OFFICIAL SEAL: The coat of arms surrounded by the words “The Great Seal of the State of Michigan” and the date “A.D. MDCCCXXXV.” (1835, the year the state constitution was adopted).

FLAG: The coat of arms centered on a dark blue field, fringed on three sides.

COAT OF ARMS: In the center, a shield depicts a peninsula on which a man stands, at sunrise, holding a rifle. At the top of the shield is the word “Tuebor” (I will defend), beneath it the state motto. Supporting the shield are an elk on the left and a moose on the right. Over the whole, on a crest, is an American eagle beneath the US motto, E pluribus unum.

MOTTO: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you).

SONG: “Michigan, My Michigan” (unofficial).

FLOWER: Apple blossom.

TREE: White pine.

BIRD: Robin.

FISH: Trout.

REPTILE: Painted turtle.

GEM: Chlorastrolite (Isle Royale Greenstone).

ROCK OR STONE: Petoskey stone.

LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year’s Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Presidents’ Day, 3rd Monday in February; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Election Day, 1st Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years; Veterans’ Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November plus one day; Christmas Day, 25 December.

TIME: 7 AM EST = noon GMT; 6 AM CST = noon GMT.

1 Location and Size

Located in the eastern north-central United States, Michigan is the third-largest state east of the Mississippi River and ranks 23rd in size among the 50 states. The total area of Michigan (excluding Great Lakes waters) is 58,527 square miles (151,585 square kilometers), of which land takes up 56,954 square miles (147,511 square kilometers) and inland water 1,573 square miles (4,074 square kilometers). The state consists of the Upper Peninsula adjoining three of the Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, and Michigan) and the Lower Peninsula, projecting northward between Lakes Michigan, Erie, and Huron. Michigan has islands in Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan, and also in the St. Mary’s and Detroit Rivers. The state’s total boundary length is 1,673 miles (2,692 kilometers). The total freshwater shoreline is 3,121 miles (5,023 kilometers).

2 Topography

Michigan’s two peninsulas are generally level land masses, including flat lowlands in the eastern portion of both peninsulas, higher land in the western part of the Lower Peninsula, and hilly uplands in the Upper Peninsula. The state’s highest point, at 1,979 feet (603 meters), is Mt. Arvon, in Baraga County. The state’s lowest point, 572 feet (174 meters), is found in southeastern Michigan along Lake Erie.

Michigan’s political boundaries extend into four of the five Great Lakes (all but Lake Ontario), giving the state jurisdiction over portions of these lakes. In addition, Michigan has about 35,000 inland lakes and ponds, the largest of which is Houghton Lake, on the Lower Peninsula, with an area of 31 square miles (80 square kilometers).

The state’s leading river is the Grand, about 260 miles (420 kilometers) long, flowing through the Lower Peninsula into Lake Michigan. Other major rivers of the Lower Peninsula include the Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Saginaw, and Huron. Most major rivers in the Upper Peninsula (including the longest, the Menominee) flow southward into Lake Michigan. Tahquamenon Falls, in the

Michigan Population Profile

Total population estimate in 2006:	10,095,643
Population change, 2000–06:	1.6%
Hispanic or Latino†:	3.8%
Population by race
One race:	98.4%
White:	80.0%
Black or African American:	14.0%
American Indian /Alaska Native:	0.6%
Asian:	2.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander:	0.0%
Some other race:	1.5%
Two or more races:	1.6%

Population by Age Group

Major Cities by Population
City	Population	% change 2000–05
Notes: †A person of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race. NA indicates that data are not available.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey and Population Estimates. www.census.gov/ (accessed March 2007).
Detroit	886,671	-6.8
Grand Rapids	193,790	-2.0
Warren	135,311	-2.1
Sterling Heights	128,034	2.9
Flint	118,551	-5.1
Lansing	115,518	-3.0
Ann Arbor	113,271	-0.7
Livonia	97,977	-2.6
Dearborn	94,090	-3.8
Westland	85,623	-1.1

eastern part of the Upper Peninsula, is the largest of the state’s more than 150 waterfalls.

Most of the many islands belonging to Michigan are located in northern Lake Michigan and in Lake Huron. In northern Lake Michigan, Beaver Island is the largest, while Drummond Island, offthe eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula, is the largest island in the northern Lake Huron area.

3 Climate

Michigan has a temperate climate with well-defined seasons. The warmest temperatures and longest frost-free period are found most generally in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula. Detroit’s temperatures range from 23°f (-5°c) in January to 72°f (22°c) in July. Colder temperatures prevail in the more northerly regions. Sault Ste. Marie has temperature ranges from 13°f (-11°c) in January to 64°f (18°c) in July. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the state was -51°f (-46°c), registered at Vanderbilt on 9 February 1934. The all-time high of 112°f (44°c) was recorded at Mio on 13 July 1936. Both sites are located in the interior of the Lower Peninsula, away from the moderating influence of the Great Lakes.

Detroit has an average annual precipitation of 32.9 inches (83.6 centimeters). Rainfall tends to decrease as one moves northward. The greatest snowfall is found in the extreme northern

Michigan Population by Race

Census 2000 was the first national census in which the instructions to respondents said, “Mark one or more races.” This table shows the number of people who are of one, two, or three or more races. For those claiming two races, the number of people belonging to the various categories is listed. The U.S. government conducts a census of the population every ten years.

	Number	Percent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000: Redistricting Data. Press release issued by the Redistricting Data Office. Washington, D.C., March, 2001. A dash (—) indicates that the percent is less than 0.1.
Total population	9,938,444	100.0
One race	9,746,028	98.1
Two races	180,824	1.8
White and Black or African American	35,461	0.4
White and American Indian/Alaska Native	47,122	0.5
White and Asian	20,599	0.2
White and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	1,497	—
White and some other race	51,880	0.5
Black or African American and American Indian/Alaska Native	8,436	0.1
Black or African American and Asian	2,360	—
Black or African American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	453	—
Black or African American and some other race	6,138	0.1
American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian	954	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	83	—
American Indian/Alaska Native and some other race	1,062	—
Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	936	—
Asian and some other race	3,625	—
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and some other race	218	—
Three or more races	11,592	0.1

areas where cloud cover created by cold air blowing over the warmer Lake Superior waters causes frequent heavy snow along the northern coast. Lake Michigan’s water temperatures create a snow belt along the west coast of the Lower Peninsula.

Cloudy days are more common in Michigan than in most states, in part because of the condensation of water vapor from the Great Lakes. The southern half of the Lower Peninsula is an area of heavy thunderstorm activity. Tornados occur from late spring through early summer.

