Up to this time the Territory had still re mained for the most part a wilderness in which the fur trade reaped the largest profits, its few small settlements being confined to the borders; and the inaccurate reports of the surveyors sent out by the United States Government described the interior as a vast swamp with only here and there a little land fit for cultivation. The large number of hostile Indians was also a factor in making the Territory unattractive. But during the efficient administration of Lewis Cass (q.v.), governor of the Territory from 1813 to 1831, the interference of the British was checked and many of the In dians were removed to the west of the Mississippi; printing presses, established during the same period at Detroit, Ann Arbor, Monroe and Pontiac, became largely instrumental in making the country better known ; the first steamboat, the "Walk-in-the Water," appeared at Detroit in 1818 ; the Erie canal was opened in 1825 ; by 1830 a daily boat line was running between Detroit and Buffalo, and the population of Michigan, which was only 4,762 in 1810 and 8,896 in 1820, increased to 31,639 in 1830 and 212,267 in 1840. In 1819 the Territory had been empowered to send a delegate to Congress. By 1832 the question of admission into the Union had arisen, and in 1835 a convention was called in De troit, a Constitution was framed in May which was adopted by popular vote in October, State officers were elected, and applica tion for admission was made ; but a dispute with Ohio over the boundary between the two caused a delay in the admission of Michigan into the Union as a State until Jan. 26, 1837. Although it was dominated almost continuously during the first two decades by the Democrats, Michigan in 1855 was the first state to give the Republicans a triumph at the polls. The Republicans con tinued to hold the state until 1932, with but three interruptions at times of national agrarian revolt. The rise of the automobile in dustry during the twentieth century transformed the erstwhile farmers' state into one dominated by a prosperous industry, a fact which made Michigan a focal point for suffering in the years following 1929. The closing of leading Detroit banks precipitated the national banking crisis of 1933. Unemployment and discontent
helped in 1932 to give the State to the Democrats ; and in March 1934 the national administration served it well by averting a gen eral strike in the automobile industry. Yet the political effect of improving business in 1934 was to restore the Republicans to control. During the campaign of 1936 Michigan was commonly regarded as doubtful. But in the election returns it was found to have given Roosevelt a strong majority and to have chosen a Democratic governor.
the history of Michigan see H. M. Utley and B. M. Cutcheon, Michigan as a Province, Territory and State (1906) ; Charles Moore, History of Michigan (1915) ; J. V. Campbell, Outlines of the Political History of Michigan (1876) ; T. M. Cooley, Michigan: A History of Government (1885) ; J. A. Russell, The Germanic In fluence in the Making of Michigan (1927); Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, Historical Collections: Collections and Researches (1877-1915) ; Michigan Historical Commission, Michigan Historical Publications, University Series (1916 seq.) , some of the best recent works on Michigan history and government ; Michigan Historical Commission, Bulletins (1913 seq.) : and the Michigan History Maga zine (1917 seq.) ; George B. Catlin, The Story of Detroit (1923). For politics and government see Harriette M. Dilla, The Politics of Michi gan, 1865-78 (1914) ; A. C. Millspaugh, Party Organization and Ma chinery in Michigan since 1890 (1917); F. B. Streeter, Political Parties in Michigan, 1837-1860 (1918) ; C. S. Larzelere, Government of Michi gan (1932) ; the Michigan Official Directory and Legislative Manual, issued biennially by the secretary of State ; and the biennial reports of the various State officials and departments. See A. C. McLaughlin, History of Higher Education in Michigan, U.S. bureau of education (Washington, 1891). For population data, etc., see the volumes of the Fifteenth Census of the United States; the biennial Census of Manu factures and the 1935 Census of Agriculture. The Publications of the Michigan Geological Survey (Detroit, Lansing and New York, 1838 seq.). (L. A. W.)