Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state bordered by four of the five Great Lakes. Its Upper and Lower Peninsulas are joined by the Mackinac Bridge.
Upper Peninsula of Michigan: The northern peninsula of Michigan, separated from Wisconsin by land and from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac. It forms the state’s northern half and has a distinct geography and regional identity.
Northwest Territory: A U.S. territory established in 1787 that included land north and west of the Ohio River. Michigan’s early settlements and territorial government developed within this territory.
Automotive industry in Michigan: The concentration of automobile manufacturing, engineering, and suppliers developed in Michigan, especially around Detroit. Automaking became a defining source of jobs, wealth, and statewide change.
Flint sit-down strike: A 1936–1937 strike in which General Motors workers occupied factories in Flint, Michigan. Its success strengthened industrial unionism in Michigan and across the United States.
Ohio: A Midwestern U.S. state south of Michigan, bordering Lake Erie. The states share a boundary shaped by the Toledo War.
Lower Peninsula of Michigan: The mitten-shaped southern peninsula of Michigan, bounded by four Great Lakes. It contains most of Michigan’s population and major cities.
Treaty of Greenville: A 1795 treaty in which Native American nations ceded much of present-day Ohio and parts of surrounding states to the United States. It helped open the region to U.S. settlement and reshaped Indigenous land control.
Henry Ford: An American industrialist who founded Ford Motor Company and helped popularize automobile assembly-line production. His factories transformed Detroit and Michigan into an automotive center.
Great Migration: The movement of millions of Black Americans from the rural South to other U.S. regions from the early twentieth century onward. Many migrants settled in Detroit, transforming Michigan’s cities and culture.
Wisconsin: A Midwestern U.S. state west of Michigan, separated from the Upper Peninsula by Lake Michigan and land borders. Its proximity helps distinguish the Upper Peninsula’s regional ties from Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.