4 Plants and Animals

Maple, birch, hemlock, aspen, spruce, and fir trees predominate in the Upper Peninsula. Maple, birch, aspen, pine, and beech are common in the lower. Elms have largely disappeared because of disease. The white pine (the state tree) and red pine have been replaced in cutover lands by aspen and birch.

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries are among the fruit-bearing plants and shrubs that grow wild in many areas of the state, as do mushrooms and wild asparagus. The state flower is the apple blossom. Wild flowers also abound, with as many as 400 varieties found in a single county. As of April 2006, eight Michigan plant species were listed as threatened or endangered, including the American hart’s-tongue fern, dwarf lake iris, Michigan Monkey-flower, and Eastern prairie fringed orchid.

Despite intensive hunting, the deer population remains high. Other game animals include the common cottontail, snowshoe hare, and raccoon. In addition to the raccoon, important native furbearers are the river otter and the beaver. Moose are now confined to Isle Royale, as are nearly all the remaining wolves, which once roamed throughout the state. More than 300 types of birds have been observed. The robin is the state bird. Ruffed grouse, bob-white quail, and various ducks and geese are hunted extensively. The most notable bird is Kirtland’s warbler, which nests only in a 60-square mile (155 square kilometer) section of jack-pine forest in north-central Michigan.

Reptiles include the massasauga, the state’s only poisonous snake. Whitefish, perch, and lake trout (the state fish) are native to the Great Lakes, while perch, bass, and pike are found in inland waters. Rainbow and brown trout have been introduced, and in the late 1960s, the state successfully introduced several species of salmon.

In 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed 13 Michigan animals as threatened or endangered. These included the Indiana bat, two species of beetle, two species of butterfly, the gray wolf, bald eagle, piping plover, and Kirkland’s warbler.

5 Environmental Protection

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is responsible for the administration of hundreds of programs affecting every aspect of the environment. The mission of the department is to conserve and develop the state’s natural resources and to protect and enhance the state’s environmental quality in order to provide clean air, clean water, productive land, and healthy life. Additionally, the department seeks to provide quality recreational opportunities to the people of Michigan through the effective management of state recreational lands and parks, boating facilities, and population of fish and wildlife.

In 2003, Michigan had 343 hazardous waste sites listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s database, 66 of which were on the National Priorities List, as of 2006.

6 Population

In 2005, Michigan ranked eighth in population in the Untied States with an estimated total of 10,095,643 residents. The population is projected to reach 10.71 million by 2025. The population density in 2004 was 178.5 persons per square mile (68.9 persons per square kilometer). Also in 2004, the median age was 36.6. In 2005, 12% of all residents were 65 or older, while 25% were 18 or younger.

About half the population was concentrated in the Detroit metropolitan area. The 2005 population in Detroit was estimated at 866,671, placing the city as the 11th largest city in the country. Although Detroit’s population has been steadily shrinking since it reached about 1.85 million in 1950, the metropolitan population has continued to grow. In 1995, the Detroit metropolitan area had 4.3 million. In 2004 it stood at 4.49 million. Other Michigan cities with their 2005 populations include Grand Rapids, 193,780; Warren, 135,311; Sterling Heights, 128,034; Flint, 118,551; Lansing (the capital), 115,518; and Ann Arbor, 113,271.

7 Ethnic Groups

According to the 2000 census, there were 58,479 American Indian residents in the state, including Eskimos and Aleuts. The Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi have been principal groups with active tribal organizations. American Indians accounted for 0.6% of the state’s population in 2004. The black population in 2000 totaled about 1,412,742. In 2006 they accounted for 14.0% of the state’s population. There were also 323,877 Hispanics and Latinos living in the state, of whom 220,769 were of Mexican descent. In 2006, Hispanics and Latinos accounted for 3.8% of the state’s residents. The state’s Asian population had a total number of 176,510 people, including 54,631 Asian Indians, 17,377 Filipinos, 33,189 Chinese, 20,886 Koreans, 11,288 Japanese, and 13,673 Vietnamese. Asians in 2006 accounted for 2.3% of the state’s resident population. Pacific Islanders numbered 2,692.

Although state residents of first- or second-generation European descent are decreasing in number, there are still active ethnic groups in many cities. Detroit continues to have numerous well-defined ethnic neighborhoods and Hamtramck, a city surrounded by Detroit, is still dominated by its Polish population. Frankenmuth is the site of an annual German festival. In the Upper Peninsula, the Finnish culture dominates in rural areas. In the iron and copper mining regions, descendants of immigrants from Cornwall in England and persons of Scandinavian background predominate. The 2000 census found that 523,589 state residents (5.3% of the population) were foreign born.

8 Languages

Except for the huge industrial area in southeastern Michigan, English in the state is remarkably uniform in its retention of the major Northern dialect features of upper New York and western New England. Common are such Northern terms as pail, wishbone, darning needle (dragon-fly), and mouth organ (harmonica). Common also are such pronunciations as the /ah/ vowel in fog and on and the /aw/ vowel in forest and orange. Southern blacks have introduced a regional variety of English in the southeast that has become a controversial educational concern. In this dialect pen and pin sound alike. The loss of /r/ after a vowel means that words such as cart and cot also sound alike.

In 2000, of the state’s population five years old or older, 91.6% spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home, with the number of speakers, included Spanish, 246,688; Arabic, 75,412; German, 52,366; Polish, 40,372; and French, 38,914.

9 Religions

The Roman Catholic Church was the only organized religion in Michigan until the 19th century. Detroit’s St. Anne’s parish, established in 1701, is the second-oldest Catholic parish in the country. The Lutheran denomination was introduced by German and Scandinavian immigrants. Dutch settlers were affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.

In 2004, Michigan had 2,265,286 Roman Catholics. Among Protestant denominations, the largest groups were the Missouri Synod Lutherans, with about 244,231 adherents (2000 data), and the United Methodists, with

about 171,916 adherents, in 2004. Evangelical Lutherans numbered about 160,836 adherents in 2000, while the Christian Reformed Church had about 112,711 members and the Presbyterian Church USA had 104,471 that same year. The Seventh Day Adventists, who had their world headquarters in Battle Creek from 1855 to 1903, numbered 37,712 in 2000. The Jewish community had about 110,000 members. Over 5.7 million people (about 58% of the population) were not counted as members of any religious organization.

10 Transportation

Michigan’s inhabitants have always depended heavily on the Great Lakes for transportation. Although extensive networks of railroads and highways now reach into all parts of the state, the Great Lakes remain major avenues of commerce.

The first railroad company in the Midwest was chartered in Michigan in 1830 and six years later the Erie and Kalamazoo, operating between Toledo, Ohio, and Adrian, became the first railroad in service west of the Appalachians. In 2003, Class I railroad trackage totaled 2,752 miles (4,430 kilometers) out of a total of 4,495 miles (7,236 kilometers). Most railroad passenger service is provided by Amtrak. As of 2006, Amtrak provided service to 23 stations in the state, connecting them to Chicago. Freight is carried by the state’s 23 railroads, of which four are Class I. Railroads have been used only to a limited degree in the Detroit area as commuter carriers.

