Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz

A History of the Great Lakes State

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The fifth edition of Michigan: A History of the Great Lakes State enhances its reputation as the leading survey of Michigan history from the pre-Columbian period to the present. This new edition features expanded coverage of a wide variety of issues that continue to shape Michigan history, including the socioeconomic impact of tribal casino gaming on Michigan’s Native American population; environmental, agricultural, and educational issues; the latest developments in the Jimmy Hoffa mystery; Michigan’s return to prominence in collegiate and professional sports; Detroit’s revitalization and subsequent tailspin; the state’s deepening economic decline since 2008; and more. A new chapter, titled “Reinventing Michigan,” explores the obstacles faced by Michiganders living in Detroit and throughout the state from the Great Recession to the present, and looks at ways Michigan is renewing itself for a brighter future.

BRucE A. RuBEnstEin is Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Flint. A native of Port Huron, Michigan, he has co-authored two books with Lawrence Ziewacz: Three Bullets Sealed His Lips (1987) and Payoffs in the Cloakroom: The Greening of the Michigan Legislature, 1938-1945 (1995), both dealing with Michigan’s political history. He also authored Chicago in the World Series, 1903-2005: Cubs and White Sox in Championship Play (2006), in addition to numerous articles on baseball and Indian-White relations in Michigan.

LAwREncE E. ZiEwAcZ, late Professor of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University, was a native of Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He co-authored two books with Bruce Rubenstein: Three Bullets Sealed His Lips (1987) and Payoffs in the Cloakroom: The Greening of the Michigan Legislature, 1938- 1945 (1995). He also co-authored The Games They Played: Sports in American History (1983) and was co-advisory editor of The Guide to United States Popular Culture (2001).

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Michigan

Michigan A History of the Great Lakes State

FiFth Edition

Bruce A. Rubenstein University of Michigan—Flint

Lawrence E. Ziewacz

this edition first published 2014 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, inc.

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Contents

introduction vii

1 the original Michiganians 1

2 the new Acadia 16

3 Under the Union Jack 42

4 Wilderness Politics and Economics 57

5 Challenges of Statehood 70

6 decade of turmoil 85

7 defense of the nation 102

8 Radicals and Reformers 115

9 Early Ethnic Contributions 130

10 Grain, Grangers, and Conservation 142

11 development of intellectual Maturity 157

12 Wood and Rails 176

13 the World of Wheels 195

14 From Bull Moose to Bull Market 210

15 depression Life in an industrial State 231

16 inequality in the Arsenal of democracy 249

Contentsvi

17 Fears and Frustration in the Cold War Era 261

18 the turbulent 1960s 274

19 Challenges of the 1970s 287

20 toward the twenty-First Century 299

21 Entering the new Millennium 317

22 Reinventing Michigan 334

Appendix A: Governors of the territory and State of Michigan 344

Appendix B: Counties, dates of organization, and origins of County names 346

Appendix C: Michigan’s State Song 351

Appendix d: Michigan’s State Symbols 352

index 353

introduction

Writing a state history is generally thought to be a thankless task. Geographic areas complain of being slighted; every city views itself as living in the shadow of the major metropolis; and ethnic groups are perceived as either receiving too little or too much emphasis. Yet, it is these very complaints which make the recitation of a state’s history worthwhile. in a very real sense, these voices of discontent are the state’s history. throughout Michigan’s existence as a state, the western portion of the lower peninsula and the entire upper peninsula have felt dominated by the power and influence of the eastern lower peninsula, especially detroit. it is this continuing sense of being neglected which has given rise to movements in the upper peninsula to break away and become a separate state. Moreover, for better or worse, much of Michigan’s history is the history of detroit, and it is understandable that smaller cities should feel frustration as they pale by comparison to the Motor City. Likewise, even though ethnic groups, both white and nonwhite, have contributed mightily to the state’s growth, their contributions have been minimized because of a “melting pot” syndrome which demands that native cultures be abandoned so that everyone can become “American.”

