Michigan

The Michigan (to pronounce) is a State Middle West of the the United States, almost entirely surrounded by the Big lakes which form a Frontière Naturelle with the Canadian province of the Ontario. It is bordered in north by the Higher Lac, with the Western by the Lake Michigan and the Wisconsin, with the Is by the Lake Huron and the Lac Érié and with the Southern by the Indiana and the Ohio. The capital of Michigan east Lansing.

History

The name of the State comes from the Indian Mishigamaw who means, " large water, " or " large lac".

The area was explored by runners of wood French starting from 1618. It was populated born tribes Amerindian, mainly Ottawas, the Potawatomis, Miamis and the Huron. The territory was colonized in the first time by the French. The first founded establishment was the mission Sainte Marie, in Sault, in 1668, by the father Jesuit Jacques Marquette. The town of Détroit was founded in 1701 by Antoine of Mothe Cadillac. The area became an active center of the trade of the furs. The French establishments passed to the hands British with the treated of Paris of 1763. Allotted to the United States by the treated of Versailles of 1783, the area was definitively given up by the British only in 1796. She was re-occupied by the British during the war of 1812. But those were driven out by it in 1813 by the victories of the Americans of William Henry Harrison, close to Thames and to Olivier H. Perry, over the Lac Érié. In 1825, the opening of the Érié channel supported the development of the trade and caused a wave of immigration. Michigan used the Union the January 26th 1837, becoming American the State twenty-sixth. He made fast great strides as from the years 1850 thanks to agriculture, with the exploitation of wood, the development of the railways, the mining of copper and iron (in the years 1840). Nearly 380.000 new immigrants arrived in Michigan between 1840 and 1860. Industrialization was fast as from 1890 thanks to auto industry. At the beginning of the 20th century, Michigan became the center of the American auto industry, concentrated in the area of Strait. This one was struck of full whip by the Crise of 1929. The Second world war restores prosperity and the full employment. Michigan attracted black emigrants coming from the States of the South. In 1943, racial tensions with Detroit caused a riot which cost the life 34 people. The racial hate remade surface during the fight for the civic rights in the years 1960. The election with Détroit of the first black mayor, Coleman Young, in 1973, made it possible to attenuate the racial conflicts. Touched hard by the crisis of the years 1980, auto industry lost many employment after having employed more of the third of industrial labor of Michigan. The growth of the lines of business however made it possible to compensate for part of the job losses.

Geography

Of a surface of 250.941 km ², Michigan is populated of 9  938  444 inhabitants (2000).

The State is formed by two peninsulas isolated by the Détroit from Mackinac. The higher Péninsule is a peneplain where the Canadian Bouclier levels. It culminates to 603 m of altitude (Arvon mount) and has picturesque water falls, of which Tahquamenon Falls. At north, in the Higher Lake, is located the National park of Isle Royale. The lower Péninsule is formed low hills. Worked by the quaternary glaciers, it is strewn today with a multitude of small rivers and lakes interior. The climate is continental wet. The summers are hot and wet, and the winters are cold with much snow, particularly in north of the state and on bank of Lake Michigan. The Forêt S (pine S, maple S, Beech S, Oak S) cover about half of the territory of Michigan.

There is more than 11.000 Lac S in the state; more the interior big lake is lake Houghton which covers 81 km ². There is also great number of Rivière S in Michigan, whose river Grand is longest with 420 kilometers.

Main cities

Cities of more than 100.000 inhabitants:

  • Strait

  • Large Rapids
  • Warren
  • Flint
  • Sterling Heights
  • Lansing
  • Ann Arbor
  • Livonia

Policy

Michigan is an industrial State of the area of the Big lakes of tradition progressist.

A state pivot at the time of the presidential ones

Michigan was a republican bastion of the S progressists until in 1928. Since, the State unceasingly hesitated between the republicans and the democratic S leaning moderately towards Franklin Roosevelt or more clearly towards Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

No republican candidate carried it in Michigan since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

At the time of the presidential election of 2004, the democratic candidate John Kerry carried it with 51,23% of the voices compared with 47,81% with the outgoing republican president George W. Bush, re-elected with the national plan.

A politically shared state

Since 2003, the governor of the state of Michigan is the democrat Jennifer Granholm. If the post of lieutenant-governor is held by a democrat, those of Attorney General and Secretary of State are held by republicans.

The two rooms of the Congress of Michigan are divided between the republicans and the democrats. At the time of the session 2007-2008, in the Lower House (110 members), the majority thus rocked towards the democrats (58 elected officials) whereas with the Senate (38 members), the 21 republicans maintained their majority vis-a-vis 17 democrats.

At the federal level, the two senators of the State are the democrats Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow whereas six democrats and nine republicans represent the State with the Chambre of the Representatives (109e congress).

Economy

Dominated a long time by the trade of the fur, agriculture, the industry of wood and mining, the economy of the State is diversified today following an important industrialization at the 20th century. The mineral richnesses are very abundant. Most important are the copper and iron ores, the money, the potash, coal, the rock salt, oil and the natural gas. Agriculture and sylviculture remained important sectors. The agricultural main resources are the dairy and bovine breeding, the cereals, soya, the beet sugar, the potato, the vegetables and the fruit trees. The orchards are concentrated in edge of the Lake Michigan. The State is one of the first national pear and plum, apple, cherry producers. Michigan east one of the principal industrial States of the United States. Auto industry is dominant. The State of Michigan is the first production center of vehicles of tourism of the United States. Three of the principal American car manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, have their world seat in the area of Strait. The other industrial activities are the oil refining, the mechanical engineering, the iron and steel industry, chemistry, electronics, the industry of rubber and the plastics, the agroalimentary one, the textile (clothes industry), the industry of wood (paper mill, pieces of furniture). The industry of tourism is also very important. The principal tourist sites are Isle Royale National Park, on the lake Supérieur; Pictured Rock'n'rolls Lakeshore National, with multicoloured sandstone cliffs; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, large dunes located in edge of the Lake Michigan. Historic sites commemorate the installation of the first colonists. The Big lakes have a considerable weight in the economy of Michigan, in particular for the transport of the raw materials. Strait is the main port of the State.

Automobile industry is well represented with the American and foreign firms (PSA, Renault…). The State of Michigan accommodates 22 head offices of the 500 plus American large companies.

Michigan is in particular the cradle of American automobile industry, and in particular of Ford which developed around Detroit.

Culture

Art

Sport

Twinnings

See too

External bonds

Beats-smg: Mėčėgans Be-X-old: Мічыган Simple: Michigan Zh-min-nan: Michigan

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