As of 2004, the state had 122,382 miles (197,035 kilometers) of roads. Major expressways included I-94 (Detroit to Chicago), I-96 (Detroit to Grand Rapids), and I-75 (from the Ohio border to Sault Ste. Marie). In 2004, there were about 4.632 million registered passenger cars, around 3.613 million trucks, some 10,000 buses, and about 227,000 motorcycles. Licensed drivers numbered 7,103,404 during the same year.

The completion in 1957 of the Mackinac Bridge, the fourth-longest suspension span in the world, eliminated the major barrier to easy movement between the state’s two peninsulas. The International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie, the Blue-Water Bridge at Port Huron, the Ambassador Bridge at Detroit, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel all link Michigan with Canada.

The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 made it possible for a large number of oceangoing vessels to dock at Michigan ports. In 2004, major ports were at Detroit, Presque Isle, Escanaba, and Calcite.

The Ford Airport at Dearborn in the 1920s had one of the first air passenger facilities and was the base for some of the first regular airmail service. In 2005, the state had 381 airports, 95 heliports, 2 STOLports (Short Take-Off and Landing), and 7 seaplane bases. The state’s major airport is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, with 17,046,178 passenger boardings in 2004.

11 History

In the early 17th century, when European exploration began, Michigan’s Lower Peninsula was practically uninhabited. The Algonkian-speaking Ojibwa and Menomini inhabited portions of the Upper Peninsula. Other groups, including the Winnebago, Sioux, and Huron, later settled in the area. For two centuries after the first Europeans came to Michigan, the Native Americans remained a vital force in the area’s development, providing furs for trade and serving as potential allies in wars between rival colonial powers. However, after the War of 1812, when the fur trade declined and the possibility of war receded, the value of the Indians to the white settlers diminished. Between 1795 and 1842, tribal lands in Michigan were ceded to the federal government, and the Huron, Miami, and many Potawatomi were removed from the area.

The first European explorer known to have reached Michigan was a Frenchman, Etienne Brulé, who explored the Sault Ste. Marie area around 1620. Missionary and fur trading posts—and, later, military forts—were established at Sault Ste. Marie by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. In 1701, Antoine Laumet de la Mothe Cadillac founded a permanent settlement at the site of present-day Detroit.

Following France’s defeat in the French and Indian War, and an unsuccessful Native American rebellion, the British were in firm control of the area by 1764. They continued to occupy it until 13 years after the American Revolution was ended by the Treaty of Paris in

1783, which gave Michigan and other territories to the United States. In the summer of 1796, the United States took possession of Michigan.

Statehood However, during the War of 1812, the British captured Detroit, holding the settlement until September 1813, when it was recaptured. But full American control of Michigan would not take place until the Treaty of Ghent was signed at the end of 1814. With the opening in 1825 of the Erie Canal, settlers for the first time pushed into the interior of southern Michigan. By 1833, Michigan had attained a population of 60,000 qualifying it for statehood. After the settlement of boundary disputes with Indiana and Ohio—including the so-called Toledo War, in which no one was killed—Michigan became part of the Union on 26 January 1837.

In July 1854, antislavery Democrats joined with members of the Whig and Free-Soil parties to organize Michigan’s Republican Party, which swept into office that year, and except for rare exceptions, controlled the state until the 1930s. Approximately 90,000 Michigan men served in the Union army, taking part in all major actions of the Civil War.

Michigan grew rapidly in economic importance. Agriculture sparked the initial growth of the new state and was responsible for its rapid increase in population. By 1850, the southern half of the Lower Peninsula was filling up. Less than two decades later, exploitation of vast pine forests in northern Michigan had made the state the top lumber producer in the United States. Settlers were also attracted to the area by the discovery of rich mineral deposits.

Industrialization Toward the end of the 19th century, new opportunities in manufacturing opened up. The sudden popularity of Ransom E. Olds’s Oldsmobile inspired a host of Michigan residents to produce similar practical, relatively inexpensive automobiles. By 1904, Detroit’s Cadillac (initially a cheap car), the first Fords, and the Oldsmobile made Michigan the leading automobile producer in the country—and, later, in the world.

Industrialization brought with it urbanization. The census of 1920 for the first time showed a majority of the state’s people living in towns and cities. Nearly all industrial development was concentrated in the southern third of the state, particularly the southeastern Detroit area. The northern two-thirds of the state, where nothing took up the slack left by the decline in lumber and mining output, steadily lost population and became increasingly troubled economically.

The onset of the depression of the 1930s had devastating effects in Michigan. The market for automobiles collapsed. By 1932, half of Michigan’s industrial workers were unemployed. The ineffectiveness of the Republican state and federal governments during the crisis led to a landslide victory for the Democrats. Factory workers, driven by the desire for greater job security, joined the recruiting campaign launched by the new Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). By 1941, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) had organized the entire auto industry, and Michigan had been converted to a strongly pro-union state.

By the mid-1950s, the Democrats controlled practically all statewide elective offices. However, Republicans maintained their control of the legislature and frustrated the efforts of Democratic administrations to institute social reforms. In the 1960s, as a result of US Supreme Court rulings, the legislature was reapportioned. This shifted a majority of legislative seats into urban areas and enabled the Democrats generally to control the legislature since that time.

1980s–2000s The nationwide recession of the early 1980s hit Michigan harder than most other states because of its effect on the auto industry. Auto makers had already suffered heavy losses as a result of their inability to foresee the decline of the big luxury cars and because of the increasing share of the American auto market captured by foreign, mostly Japanese, manufacturers. During the late 1970s and the first two years of the 1980s, US automakers were forced to lay off hundreds of thousands of workers, tens of thousands of whom left the state. Many smaller businesses, dependent on the auto industry, closed their doors, adding to the unemployment problem.

When Governor James J. Blanchard took office in 1983, he was faced with the immediate tasks of saving Michigan from bankruptcy and reducing the unemployment rate, which had averaged more than 15% in 1982 (60% above the US average). The new governor was forced to institute budget cuts totaling $225 million and to lay offthousands of government workers.