While mindful of these past truisms, this book endeavors to present Michigan’s history in a different fashion. to be sure, there are the traditional accounts of the impact of the French and British, the rise of the automobile industry, and the tales of lumbering and mining—no story of Michigan would be complete without them. however, this volume intends to go beyond the well-known aspects of the state’s development; it intends to tell the story of the people of Michigan. Special emphasis is given to American indians and their fight to survive in a “white man’s world,” the struggle for black rights and women’s suffrage, and the contributions of white ethnics. this book is not

Introductionviii

intended only to glorify the state, its people, and its accomplishments, for that would be a distortion of reality. thus, stories are told of Ku Klux Klan and Black Legion violence, the anti-Semitism of prominent Michiganians such as henry Ford and Father Charles Coughlin, the disregard for civil liberties during the “Red Scares” of 1919–20 and the McCarthy period, and the riots, both racial and otherwise, which have plagued the state since 1837.

this most recent edition includes new material covering such diverse topics as the Bath School Massacre in 1927, corruption in the Michigan legislature during World War ii and the assassination of State Senator Warren hooper, Michigan politics in the twenty-first century, the fall of detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the economic and societal travails of detroit, and the prospects for a restoration of the state to its past national prominence.

Like all states, Michigan has grown because of the boldness, wisdom, strength, and creativity of its citizens. Missionaries, explorers, warriors, s tates- men, politicians, inventors, business entrepreneurs, civil libertarians, educators, artists, and laborers in factories and fields have joined to shape Michigan’s heritage. this book is their story—the history of the Great Lakes State.

Michigan: A History of the Great Lakes State, Fifth Edition. Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

the original Michiganians

For generations, most schoolchildren have been told by well-meaning teachers that their national heritage began in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’ discov- ery of America. Scandinavian scholars have objected to this interpretation, claiming that Leif Ericson arrived in north America before Columbus. in an effort to retain their national pride, italian historians countered by promoting another of their countrymen, Amerigo Vespucci, as the true discoverer of America. European arguments over who discovered the north American con- tinent are interesting, but they ignore a basic fact: non-Europeans lived on the continent for at least 14,000 years before any European arrival. thus, it is impossible for any European nation to claim “discovery.” Some scholars refute this argument by saying that Europeans can still boast discovery because they had never before seen north America. the foolishness of this contention was shown in 1975 when an iroquois college professor from new York boarded a plane, flew to Rome, and upon arrival, announced that because his people had never been to italy before he was claiming that land for the iroquois nation by right of discovery!

ironically, indians, so named by Columbus because he was certain that he had landed in india, lived in western Europe long before any Europeans estab- lished permanent colonies in north America. English fishermen, working the newfoundland coast in the early 1500s, captured several natives and took them to England as examples of the “savage inhabitants” of the new World. After a few years, the amusement of viewing indians diminished and another fishing

1

Michigan2

expedition returned the captives to their homeland. immediately these indians spread tales of their adventures and told fascinated friends and relatives of the “world across the sea.” English culture and language clearly had intrigued the captives and they taught “white man’s words” to their people. therefore, when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 they were astounded when a descendant of one of those early visitors to England greeted them in English and assured them that others in his village spoke the language fluently. While it would be an exaggeration to say that indians knew English “fluently,” it is fair to say that Europeans do not even have a valid claim to being the first English- speaking residents of north America.

throughout the years whites have been puzzled as to how indians arrived on the continent and from whom they were descended. Several far-fetched ideas have been put forth to answer these questions. An early popular theory was that indians came by ferry from Europe. disbelievers said that such a hypothesis was ridiculous and that the only logical answer was that indians were descend- ants of people from the lost continents of Mu and Atlantis. in the 1600s, Puritans asserted that indians were descendants of the “Lost tribe of israel,” who had wandered so long and far that they had been stripped of all godly qualities and had become savage “Children of the devil.” this theory was accepted for over two centuries, although it, like the others mentioned, has absolutely no basis in fact.

