USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 16
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facts was addressed to the judiciary committee of congress. This statement of facts recited at some length the reasons necessitating a new form of government in Michigan Terri- tory. These the Detroit Gazette, under date of January 24, 1823, set forth as follows : "The legislative board do not meet to do business at the time fixed by their own stat- utes for that purpose, and they have no known place of meeting; and, when they do meet, no public notice of the time or place is given ; and when that can be ascertained by inquiry, they are found sometimes at private rooms or offices, where none have a right, and few except those immediately interested in the passage of the laws have the assurance to intrude themselves, or can find room or seats if they should. Laws are frequently passed and others repealed, which take effect from the date, and vitally affect the rights of the citizens, and are not promulgated or made known to the community for many months."
This concise arraignment had some weight with the judiciary committee and bore fruit much sooner than the most sanguine citizen had dared to hope. The congressional act of March 3, 1823, provided for the establishment of a governor's council which, with the exec- utive, should form the territorial government. To the people was left the election of eighteen candidates, from whom nine were selected by the president as the governor's coun- cillors. The news of the passage of the new law reached Detroit on March 27th, and though the act did not take effect until the following year, both Woodward and Griffin at once resigned as judges. They were succeeded by Solomon Sibley and John Hunt. The latter was a lawyer who had lived in the territory but four or five years, being a brother-in-law and part- ner of General Charles Larned, the attorney general. Judge Witherell, who still retained his office, was then made presiding judge of the territory. At about the same time an addi- tional judge, James Duane Doty, was appointed for the northern portion of the territory.
Abraham Edwards was made president, and John P. Sheldon, editor of the Detroit Gazette, was appointed clerk of the newly made council, which held its first meeting June 7, 1824. In his message to the councillors, Governor Cass advocated the completion of In- dian treaties under which operations might be carried on for the development of the mineral resources in the north, and the passage of legislation providing for the early establishment of a general system of public schools. No important measures were adopted, however, by the first council. In 1825 congress passed further acts relative to Michigan Territory, under which is was provided that thirteen instead of nine councillors should constitute the local representation. Twenty-six instead of eighteen candidates were allowed, they being propor- tioned among the counties as follows: Wayne county, eight ; Monroe county, six; Oakland county, four; Macomb county, four; St. Clair county, two; and Brown, Crawford and Mackinac counties, two.
A strong influence on public affairs was exerted during all this time by Governor Cass, most of whose attention was directed toward the further completion of Indian treaties, the popularization of government and the advancement of education. In one of his addresses on the latter subject, as reported in the Journal of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, 1826, he said: "Of all purposes to which a revenue derived from the people can be applied under a government emanating from the people, there is none more interest- ing in itself, nor more important in its effects, than the maintenance of a public and general course of moral and mental discipline. Many republics have preceded us in the progress of human society ; but they have disappeared, leaving behind them little besides the history of their follies and dissensions to serve as a warning to their successors in the career of self government. Unless the foundation of such government is laid in the virtue and intelligence of the community, they must be swept away by the first commotion to which political circum-
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stances may give birth. Whenever education is diffused among the people generally, they will appreciate the value of free institutions; and as they have the power, so must they have the will to maintain them. It appears to me that a plan may be devised which will not press too heavily upon the means of the country, and which will insure a competent portion of education to all youth in the territory."
As the constant warfare between the Sacs, Foxes and Sioux Indians to the west was proving itself a source of danger on the frontier, as well as one of trouble to the federal government, Cass, in company with Governor Clark of Missouri, effected important trea- ties during the summer of 1825, at Prairie du Chien. The following year Cass and Colonel McKenney met the Chippewas at Fond du Lac. In return for annuities for school pur- poses promised by Governor Cass, the Indians granted the whites permission to locate and mine the valuable minerals of the north.
In 1825 the Michigan government was further popularized by an act of congress which endowed the governor and council with authority to establish townships and arrange for the election of local officials as need arose. Though judicial officials were not at that time in- cluded in the provisions for elective selection, they became so at the instance of the governor. Of this example of the executive democracy of Cass, Mclaughlin says: "Counties were laid out as rapidly as convenience directed. As the Americans came into the territory in greater numbers, the governor allowed the settlers in each locality to suggest names of persons to be appointed to local offices, and thus practically deprived himselt of a prerogative which he might have used for his own ends. He adhered with tenacity to the doctrine that the people should have a direct voice in appointments and other political affairs in the ter- ritory."
