sections are connected only by the five mile long Mackinac Bridge -- the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The two peninsulas are surrounded by an extensive Great Lakes shoreline. Other than Alaska, Michigan has the longest shoreline of any state -- 2,242 miles (and another 879 miles if islands are included). This equals the length of the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to Florida. The Great Lakes which touch the two peninsulas of Michigan are Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. No point in Michigan is more than 6 miles from an inland lake or more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes, and the state has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of rivers and streams.

[edit]
National parks
Isle Royale National Park
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Father Marquette National Memorial
See also Protected areas of Michigan, List of Michigan state parks

[edit]
Economy
See also: List of companies based in Michigan

State income
Major industries/products
Automobiles (General Motors, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler), Amway, Cereal (Kellogg's), Copper, Furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller), Iron
state taxes
[edit]
Demographics
Michigan Resident Population (2000 Census): 9,938,444
racial/ethnic makeup of state
religious makeup of state

See also Highway map of Michigan

[edit]
Important cities
See: List of cities, villages, and townships in Michigan

Detroit (Motor City, Motown)
Grand Rapids (The Furniture City)
Lansing (the state capital)
Traverse City (the Cherry Capital of the World)
[edit]
Education
[edit]
Colleges and universities
Adrian College
Albion College
Alma College
Andrews University
Aquinas College
Baker College
Calvin College
Center for Creative Studies College of Art and Design
Central Michigan University
Cleary College
Concordia University, Ann Arbor
Cornerstone University
Davenport University
Eastern Michigan University
Ferris State University
Finlandia University
Grace Bible College
Grand Valley State University
Hillsdale College
Hope College
Kalamazoo College
Kendall College of Art and Design
Kettering University
Lake Superior State University
Lawrence Technological University
Madonna University
Marygrove College
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Northern Michigan University
Northwood University
Oakland University
Olivet College
Rochester College
Saginaw Valley State University
Siena Heights University
Spring Arbor University
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Michigan System
University of Michigan Ann Arbor main campus
University of Michigan-Dearborn
University of Michigan-Flint
Walsh College
Wayne State University
Western Michigan University
William Tyndale College

[edit]
Community Colleges and Technical Schools

American College of Computer and Information Sciences
Alpena Community College
Bay de Noc Community College
Bay Mills Community College
Delta College
Ellis College of NYIT
Glen Oaks Community College
Gogebic Community College
Grand Rapids Community College
Henry Ford Community College
ITT Technical Institute - Canton, Grand Rapids and Troy
Jackson Community College
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kellogg Community College
Kennedy-Western University
Kirtland Community College
Lake Michigan College
Lansing Community College
Macomb Community College
Mid-Michigan Community College
Monroe County Community College
Montcalm Community College
Mott Community College
Muskegon Community College
National Institute of Technology - Southfield
National Institute of Technology - Wyoming
North Central Michigan College
Northwestern Michigan College
Oakland Community College
Olympia Career Training Institute - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Olympia Career Training Institute - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Saint Clair County Community College
Schoolcraft College
Southwestern Michigan College
Suomi College
University of Phoenix - Detroit, Michigan
University of Phoenix - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Washtenaw Community College
Wayne County Community College
West Shore Community College

[edit]
Professional sports teams

Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball
Detroit Lions, National Football League
Detroit Red Wings, National Hockey League
Detroit Pistons, National Basketball Association
Detroit Shock, Women's National Basketball Association
Minor League baseball teams
West Michigan Whitecaps
Battle Creek Yankees (formerly the Michigan Battle Cats)
Lansing Lugnuts

[edit]
Other notable sports teams
Detroit Fury, Arena Football League
Detroit Demolition, National Women's Football Association
Grand Rapids Rampage, Arena Football League
Grand Rapids Griffins, American Hockey League
Muskegon Fury, United Hockey League
Port Huron Beacons, United Hockey League
Flint Generals, United Hockey League
[edit]
State symbols
State Motto: Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice
State Song: My Michigan (official, but disputed amongst Michiganders)
State Bird: American Robin
State Mammal: White-tailed Deer
State Fish: Brook Trout
State Reptile: Painted Turtle
State Fossil: Mastodont
State Flower: Apple Blossom
State Wildflower: Dwarf Lake Iris
State Tree: White Pine
State Stone: Petoskey stone
State Gem: Isle Royale greenstone
State Soil: Kalkaska Sand
[edit]
Miscellaneous information
Michigan has 116 lighthouses. The first lighthouses in Michigan were built between 1818 and 1822. They were built to project light at night and to serve as a landmark during the day to safely guide the freighters traveling the Great Lakes. See Lighthouses in the United States.

Michigan has the most registered boats (over 1 million) of any state in the Union.

Although most famous for its automotive industry, over half of Michigan's land is forested, much of it quite remote.

[edit]
Quick trivia
State nicknames include the Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, and Winter Water Wonderland.
The state motto, Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice is Latin for "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you", a paraphrase of a statement made by British architect Sir Christopher Wren about his influence on London.
The state stone, the Petoskey stone (Hexagonaria pericarnata), is composed of fossilized diatoms from long ago when the middle of the continent was covered with a shallow sea.
The state gem chlorastrolite, literally the green star stone, also known as the Isle Royale greenstone is found on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw.
The state wildflower, the Dwarf Lake Iris (Iris lacustris), is a federal-listed threatened species.
The state soil, Kalkaska Sand, ranges in color from black to yellowish brown, covers nearly a million acres (4,000 km²) in 29 counties.
Michigan is the only state composed of two separate peninsulas.
[edit]
Related articles
List of Governors of Michigan
List of Michigan-related topics
List of highways in Michigan
List of Michigan counties
List of people from Michigan
[edit]
External links

Government Tourism Culture & History
State Website (http://www.michigan.gov/)
City of Detroit (http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/)
City of Grand Rapids (http://www.grand-rapids.mi.us/)
Travel Michigan (http://travel.michigan.org/)
UpNorth: The northern peninsula (http://www.michiweb.com/)
VisitDetroit (http://visitdetroit.com/)
Michigan Bed & Breakfasts (http://www.michiganbbinns.com)
Michigan's Top 100 Artists & Entertainers (http://www.freep.com/fun/features/web125_19991212.htm)
CoolCities project (http://www.coolcities.com/)
Michigan History Magazine (http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/)
Motown Historical Museum (http://www.motownmuseum.com)

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Michigan".

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