By the late twentieth century, there were two accepted theories on how indians arrived on the north American continent. Most anthropologists believe that small bands of indians crossed the Bering Straits from Siberia approxi- mately 14,000 years ago. Such a crossing was made possible because during the ice Age sea levels declined and land bridges were formed linking Asia and north America. Since the continents are separated by a mere fifty-six miles, it is assumed by many anthropologists that ancestors of the modern Eskimo were the first settlers of north America. Many indians, however, accept a second theory. they believe that the Creator placed them on the continent, and that they have always been its inhabitants. Whichever theory is valid perhaps can- not be conclusively resolved. however, one point is indisputable: indians were the original native north Americans.

The Three Fires

When Europeans first arrived on the north American continent, approximately 100,000 indians, or 10 percent of the total indian population north of Mexico, lived in the Great Lakes region. of the several tribes residing in what is now

The Original Michiganians 3

Michigan, the most numerous and influential were the ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi. these tribes, which originally were united, split sometime before the sixteenth century, with the ottawa remaining near Mackinac and in the lower peninsula, the Chippewa going west and north into Wisconsin and the upper peninsula, and the Potawatomi moving down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. All continued to live harmoniously, without defined territorial boundaries, and never failed to recognize their common Algonquian language, dialect, and culture. they thought of themselves as a family, with the Chippewa the elder brother, the ottawa the next older brother, and the Potawatomi the younger brother, and referred to their loose confederation as the “three Fires.”

the Chippewa, or ojibwa, who inhabited the northern upper Great Lakes area, were the largest Algonquian tribe, estimated at between 25,000 and 35,000 at the time of European arrival in the new World. in order to survive in their harsh environment, the Chippewa lived in small bands, usually consisting of five to twenty-five families, who could sustain themselves on the available food sources. during the summer, bands moved to good fishing sites and used hooks, spears, and nets to catch whitefish, perch, sturgeon, and other food fish.

Figure 1.1 indian tribes in the Great Lakes region from the time of European explora- tion to 1673.

Michigan4

Men also hunted small game, while the elders, women, and children gathered nuts, berries, and honey. A portion of the gatherings and fish catch was dried and set aside for use in the winter. in the autumn, wild rice and corn were har- vested, and hunts for large game, such as deer, moose, and caribou, were organ- ized. As the “hunger Moon” of winter set in, food grew scarce and families shared what little resources they possessed with their relatives. Sharing those items most valuable and scarce was an economic and physical necessity among band-level people in order to survive. in the spring, maple sap was collected, boiled, and made into syrup and sugar for their own use and trade. While Chippewa in the lower peninsula engaged in limited farming, most of the tribe acquired agricultural staples through trade with the ottawa and Wyandot.

Like all band-level people, the Chippewa did not possess highly organized political structures. Leadership in their classless society was based on an indi- vidual’s hunting or fishing skill, physical prowess, warring abilities, or elo- quence in speech. Leaders had no delegated power but maintained influence through acts of kindness, wisdom, generosity, and humility. Positions of leader- ship always were earned and could not be passed from generation to generation as a hereditary right.

Chippewa social structure centered around approximately twenty “super- families” called clans. Each child belonged to his or her father’s clan, and thus clans traced the line of an individual’s descent. Furthermore, because marriage had to occur between different clans, a strong intratribal unity was fostered.

the second of the three Fires, the ottawa, was estimated to number nearly four thousand at the time of white arrival. Living in bark-covered lodges in the northwestern two-thirds of the lower peninsula, the ottawa followed a subsist- ence pattern similar to that of the Chippewa, except that during the summer months they engaged in extensive farming. the ottawa became known as great traders and their name, Adawe, means “to trade.”

ottawa social and political structures were similar to those of the Chippewa, as was the ottawa religion. the religion of the ottawa and Chippewa was extremely sophisticated. Because indians had always lived in nature, they thought of themselves as merely one of many elements constituting the envi- ronment. the white concept of man being a special creation apart from nature was foreign to every indian belief of man’s role in the universe. they believed that a Great Spirit, Kitchi Manitou, created the heavens and earth, and then summoned lesser spirits to control the winds and waters. the sun was the father of mankind, the earth its mother. thunder, lightning, the four winds, and certain wildlife were endowed with godlike powers. in the indians’ animis- tic belief structure any object, especially crooked trees and odd shaped rocks, could possess religious significance.

