Jane Ryan – 183rd Birthday of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at the MRHC December 14th from 1p-3p

Marquette, Michigan – Jane Ryan joined Todd Pazz on the 8th Day Radio Show to discuss the upcoming birthday party for the Upper Peninsula on December 14, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm at the Marquette Regional History Center.  It’s the Upper Peninsula’s 183rd birthday.  On December 14, 1836 during the “Frostbitten Convention” the State of Michigan accepted ¾ of the U.P. in exchange for the Toledo Strip.

Listen:

• Sunny.FM Media Player: ( 22 Min. mp3)
• Default Device Player: ( 22 Min. mp3)

The easternmost part of the U.P. was already a part of Michigan, but to get the conflict between Michigan and Ohio resolved, and to fast track the Michigan territory to statehood, the territorial governor, President Andrew Jackson, and the United State’s congress agreed to the compromise, even though the first convention called to resolve the issue resulted in the people of the territory rejecting the compromise.

From Wikipedia Toledo War Entry: During the summer of 1836, Congress proposed a compromise whereby Michigan gave up its claim to the strip in exchange for its statehood and about three-quarters of the Upper Peninsula. Although the northern region’s mineral wealth would later become an economic asset to Michigan, at the time the compromise was considered a poor outcome for the new state, and voters in a statehood convention in September soundly rejected the proposal. But in December, the Michigan government, facing a dire financial crisis and pressure from Congress and President Andrew Jackson, called another convention (called the “Frostbitten Convention”) which accepted the compromise that resolved the Toledo War.

Soon after Michigan was admitted to the Union as the 26th state.

State Representative Sarah Cambensy and Mark Ruge, native of Menominee Michigan and former chief of staff to Congressman Bob Davis, will speak at 1:30 pm about the “Frostbitten Convention” and the details of this important decision for the State of Michigan. Celebration will include a song and serve birthday cake and coffee. For more information call 906.226.3571 or go online www.marquettehistory.org.