Michigan Governors: 1835–2007

1835–1840	Stevens Thomson Mason	Democrat
1840–1841	William Woodbridge	Whig
1841	James Wright Gordon	Whig
1842–1846	John Stewart Barry	Democrat
1846–1847	Alpheus Felch	Democrat
1847	William L. Greenly	Democrat
1848–1850	Epaphroditus Ransom	Democrat
1850–1851	John Stewart Barry	Democrat
1852–1853	Robert McClelland	Democrat
1853–1854	Andrew Parsons	Democrat
1855–1858	Kinsley Scott Bingham	Republican
1859–1860	Moses Wisner	Republican
1861–1864	Austin Blair	Republican
1865–1868	Henry Howland Crapo	Republican
1869–1872	Henry Porter Baldwin	Republican
1873–1876	John Judson Bagley	Republican
1877–1880	Charles Miller Croswell	Republican
1881–1882	David Howell Jerome	Republican
1883–1884	Josiah William Begole	Fusion
1885–1886	Russell Alexander Alger	Republican
1887–1890	Cyrus Gray Luce	Republican
1891–1892	Edward Baruch Winans	Democrat
1893–1896	John Tyler Rich	Republican
1897–1900	Hazen Stuart Pingree	Republican
1901–1904	Aaron Thomas Bliss	Republican
1905–1910	Fred Maltby Warner	Republican
1911–1912	Chase Salmon Osborn	Republican
1913–1916	Woodbridge Nathan Ferris	Democrat
1917–1920	Albert Edson Sleeper	Republican
1921–1926	Alexander Joseph Groesbeck	Republican
1927–1930	Fred Warren Green	Republican
1931–1932	Wilber Marion Brucker	Republican
1933–1934	William Alfred Comstock	Democrat
1935–1936	Frank Dwight Fitzgerald	Republican
1937–1938	Francis William Murphy	Democrat
1939	Frank Dwight Fitzgerald	Republican
1939–1940	Luren Dudley Dickenson	Republican
1941–1942	Murray Delos Van Wagoner	Democrat
1943–1946	Harry Francis Kelly	Republican
1947–1948	Kim Sigler	Republican
1949–1960	Gerhard Mennen Williams	Democrat
1961–1962	John Burley Swainson	Democrat
1963–1969	George Wilcken Romney	Republican
1969–1983	William Grawn Milliken	Republican
1983–1991	James Johnston Blanchard	Democrat
1991–2002	John Engler	Republican
2002–	Jennifer Granholm	Democrat

Also, at his urging, the state legislature increased Michigan’s income tax by 38%.

By May 1984, Michigan’s unemployment rate dropped to 11.3%, but the state faced the difficult task of restructuring its economy to lessen its dependence on the auto industry. By the late 1980s, there were signs of success. Less than 25% of wage earners worked in factories in 1988, a drop from 30% in 1978. Despite continued layoffs and plant closings by auto manufacturers between 1982 and 1988, Michigan added half a million more jobs than it lost. The state established a $100 million job-retraining program to upgrade the skills of displaced factory workers, and contributed $5 million to a joint job-training program created by General Motors and the United Automobile Workers.

Despite moves to modernize and diversify the state’s economy, by the mid-1990s Michigan remained heavily dependent upon the automobile industry, which produced 28% of all motor vehicles manufactured within the United States.

By 1999, Michigan’s economy was on the rise. Unemployment that year dropped to 3.8%, but new challenges had arisen by 2000, regarding the state’s educational system, the preservation of farmland from urban sprawl, and in the cleanup and conservation of the Great Lakes system in cooperation with neighboring states and Canada.

In 2002, the Democrats retook the governorship, with the election of Jennifer Granholm, Michigan’s first woman governor. Granholm pledged balance the state’s budget and create a region that would attract technology companies

Michigan Presidential Vote by Political Parties, 1948–2004

YEAR	MICHIGAN WINNER	DEMOCRAT	REPUBLICAN	PROGRESSIVE	SOCIALIST	PROHIBITION
*Won US presidential election
1948	Dewey (R)	1,003,448	1,038,595	46,515	6,063	13,052
					SOC. WORKERS
1952	*Eisenhower (R)	1,230,657	1,551,529	3,922	655	10,331
1956	*Eisenhower (R)	1,359,898	1,713,647	—	—	6,923
				SOC. LABOR
1960	*Kennedy (D)	1,687,269	1,620,428	1,718	4,347	2,029
1964	*Johnson (D)	2,136,615	1,060,152	1,704	3,817
						AMERICAN IND.
1968	Humphrey (D)	1,593,082	1,370,665	1,762	4,099	331,968
						AMERICAN
1972	*Nixon (R)	1,459,435	1,961,721	2,437	1,603	63,321
				PEOPLE’S		LIBERTARIAN
1976	Ford (R)	1,696,714	1,893,742	3,504	1,804	5,406
				CITIZENS	COMMUNIST
1980	*Reagan (R)	1,661,532	1,915,225	11,930	3,262	41,597
1984	*Reagan (R)	1,529,638	2,251,571	1,191	—	10,055
				NEW ALLIANCE	WORKERS LEAGUE
1988	*Bush (R)	1,675,783	1,965,486	2,513	1,958	18,336
				IND. (PEROT)	TISCH IND. CITIZENS
1992	*Clinton (D)	1,871,182	1,554,940	824,813	8,263	10,175
1996	*Clinton (D)	1,989,653	1,481,212	336,670	—	27,670
					GREEN
2000	Gore (D)	2,179,418	1,953,139	—	84,165	16,711
2004	Kerry (D)	2,479,183	2,313,746	—	5,325	10,552

to Michigan, mainly biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. Granholm was reelected in 2006.

12 State Government

The legislature consists of a senate with 38 members, elected for terms of 4 years, and a house of representatives with 110 members, elected for terms of 2 years. Legislation may be adopted by a majority of each house, but to override a governor’s veto, a two-thirds vote of the members of each house is required. Elected executive officials include the governor and lieutenant governor (who run jointly), secretary of state, and attorney general, all serving four-year terms. The governor is limited to two consecutive terms.

Legislative action is completed when a bill has been passed by both houses of the legislature and signed by the governor. A bill also becomes law if not signed by the governor after a 14-day period when the legislature is in session. The governor may stop passage of a bill by vetoing it or, if the legislature adjourns before the 14-day period expires, by refusing to sign it.

The governor’s salary, as of December 2004 was $177,000, and the legislative salary was $77,400.

13 Political Parties

From its birth in 1854 through 1932, the Republican Party dominated state politics. But the problems caused by the Great Depression in the 1930s revitalized the Democratic Party and made Michigan a strong two-party state. Most labor organizations, led by the powerful United Automobile Workers union, have generally supported the Democratic Party since the 1930s. But in recent years, moderate Republicans have had considerable success in attracting support among previously Democratic voters.