The Original Michiganians 5

to indians, religion was primarily an individual matter. At puberty each child journeyed to an isolated sacred place where a vision was sought through fasting. in most instances, a spirit would appear and grant the supplicant a per- sonal spirit song and instructions for assembling a strong protective medicine bag. this spirit became the person’s lifelong guardian, and it was a source of great comfort for the individual to know that a spirit was taking personal inter- est in his life.

not all spirits were benevolent. Mischievous spirits, or “tricksters,” were ever present. these demigods were believed responsible for the annoyances of daily life, and all frightening sounds and accidents were caused by these playful, yet malevolent, sprites. Snakes and owls were thought to be earthly forms assumed by evil gods. Man-eating monsters were believed to dwell in certain sectors of the Great Lakes, and no journey was begun without first making offerings to appease them.

the most common offering was tobacco. Manitous, or gods, were said to be fond of this dried leaf, and it became the link between mortals and spiritual powers. Before each harvest it was placed on the ground as a gesture of thanks, accompanied with a request for Mother Earth to accept their offer. tobacco was put on streams to assure plentiful harvests of wild rice and bountiful catches of fish, on graves to placate the dead, and at all holy sites. the ottawa and Chippewa considered tobacco so sacred that they insisted on smoking it with whites at treaty councils to signify that the accord was sanctioned “in the eyes of the Great Spirit.” Later missionaries, however, refused to honor what they considered “savage superstitions” and collected the tobacco offerings for distri- bution among their half-blood interpreters.

Chippewa and ottawa religion was a refined system of cultural beliefs, based more on feelings than a formalized creed, which was perpetuated by oral tradi- tion and adapted to fulfill the spiritual needs of its followers. it was no more primitive than the ancient Greek and Roman religion which also used polythe- ism, legendary cultural heroes, and symbolic rituals to explain the “unexplain- able.” indians personified the elements because they were in awe of them and wished to demonstrate to the gods their desire to live in harmony, not competi- tion, with nature. Unfortunately for later indian?white relations, only the Catholic Jesuit missionaries made any attempt to understand the indians’ feel- ings toward their environment.

Missionary work among the indians of Michigan was doomed to ultimate failure because it demanded that indians undergo a total social and cultural revolution. Missionaries did not separate the concepts of Christianity and civi- lization. they thereby committed themselves to destroying the indians’ culture in order to save their souls and prepare them for life in white society. When the

Michigan6

mass of indians refused to comply with the wishes of the preachers, churchmen angrily said that their task was hopeless because “when a tribe or nation has reached a certain point in degradation, it is impossible to restore it.” in truth, their failure was because of an inability to comprehend the intricate sensibilities of the indian religion. Consequently, among all aspects of indian culture, reli- gion best withstood the onslaught of assimilation.

Like other Great Lakes indians, the ottawa believed that the most important social custom was reciprocity. this was basically the idea of doing something for someone, or giving them something, with the expectation that they would do something in return. there were three types of reciprocity practiced among the indians. First was general reciprocity. this was usually done between close relatives and assumed a balanced exchange. the distinguishing feature of this type of reciprocity is that part of the transaction could be based on future con- siderations; that is, one person would do something immediately and trust the other party to do something of equal worth for him in the future. the second type was balanced reciprocity. this was the most common form and consisted of a straight trade of goods and services assumed to be of equal value. Such a trade was made between distant relatives, or nonrelatives, who were not as well known to each party. the final type was negative reciprocity. this was extremely rare and occurred when one party knowingly attempted to cheat the other. When word spread of such behavior, the guilty party was ostracized from future trading functions.

Europeans never fully understood reciprocity because in its broadest sense it implied sharing as a way of life. the root difference between the races in this respect is that Europeans, who believed in private property, hoarded in expec- tation of gaining increased profits. indians, by contrast, did not believe in pri- vate property, but rather had only communal and personal property. Communal property belonged to the band as a whole. Personal property belonged to an individual and was understood to belong to that person, but could be borrowed by anyone. in other words, everyone in a community had access to everyone else’s materials. Likewise, it was unthinkable in indian society, before white contact, for one person to have two of an item while another person had none. it was understood that everyone would share. Reciprocity and sharing was the heart of indian economic and social organization.

the third major tribe was the Potawatomi, who received their name from the Chippewa term “Potawatamink,” which means “people of the place of the fire.” Because they were primarily an agricultural people, this name probably derived from their practice of burning grass and brush to clear fields for cultivation.

