Toledo war
The Toledo War of 1835 was a dispute between the US state of Ohio and the Michigan Territory over the city of Toledo .
Because of inaccurate land surveys in the late 18th century, the southern tip of Lake Michigan was given more northerly than it actually was. In 1787, the United States Congress established the boundaries of future states around the Great Lakes . An east-west line was established, which should begin at the southernmost point of Lake Michigan and end at Lake Erie . This described, among other things, the border between the Michigan Territory and the later Ohio. The maps of that time indicated this southernmost point a few miles north. At the beginning of the 19th century, more accurate maps appeared that showed the southernmost point more precisely.
Because the Ohio Constituent Assembly fears that the border might miss the south shore of Lake Erie, the 1803 Constitution defined the northern border as a direct line running from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Miami Bay (a straight line from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the northernmost cape of Maumee Bay [at the mouth of the Maumee River ]). The southern border of the Michigan Territory, however, was left with the old definition. As a result, the area known as the Toledo Strip was disputed between the two since 1812. Toledo was the only important city that was in this strip. At that time it was the most important port on western Lake Erie.
When Michigan was to be granted state status, the border issue became acute. Michigan and Ohio could not agree, and Ohio's Governor Robert Lucas certain counties , in which he installed appropriate authorities. Toledo was in Lucas County, named after the governor . Michigan's 23-year-old Territorial Governor Stevens Mason responded to this sovereignty by sending militias to the region. Lucas did the same. At that time, the Toledo Strip was covered with thick cedar swamps (also known as the Black Swamp ), which have now been almost completely drained for agricultural purposes.
The United States Congress settled the matter by awarding Toledo to Ohio and the western two-thirds of the upper Michigan Peninsula (the eastern part was already part of the territory) to Michigan. Ohio was considered the winner of the decision at the time because the Upper Peninsula was considered worthless; only later did the wealth of natural resources become known.
literature
- Willard V. Way : The facts and historical events of the Toledo War of 1835. Paily, Toledo, 1869.
Individual evidence
- ^ Evan Andrews, The Toledo War: When Michigan and Ohio Nearly Came to Blows , history.com, November 21, 2016.
- ^ Ohio Constitution of 1803 (Transcript) on Ohio History Central, accessed July 27, 2017