Ronald Reagan won 49% of the state’s popular vote in 1980 and 59% in 1984. Michigan elected Republican George H. W. Bush in 1988, but voted for Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 and Al Gore in 2000. In the latter election, Gore received 51% of the vote and Republican George W. Bush trailed with 47% of the vote. In 2004, John Kerry received 51% of the vote to George W. Bush’s 48%. In November 2002, Democrat Jennifer Granholm became Michigan’s first female governor. She was reelected in 2006. In 2004 there were 7,164,000 registered voters. There is no party registration in the state. The state’s senators are Democrat Carl Levin and Democrat Debbie Stabenow. After the 2006 elections, the state’s 15-member US House delegation consisted of six Democrats and nine Republicans. On the state level, following the 2006 elections, there were 17 Democrats and 21 Republicans in the senate, and 58 Democrats and 52 Republicans in the house. Thirty women were elected to the state legislature in 2006; they represented 20.3% of the total.

14 Local Government

In 2005 there were 83 counties, 533 municipal governments, 734 public school districts, and 366 special districts. In 2002 there were also 1,242 townships. Each county is administered by a county board of commissioners. Executive authority is vested in five officers elected for four-year terms: the sheriff, prosecuting attorney, treasurer, clerk, and registrar of deeds. Some counties place overall administrative responsibility in the hands of a county manager or administrator.

Most cities establish their own form of government under an adopted charter. Some charters provide for the election of a mayor; other cities have chosen the council-manager system. Township government, its powers strictly limited by state law, consists of a supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and up to four trustees.

15 Judicial System

Michigan’s highest court is the state supreme court, consisting of seven justices elected for eight-year terms. The chief justice is elected by the members of the court. The high court hears cases on appeal from lower state courts and also administers the state’s entire court system. Unless the supreme court agrees to review a court of appeals ruling, the latter’s decision is final.

The major trial courts in the state as of 1999 were the circuit courts. The circuit courts have original jurisdiction in all felony criminal cases, civil cases involving sums of more than $10,000, and divorces. A special division of the circuit court was created in 1998 to better serve families and individuals. Circuit courts also hear appeals from lower courts and state administrative agencies. Probate courts have original jurisdiction in cases involving juveniles and dependents, and also handle wills and estates, adoptions, and commitments of the mentally ill.

In 2004, Michigan’s violent crime rate (murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault) was 490.2 incidents per 100,000 population. There were 48,883 prisoners in state or federal correctional facilities as of 31 December 2004. In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty, and subsequent efforts to reinstate it have failed as of 2006.

16 Migration

The earliest European immigrants were the French and English. The successive opening of interior lands for farming, lumbering, mining, and manufacturing proved an irresistible attraction for hundreds of thousands of immigrants after the War of 1812, principally Germans, Canadians, English, Irish, and Dutch. During the second half of the 19th century, lumbering and mining opportunities in northern Michigan attracted large numbers of Cornishmen, Norwegians, Swedes, and Finns. The growth of manufacturing in southern Michigan at the end of the century brought many Poles, Italians, Russians, Belgians, and Greeks to the state. After World War II, many more Europeans immigrated to Michigan, plus smaller groups of Mexicans, other Spanish-speaking peoples from Latin America, and large numbers of Arabic-speaking peoples, particularly in Detroit, who by the late 1970s were more numerous there than in any other US city.

Between 1990 and 1998, Michigan had a net loss of 190,000 in domestic migration and a net gain of 87,000 in international migration. In the period 2000–05, net international migration was 122,901, while net domestic migration for the same period was -165,084, for a net loss of 42,183.

17 Economy

Michigan’s dependence on automobile production has caused grave and persistent economic problems since the 1950s. Michigan’s unemployment rates in times of recession have far exceeded the national average, since auto sales are among the hardest hit in such periods. Although the state was relatively prosperous during the record automotive production years of the 1960s and 1970s, the high cost of gasoline and the encroachment of imports on domestic car sales had disastrous effects by 1980. By that time it became apparent that the state’s future economic health required greater diversification of industry.

Agriculture, still dominant in the rural areas of southern Michigan, remains an important element in the state’s economy. In northern Michigan, forestry and mining continue, but generally at levels far below earlier boom periods. By the early 1990s, both the trade and service sectors employed more people than the manufacturing industry. In 2002, Michigan’s economy lagged behind that of the nation.

The gross state product (GSP) in 2004 was $372.169 billion, of which manufacturing accounted for the largest portion at 20.4% of GSP, followed by the real estate sector at 11.5%, and professional and technical services at 7.7% of GSP.

Of the state’s 213,104 businesses that had employees, 98.4% were small companies.

18 Income

In 2004, Michigan ranked 23rd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia with a per capita (per person) income of $32,079, which

was below the national average of $33,050. The three-year average median household income for 2002 through 2004 was $44,476, compared to the national average of $44,473. For the same period, 12.1% of the state’s residents lived below the federal poverty level, compared to the national average of 12.4%.

19 Industry

The rise of the auto industry in the early 20th century completed the transformation of Michigan into one of the most important manufacturing areas in the world. In 2004, the total shipment value of all products manufactured in the state was $220.454 billion. Of that total, the transportation equipment manufacturing sector that same year accounted for $111.568 billion, or 50.6%, followed by machinery manufacturing at $17.549 billion, and fabricated metal product at $14.024 billion. In 2004, motor vehicles and equipment accounted for 39.4% of the state’s manufacturing payroll.

The Detroit metropolitan area is the state’s major industrial region, which includes not only a heavy concentration of auto-related plants, but also major steel, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, among others.

In 2004, Michigan’s manufacturing sector employed 651,947 people. Of that total, some 202,998 were employed in the transportation equipment manufacturing sector.

20 Labor

In April 2006, the seasonally adjusted civilian labor force in Michigan numbered 5,157,600, with approximately 369,500 workers unemployed, yielding an unemployment rate of 7.2%, compared to the national average of 4.7% for the same period. For that same date, early figures for nonfarm employment showed that: construction accounted for 4.3% of the labor force; 15% was in manufacturing; 18.1% was in trade, transportation, and public utilities; 5% in finance activities; 13.6% in professional and business services; 13% in educational and health services; 9.4% in leisure and hospitality services; and 15.3% in government.

Michigan’s most powerful and influential industrial union since the 1930s has been the United Automobile Workers (UAW). Its national headquarters is in Detroit. The union has been a dominant force in the state Democratic Party. The successful sit-down strike by the United Automobile Workers against General Motors in 1936–37 marked the first major victory of the new Congress of Industrial Organizations. Since then, a strong labor movement has provided manufacturing workers in Michigan with some of the most favorable working conditions in the country.

In recent years, as government employees and teachers have been organized, unions and associations representing these groups have become increasingly influential. Certain crafts and trades were organized in Michigan in the 19th century, with one national labor union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, founded in 1863, but efforts to organize workers in the lumber and mining industries were generally unsuccessful.

