In 1893 a dispute was decided by the Su preme Court between Iowa and Illinois re garding the taxation of bridges over the Mis sissippi. Iowa claimed that Illinois taxed all bridges and other structures on the river not to the middle of the stream but to the middle of the steamboat channel where navigation was possible and that in one case at Keokuk, Iowa, she had taxed so much of the bridge as extended to a point 941 feet west of the middle of the main arm or body of the river at that point. The Illinois Supreme Court had declared that primarily a river is a me dium of navigation and as a channel might be on either side of the thread of the stream it would be unjust to subject the channel to the control of another State when the free navigation of the river was essential to com merce. Accordingly, in deciding the case, the United States Supreme Court held that the true line in navigable rivers between States is the middle of the main channel — that is, the thread of the stream, the thalweg or mid channel, or in case there be several channels, the middle of the principal one or the one usually navigated.
On 11 Jan. 1805, Congress erected the Ter ritory of Michigan out of "all that part of the Indiana Territory which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend, or extreme, of Lake Michigan, until it shall in tersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern bound ary of the United States." When the exact location of the southerly bend of Lake Michi gan became known Michigan's southern boundary was found to overlap the territory assigned to Ohio, and a serious dispute arose over a wedge-shaped strip across Ohio, aver aging six miles in width, embracing 468 square miles and including the lake port of Toledo and the mouth of the Maumee River. On 20 May 1812, Congress passed an act to determine the boundary but owing to the war the lines were not run for some time and then not satisfactorily. Another act was passed 14 July 1832 under which surveys were made and reports rendered in January 1834 and November 1835. In the summer of 1835 the disputed territory was the scene of much disorder and some gunpowder was wasted in what was known as the Toledo War. The governor of Ohio appointed a commission to mark, under armed protection, the line claimed by that State, but Governor Mason gave or ders that the militia should be called out and the Ohio commissioners arrested the moment they stick the first stake in the soil of Michi gan." The Ohio surveyors attempted to run the line and were arrested and the militia was called out by both States, but no human blood was shed and the matter was settled by politicians. In December President Jackson submitted the controversy to Congress which gave the disputed tract to Ohio and by an act of 15 June 1836 offered Michigan the whole of what to-day is her upper peninsula. A convention held in December 1836 approved the proposition and on 26 Jan. 1837 Michigan was admitted with the territorial limits she possesses to-day.
Article V of the Ordinance of 1787 pro vided that the southern boundaries of Michi gan and Wisconsin were to be an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend of Lake Michigan —41° 37' 7.9", according to Talcott's survey. In 1815 Illinois applied for admission to the Union with a northern boundary of 42° 30', which would give her an additional strip 61 miles, 19 chains and 13 links in width, embracing 8,500 square miles and including numerous lake and river ports.
In the act of 1836 erecting Wisconsin Terri tory, the boundary was given as 42° 30', as in the Illinois enabling act of 1818, but Wiscon son requested a readjustment of the line to conform with the Ordinance of 1787, claim ing the 14 northern counties of Illinois. In two State constitutional conventions attempts were made to have the dispute referred to the United States Supreme Court and to admit Wisconsin with indefinite boundaries, but they failed and the State was admitted in 1848 minus the 8,500 square miles in dispute.
Michigan at first cared little about her upper peninsula, wherefore Congress proposed to give it to Wisconsin. After that territory was formed Congress ordered a survey of the line between the two to be made but soon learned that the boundary could not be run because as laid down by Congress it did not agree with the topographical features of the country. Wisconsin demanded the territory in question, threatening secession and hinting that force might be used, but when Congress on 6 Aug. 1846 provided for her admission to the Union, the boundary line was changed only in a manner to make it conform more closely to the actual geographical features.
State and Territorial Boundaries by Act of Congreis.— Art IV, Sec. 3¶ 2 of the C constitution provides that "the Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all need ful rules and regulations respecting the ter ritory or other property belonging to the United States," and under this power the United States has defined and altered the boundaries of territories and has admitted new States under the boundaries defined in the enabling acts. When the Ordinance of 1784 was under discussion to provide a gov ernment for the Northwest Territory, Jeffer son suggested a plan of dividing the territory into 10 States, but this ordinance never went into effect and as defined by the Ordinance of 1787 the Northwest Territory nearly coin cides with the States from Ohio to Wisconsin. The present State of Oklahoma was formed by the combination of the former Territory of Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Oregon, Washington and Idaho nearly conform to the old Territory of Oregon. When Arizona and New Mexico entered the Union in 1912 they were admitted with their previous territorial boundaries. All the Congress-made States have parallels or meridians or both as their boundaries, Colorado and Wyoming being bounded by four straight lines. Most of Cal ifornia's eastern boundary is a straight line running approximately southeast to north west. Through most of their course, the Ohio and Mississippi form State boundaries, and sections of the boundaries of a few States are formed by the Missouri,. Arkan sas, Des Moines, Wabash, Red, Colorado and Columbia rivers. East of the Mississippi and west of the Appalachians, a group of nine States are nearly of a size, varying from 36, 000 to 58,000 square miles, and on the west side of the Mississippi there is a group of five States laid out on about the same scale (save Missouri, which is larger). West of these to the Pacific the States are larger, the smallest (Oklahoma, North Dakota and Washington) averaging 70,000 square miles, while seven of the States embrace more than 100,000 square miles, California rising to 158, 000. Texas is the largest with 265,000 square miles. Few of the outlying territories of the United States are large enough to be sub divided. Congress has divided Alaska into four districts, Porto Rico into seven and the Philippines into 27 provinces, besides separate areas for the Moros and other wild tribes.