Potawatomi life, like that of their kinsmen, followed the rhythm of the sea- sons. during the summer, they formed large villages, usually near fertile lands

The Original Michiganians 7

along rivers and streams. Women planted corn, squash, beans, melons, and tobacco, while the men took to the forests and waterways to hunt and fish. in the fall, final harvesting was made, and the villages were moved into the heart of the forests where winter hunting would be best and protection from winter winds was afforded by the trees. in the spring, maple sap was collected for use as sugar.

the most noteworthy aspect of Potawatomi social structure was the practice of polygamy. if a man married women from different clans, the union joined not only the individuals but also their entire clans. Marriage thus brought together large numbers of people as a family unit. Since it was considered essential to have as many relatives as possible to survive and care for each other in times of need, this practice was extremely beneficial.

Potawatomi culture, like that of the ottawa and Chippewa, had well-defined roles for every member of society. Men were expected to hunt, fish, trap, trade, and defend the tribe. Women farmed, cooked, sewed, made camp, and raised children. Youngsters were taught to respect their elders and gain wisdom from them. having been raised amid an atmosphere of love and respect, indians perpetuated a society based on strong family ties.

Effects of White Contact

European arrival in the Great Lakes area during the seventeenth century led to gradually increasing disruptions in the comparatively stable indian culture. initial changes were not great, but as contact became more prolonged and intense, its effect on indians was pronounced. Material culture was the first aspect of indian life to undergo alteration. European trade goods quickly brought the substitution of iron knives and axes for those of stone. iron farm implements replaced ones made of wood. iron and brass arrowheads took the place of those from chipped stone. Brass kettles displaced native pottery vessels, and ultimately guns replaced bows, arrows, and lances.

By the mid-1700s, Michigan’s indians were almost completely dependent upon European trade goods. Many indians no longer made their own tools, utensils, or weapons, and, as a result, native skills in handicraft gradually diminished. Economic dependency altered the indians’ relationship to the environment by disrupting the traditional subsistence hunting-and-gathering pattern. Because indians could not obtain European merchandise without sup- plying furs, which had become the established medium of exchange, they placed an ever-increasing emphasis on hunting and trapping. Even agricultural bands turned to the forests to provide them with currency to purchase white

Michigan8

trade goods. no longer was the food quest the dominant reason to hunt, and no longer was the balance of nature an important consideration. the overriding goal then had to be successful commercial hunting—the increasing slaughter of animals for their pelts. As the fur supply dwindled in their home area, many indians ventured beyond their own territory into that of their enemies. often these dangerous treks took them so far from their camps that they could bring

Figure 1.2 indians ceded their lands to the United States government by a series of treaties. this map shows how the federal government obtained title to Michigan from the state’s original owners. Base map data source from RS&GiS, Michigan State University (www.rsgis.msu.edu).

The Original Michiganians 9

back only the furs, while leaving the once invaluable meat behind to rot. indians took many risks in order to assure continued favor of the white traders.

Eventually, white contact caused changes in the indian political structure. the traditional classless society with leaders who led by example was transformed into one with powerful chiefs holding well-defined positions of authority. Whites expected indians to have leaders with power to speak for an entire band. to satisfy this expectation, and to expedite trade and treaty making, chiefs were voluntarily granted by their followers previously unknown amounts of respon- sibility. White contact even resulted in the creation of the position of “trading chief,” whose sole function was to negotiate trade agreements for his band.

introduction of whiskey among the indians by European traders also had a marked impact upon their culture. henry Rowe Schoolcraft, a lifelong observer of Michigan’s indians, wrote that “whiskey is the great means of drawing from him [the indian] his furs and skins.” the sad result was that indians often would even sell their personal and family possessions to buy alcohol. Schoolcraft further …

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