In 2005, a total of 880,000 of Michigan’s 4,288,000 employed wage and salary workers were members of unions. This represented 20.5% of those so employed, compared to the national average that year of 12%.

21 Agriculture

In 2005, Michigan’s agricultural income was estimated at over $3.9 billion, placing Michigan 22nd among the 50 states. About 60% came from crops and the rest from livestock and livestock products. Dairy products, nursery products, cattle, corn, and soybeans were the principal commodities. In 2004, the state ranked second in output of tart cherries, third in apples, and fourth in prunes and plums.

The southern half of the Lower Peninsula is the principal agricultural region, while the area along Lake Michigan is a leader in fruit growing. Potatoes are profitable in northern Michigan, while eastern Michigan (the “Thumb” area near Lake Huron) is a leading bean producer. The Saginaw Valley leads the state in sugar beets. The south-central and southeastern counties are major centers of soybean production. Leading field crops in 2004 included corn for grain, soybeans, and wheat. Output of commercial apples totaled 720 million pounds (327 million kilograms).

22 Domesticated Animals

The same areas of southern Michigan that lead in crop production also lead in livestock and livestock products, except that the northern counties are more favorable for dairying than for crop production.

In 2005, there were an estimated 1,010,000 cattle and calves, valued at $1.07 billion. The state had an estimated 940,000 hogs and pigs in 2004, valued at $103.4 million. In 2003, dairy farmers had an estimated 302,000 milk cows which produced around 6.36 million pounds (2.89 million kilograms) of milk. Poultry farmers produced nearly 1.89 billion eggs, valued at around $93.7 million.

23 Fishing

In 2004, the commercial catch was 8.4 million pounds (3.8 million kilograms) valued at $6.2 million. Principal species landed were silver salmon and alewives.

Sport fishing continues to flourish and is one of the state’s major tourist attractions. A state salmon-planting program, begun in the mid-1960s, has made salmon the most popular game fish for Great Lakes sport fishermen. The state has also sought, through breeding and stocking programs, to bring back the trout, which was devastated by an invasion of lamprey. In 2004, the state issued 1,171,742 sport fishing licenses. There are three national fisheries in Michigan.

24 Forestry

In 2004, Michigan’s forestland totaled 19.3 million acres (7.8 million hectares), or more than half the state’s total land area. Approximately 96% of it was classified as timberland, and about two-thirds of it was privately owned. The major forested regions are in the northern two-thirds of the state, where great pine forests enabled Michigan to become the leading lumber-producing state in the last four decades of the 19th century. These cutover lands regenerated naturally or were reforested in the 20th century. Lumber production was 844 million board feet in 2004.

State and national forests covered 6.9 million acres (2.8 million hectares), or about one-fifth of the state’s land area.

25 Mining

Nonfuel mineral production in Michigan was valued at an estimated $1.35 billion in 2003. The state ranked seventh nationally in value of nonfuel minerals produced during the same year. Michigan was first nationally in magnesium chloride produced, and ranked second in the production of peat, industrial sand and gravel, bromine, and iron ore. It ranked third in construction sand and gravel, and potash; fourth in portland cement; and seventh in salt, and eighth in masonry cement. According to preliminary figures, in 2003, the state produced 70 million metric tons of construction sand and gravel. Crushed stone production that year totaled 41.2 million metric tons.

The state also produced small quantities of copper, silver, and other mineral specimens for sale to collectors and museums.

26 Energy and Power

In 2003, Michigan’s total net summer generating capacity was 30.450 million kilowatts, while total electric power output that same year was 111.347 billion kilowatt hours. Most power (60.9%) was produced by coal-fired steam units, followed by nuclear-powered units at 25.1%, and natural gas-fired generators at 10.2%. Oil-fired plants, hydroelectric sources and other renewable energy sources accounted for the remainder. As of 2006, Michigan had three operating nuclear power plants, the Donald C. Cook plant in Berrion County, the Enrico Fermi plant near Detroit, and the Palisades facility near South Haven.

The two major electric utilities are Detroit Edison, serving the Detroit area and portions of the eastern part of the Lower Peninsula, and Consumers Power, serving most of the remainder of the Lower Peninsula. Rates of the utility companies are set by the Public Service Commission.

Michigan is dependent on outside sources for most of its fossil fuel needs. Petroleum production in 2004 totaled 18,000 barrels per day. Marketed natural gas production in that same year totaled 259.681 billion cubic feet (7.37 billion cubic meters). In 2004, the state’s proven crude oil reserves were 53 million barrels, while proven reserves (as of 31 December 2004) of dry or consumer-grade natural gas totaled 3.091 trillion cubic feet (87.8 billion cubic meters). Bituminous coal reserves (estimated at 127.7 million tons) remain in southern Michigan, but production is negligible. In 2004, there was no recorded coal output.

27 Commerce

In 2002, Michigan’s wholesale trade sector had sales of $165.9 billion, while the state’s retail trade sector had sales that year of $109.3 billion. In the retail sector for 2002, motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts dealers accounted for the largest portion of sales at $31.7 billion, followed by food and beverage stores at $13.1 billion, and building material/garden equipment and supplies dealers at $9.4 billion. With its ports open to oceangoing vessels through the St. Lawrence Seaway, Michigan is a major exporting and importing state for foreign as well as domestic markets. Exports of Michigan’s manufactured goods totaled $37.5 billion in 2005, ranking the state fifth in the United States.

28 Public Finance

The state constitution requires the governor to submit a budget proposal to the legislature each year. This executive budget, prepared by the Department of Management and Budget, is reviewed, revised, and passed by the legislature. The fiscal year extends from 1 October to 30 September.

In 2004, total revenues were $57.46 billion, while total expenditures for that year were $46.5 billion. The largest general expenditures in 2004 were for education ($20.34 billion), public welfare ($9.95 billion), and health ($3.35 billion). The total state debt that year was $20.959 billion, or $2,074.42 per capita (per person).

29 Taxation

In 2005, Michigan collected $24.340 billion in tax revenues, or $2,405 per person, placing the state 15th among the 50 states in per capita tax burden, compared to the national average of $2,192. Sales taxes accounted for the largest portion at 33.2%, followed by personal income taxes at 28.4%, selective sales taxes at 14.2%, property taxes at 8.8%, corporate income taxes at 7.8%, and other taxes at 7.5%.

As of 1 January 2006, the state had a single personal income tax bracket of 3.9%. The state sales and use tax is 6% on most retail purchases. However food is exempt if consumed off premises (such as at home). The state also imposes excise taxes on cigarettes and gasoline.

30 Health

In October 2005, the infant mortality rate was estimated at 7.7 per 1,000 live births. The crude death rate in 2003 was 8.6 per 1,000 population. Major causes of death (per 100,000 people in 2002) included heart disease at 265.3, cancer at 198.8, cerebrovascular diseases at 57.8, chronic lower respiratory diseases at 44.1, and diabetes at 27.7. The HIV-related death rate was 2.4 per 100,000 population. The AIDS case rate in 2004 was at about 6.5 per 100,000 people. About 23.2% of the state’s residents were smokers as of 2004.

Michigan’s 144 community hospitals had about 25,800 beds in 2003. In 2004, Michigan had 289 physicians for every 100,000 people, and a total of 6,039 dentists in that same year. In 2005, there were 804 nurses per 100,000 population. The average expense for community hospital care was $1,382 per day. In 2004, about 11% of the state’s population were uninsured.

31 Housing

In 2004, there were an estimated 4,433,482 housing units in Michigan, of which 3,923,135 were occupied. Michigan that year ranked second in the country (after Minnesota) for the number of units (74%) that were owner-occupied. About 70.5% of all units were single-family, detached homes. Most homes rely on utility gas for heating. It was estimated that 218,182 units lacked telephone service, while 8,787 lacked complete plumbing facilities, and 12,705 lacked complete kitchen facilities. The Average household size was 2.51 people.

In 2004, a total of 54,700 privately owned units were authorized for construction. The median home value was $145,177. The median monthly cost for mortgage owners was $1,137. Renters paid a median of $628 per month.

32 Education

Historically, Michigan has strongly supported public education, which helps account for the fact that the percentage of students attending public schools is one of the highest in the United States. In 2004, of Michigan residents age 25 and older, 87.9% were high school graduates and 24.4% had obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Total public school enrollment was estimated at 1,786,000 in fall 2003 and is expected to drop to 1,728,000 by fall 2014. Expenditures for public education in 2003/2004 were estimated at $19.2 billion.

Enrollment in private schools in fall 2003 was 160,049. A large percentage of private-school enrollment was in Catholic schools. Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Reformed and Christian Reformed churches also maintain schools.

As of fall 2002, there were 605,835 students enrolled in college or graduate school. In 2005, Michigan had 110 degree-granting institutions. The oldest state school is the University of Michigan, originally established in Detroit in 1817. Its Ann Arbor campus was founded in 1835. Other public universities are Michigan State University and Wayne State University. Among the state’s private colleges and universities, the University of Detroit Mercy, a Jesuit school, is one of the largest. Kalamazoo College (founded in 1833), Albion College (1835), Hope College (1866), and Alma College (1886) are some of the oldest private liberal arts colleges in the state.

33 Arts

Michigan’s major center of arts and cultural activity is the Detroit area. The city’s refurbished Orchestra Hall is the home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, as well as chamber music concerts and other musical events. The Music Hall and the Masonic Auditorium present a variety of musical productions. The Fisher Theater is the major home for Broadway productions, and the Detroit Cultural Center supports a number of cultural programs. The new Detroit Opera House is sponsored by the Michigan Opera Theatre. Nearby Meadow Brook, in Rochester, has a summer music program. Successful summer theaters include the Cherry County Playhouse at Traverse City, and the Star Theater in Flint.

Programs relating to the visual arts tend to be academically centered. The University of Michigan, Michigan State, Wayne State, and Eastern Michigan University have notable art schools. The Cranbrook Academy of Arts, which was created by the architect Eliel Saarinen, is a significant art center and the Ox-bow School at Saugatuck is also outstanding. The Ann Arbor Art Fair, begun in 1960, is the largest and most prestigious summer outdoor art show in the state, hosting more than 500,000 annual attendees. The Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck and the touring Ann Arbor Film Festival promote the art of independent filmmaking.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1914, is nationally known. Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo have regional orchestras that perform on a part-time, seasonal basis. The National Music Camp at Interlochen is a popular destination for young musicians during the summer and a prestigious private high school for the arts year round.

There are local ballet and opera groups in Detroit and in a few other communities. Michigan’s best-known contribution to popular music was that of Berry Gordy Jr., whose Motown recording company in the 1960s popularized the “Detroit sound” and featured such artists as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Aretha Franklin, the Four Tops, the Temptations, and Stevie Wonder, among many others. In the 1970s however, Gordy moved his operations to California.

The Michigan Council for the Arts supports many programs throughout the state with federal and state funding. The Michigan Humanities Council was founded in 1974. One of its ongoing programs is the Great Outdoors Culture Tour, which includes performing artists and cultural interpreters/educators.

34 Libraries and Museums

As of September 2001, Michigan had a total of 654 libraries, of which 278 were branches. In that same year, the state’s libraries held 27.188 million volumes, with a circulation of 51,773,000. The largest public library is the Detroit Public Library, which includes the National Automotive History Collection and the E. Azalia Hackley Collection, a notable source for material pertaining to African Americans in the performing arts, especially music. Among academic libraries, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is one of the best; in 1980, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library was opened on the university campus.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is the largest art museum in the state and has an outstanding collection of African art. The Kalamazoo Institute of Art, the Flint Institute of Art, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, and the Hackley Art Gallery in Muskegon are important art museums. In 1996 the world’s largest museum of African American history was established in Detroit. A major Holocaust Memorial Center is located in the West Bloomfield Hills area of metropolitan Detroit.

The Detroit Historical Museum heads the more than 229 museums in the state. In Dearborn, the privately run Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are leading tourist attractions.

35 Communications

In 2004, of all occupied housing units in the state, 93.7% had telephones, and in June of that year, there were 5.43 million wireless telephone service subscribers. In 2003, computers were in 59.9% of all Michigan homes, while 52% had access to the Internet. In 2005, Michigan had 62 major AM radio stations and 110 major FM stations. Radio station WWJ, originally owned by the Detroit News, began operating in 1920 as one of the country’s first commercial broadcasting stations, and the News also started Michigan’s first television station in 1947. As of 2005 there were 33 major television stations in the state. In the Detroit area, 68% of 1,855,500 television households had cable, while in the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek area, 62% of 671,320 television households had cable.

By 2000, a total of 145,596 Internet domain names had been registered in Michigan.

36 Press

The state’s oldest paper still being published is the Detroit Free Press, founded in 1831. In 2005, there were 48 daily newspapers in Michigan and 27 Sunday editions published in the state. The leading newspapers (and their 2004 circulation rates) are the Detroit News (510,736 daily; 710,036 Sunday), the Grand Rapids Press (138,126 daily; 189,690 Sunday), and the Flint Journal (84,313 daily; 102,154 Sunday).

37 Tourism, Travel & Recreation

In 2003, a total of 150,000 people were employed in Michigan’s tourist industry.

The opportunities offered by Michigan’s water resources are the number one attraction. No part of the state is more than 85 miles (137 kilometers) from one of the Great Lakes, and most of the population lives only a few miles away from one of the thousands of inland lakes and streams.

Historic attractions have been heavily promoted in recent years, following the success of Dearborn’s Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Tours of Detroit automobile factories and other industrial sites, such as Battle Creek’s breakfast-food plants, are also important attractions. The Spirit of Ford, a 50,000 square-foot center in Dearborn, offers a “behind the scenes” look at how the automaker designs, engineers, tests, and produces cars and trucks.

Camping and recreational facilities are provided by the federal government at three national forests, comprising 2.8 million acres (1.1 million hectares). Three facilities are operated by the National Park Service (Isle Royale National Park, the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore). A wild African-style village covering 70 acres (28.3 hectares) at the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek features giraffes, zebras, and ostrich, plus a variety of endangered African species roaming freely on the grassy savannah.

State-operated facilities include 64 parks and recreational areas with 172,343 acres (69,747 hectares), and state forests and wildlife areas totaling 4,250,000 acres (1,720,000 hectares).

38 Sports

Michigan has five major league professional sports teams, all of them centered in Detroit: the Tigers of Major League Baseball, the Lions of the National Football League, the Pistons of the National Basketball Association, the Shock of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the Red Wings of the National Hockey League. The state also has minor league hockey teams in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Motor City, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Plymouth, Port Huron and Saginaw, and minor league baseball teams in Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, and Traverse City.

Horse racing, Michigan’s oldest organized spectator sport, is controlled by the state racing commissioner, who regulates thoroughbred and harness racing seasons at tracks in the Detroit area and at Jackson. Auto racing is also popular in Michigan. The state hosts four major races, the Detroit Grand Prix, the Michigan 500 Indy car race, and two NASCAR Nextel Cup races.

Interest in college sports centers on the football and basketball teams of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, which

usually are among the top-ranked teams in the country. The zMichigan State basketball team won the NCAA tournament in 2000.

Other annual sporting events include the Snowmobile Poker Runs in St. Ignace, and in July, the yacht races from Chicago and Port Huron to Mackinac Island.

39 Famous Michiganians

Only one Michiganian has held the offices of US president and vice president: Gerald R. Ford (Leslie King Jr., b.Nebraska, 1913–2006), the 38th US president, who was appointed to the vice presidency by Richard M. Nixon in 1973 upon the resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. When Nixon resigned on 9 August 1974, Ford became president, the first to hold that post without having been elected to high national office.

Two Michiganians have served as associate justices of the Supreme Court: Henry B. Brown (b.Massachusetts, 1836–1913), author of the 1896 segregationist decision in Plessy v. Ferguson; and Frank Murphy (1890–1949), who also served as US attorney general and was a notable defender of minority rights during his years on the court. Another justice, Potter Stewart (1915–1985), was born in Jackson but appointed to the Supreme Court from Ohio.

Other Michiganians who have held high federal office include Robert S. McNamara (b.California, 1916), Secretary of Defense; and W. Michael Blumenthal (b.Germany, 1926), Secretary of the Treasury. Detroit’s first black mayor, Coleman A. Young (b.Alabama, 1918–1997), promoted programs to revive the city’s tarnished image while in office (1974–93).

The most famous figure in the early development of Michigan is Jacques Marquette (b.France, 1637–1675). Laura Haviland (b.Canada, 1808–1898) was a noted leader in the fight against slavery and for black rights, while Lucinda Hinsdale Stone (b.Vermont, 1814–1900) and Anna Howard Shaw (b.England, 1847–1919) were important in the women’s rights movement.

Nobel laureates from Michigan include diplomat Ralph J. Bunche (1904–1971), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950; and Glenn T. Seaborg (1912–1999), Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in 1951, and for whom element 106, seaborgium, is named.

In the business world, William C. Durant (b.Massachusetts, 1861–1947), Henry Ford (1863–1947), and Ransom E. Olds (b.Ohio 1864–1950) are the three most important figures in making Michigan the center of the American auto industry. Ford’s grandson, Henry Ford II (1917–1987), was the dominant personality in the auto industry from 1945 through 1979. Two brothers, John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943) and Will K. Kellogg (1860–1951), helped make Battle Creek the center of the breakfast-food industry. Pioneer aviator Charles A. Lindbergh (1902–1974) was born in Detroit.

Among prominent labor leaders in Michigan were Walter Reuther (b.West Virginia, 1907–1970), president of the United Automobile Workers, and his controversial contemporary, James Hoffa (b.Indiana, 1913–1975?), president of the Teamsters Union, whose disappearance and presumed murder remain a mystery.

The best-known literary figures who were either native or adopted Michiganians include Ring Lardner (1885–1933), master of the short story; Edna Ferber (1885–1968), best-selling novelist; Howard Mumford Jones (1892–1980), critic and scholar; and Bruce Catton (1899–1978), Civil War historian.

Other prominent Michiganians past and present include Frederick Stuart Church (1842–1924), painter; Albert Kahn (b.Germany, 1869–1942), innovator in factory design; and (Gottlieb) Eliel Saarinen (b.Finland, 1873–1950), architect and creator of the Cranbrook School of Art. Malcolm X (Malcolm Little, b.Nebraska, 1925–1965) developed his black separatist beliefs while living in Lansing.

Popular entertainers born in Michigan include Danny Thomas (Amos Jacobs, 1914–1991); Ed McMahon (b.1923); Julie Harris (b.1925); Ellen Burstyn (Edna Rae Gilhooley, b.1932); Della Reese (Dellareese Patricia Early, b.1932); William “Smokey” Robinson (b.1940); Diana Ross (b.1944); Bob Seger (b.1945); Stevie Wonder (Stevland Morris, b.1950); and Madonna (Madonna Louise Ciccone, b.1959); along with film director Francis Ford Coppola (b.1939).

Among sports figures who had notable careers in the state were Joe Louis (Joseph Louis Barrow, b.Alabama, 1914–1981), heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949; “Sugar Ray” Robinson (1921–1989), who held at various times the welterweight and middleweight boxing titles; and baseball Hall-of-Famer Al Kaline (b.Maryland, 1934), a Detroit Tigers star. Basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson (b.1959), who broke Oscar Robertson’s record for most assists, was born in Lansing.

40 Bibliography

BOOKS

Brill, Marlene Targ. Michigan. 2nd ed. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2007.

Bristow, M. J. State Songs of America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000.

Dubois, Muriel L. Michigan. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens, 2006.

McAuliffe, Emily. Massachusetts Facts and Symbols. Rev. ed. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2003.

Murray, Julie. Michigan. Edina, MN: Abdo Publishing, 2006.

Wittenberg, Eric J., ed. One of Custer’s Wolverines: the Civil War Letters of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Infantry. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2000.