During the summer of 1825, settlement in Michigan received its greatest impetus as the result of the completion of the Erie canal. This important project marked the begin- ning of a fever for internal improvement; and this immediately stimulated that immigra- tion which alone could bring about the conquest of the northwest. Indeed, the term "internal improvement" soon came to be the shibboleth of the true pioneer. Such a conjunction of the waters of Lake Erie and her sister lakes with those of the Hudson river and the Atlantic, resulted not alone in a material addition to the population of Detroit and the occupancy of much of the adjacent wild lands; it served as an example which, in later years, led the new state of Michigan into what, for a time, promised to be a most disastrous attempt toward internal improvements of her own. The exodus from the east, which threatened the pros- perity of many of the eastern cities, added continuously to the importance and general wealth of Detroit. As the land lying near the center of the city became of greater value, congress surrendered, in 1826, the last of the military reservation that had surrounded Forty Shelby, which stood, it will be remembered, on the present site of the federal building. This area, extending from the line of the Cass farm on the west, easterly to Griswold street, and from a point midway between Jefferson avenue and Larned street, northward to Michi- gan avenue, had included the old post burial ground. In this had been interred the bodies of those soldiers who died at the fort during the epidemic following the return of the troops from the battle of the Thames, in 1813. The opening of streets through this cemetery and the subsequent improvement of the vicinity led to a mild recurrence of the epidemic, which carried off among its victims the mayor of the city, Henry Jackson Hunt. In May of this year Detroit ceased to be, for the time, a regularly garrisoned post. Two companies of troops stationed at Fort Shelby were ordered to Green Bay and twelve months later the historic fort was razed to the ground. Detroit was organized as a city in 1824, and John R.
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Williams became the first mayor. In 1827 a new act of incorporation was passed, and in the same were noted "The mayor, recorder, aldermen, and freemen of the City of Detroit." The municipal officials at this time were made to include mayor, recorder, five aldermen, clerk, marshal, treasurer, supervisor, collector, assessor, and three constables. Shortly after this, two more aldermen were added to the city council, and work was begun for the im- provement of the river front and the completion of a sewage system. The public schools, which had hitherto been under the supervision of the governor and university trustees, were now given into the charge of the various local township governments.
Following the delivery of an impressive address presented by the president of the legis- lative council, that body formally occupied for the first time the new capitol building on May 5, 1828. This edifice, an imposing one for those days, was located on the present Cap- itol Park, then the head of Griswold street. Twenty-two years of procrastination and neces- sitated delays were required before this building could be completed. After the fire of 1805, and the laying out of the town lots and the "ten thousand acre tract," the governor and judges passed an act providing for the appropriation of a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the town lots, for the erection of a court house and jail. Shortly afterward twenty thousand dollars were appropriated for the completion of the court house, which was to be located "in the center of the Grand Circus." The next step was the act of 1815, re- pealing that providing for the Grand Circus location, and favoring instead a site at the head of Griswold street. In 1823 it occurred to the progressive citizens that plans must be se- lected and a contract let before the capitol could become a reality. After some confusion over bids, the governor and judges selected D. C. Mckinstry, Thomas Palmer and Degarmo Jones as the contractors, agreeing on an estimate of twenty-one thousand dollars for the completion of the building. The laying of the corner stone was accomplished with much ceremony on September 23, 1823.
In those days the financing of a public improvement of such magnitude was not ac- complished without some difficulties. These were somewhat mitigated by the issuing, on the part of the governor and judges, of scrip which, it was originally planned, should be re- deemed with moneys received from land sales. In 1828, however, the council authorized the endorsement of the scrip by the territorial government.
In 1828 and 1829 there occurred two events which, though they did not result in vital concern, nevertheless, roused the public feeling almost to fever heat. In 1828 an act was introduced in congress suggesting the segregation of a portion of the Lake Superior country and the addition of such area, with a part of Wisconsin, to form a new territory, to be called Huron. Naturally this measure met with the instant disapproval of the citizens of Detroit and lower Michigan. Speeches were made and a popular meeting was called for the expression of a formal protest. Every public-spirited man of the times entered so heartily into the objection that the proposal wilted soon after its inception, and the rich northern section was saved to Michigan. Early in the following year John P. Sheldon, editor of the Gazette, became the hero of a popular demonstration against the administration of the authority of the supreme court of the territory. In this the acts of the judges were severely attacked. In decrying a decision of the court in the case of a man on trial for the larceny of a watch, the Gazette said editorially: "Many a poor, plodding attorney in the states, when he shall read the above decision of the supreme court of Michigan, will kick his Blackstone out of his office and acknowledge himself a nincom." The dignity of the court could suffer no such discourtesy, and Sheldon was immediately ordered arrested for his presumption and contempt. Upon his refusal to pay a fine of one hundred dollars assessed
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against him by the court's verdict, he was promptly thrown into jail. This action so greatly angered the public that a storm of popular wrath was soon bursting about the heads of the unfortunate judiciary. A public meeting was held at which a subscription was started for the securing of a fund sufficient to meet Sheldon's fine, and as soon as the money was thus raised a representation of prominent citizens gave a dinner at the jail in honor of the im- prisoned editor. Nearly every one present responded to toasts in which the court was made the butt of the general disgust, expressed in no uncertain terms of frontier wit. Sheldon's sympathizers escorted him to his home in state and the judges were driven to the necessity of meeting the public disfavor with an elaborate pamphlet, in which was set forth the court's detailed defense.
CHAPTER XV.
Porter Succeeds Cass as Governor-Cholera Epidemic in Detroit-Black Hawk War-Stev- ens T. Mason Appointed Secretary of the Territory-Cholera Epidemic of 1834- Mason Becomes Acting Governor of the Territory-Steps Toward Statehood-Con- stitutional Convention-Boundary Dispute Between Michigan and Ohio-The To- ledo War-Horner Serves Brief Term as Acting Governor-Election of 1835- Michigan Admitted to the Union-Mason First Governor-Supreme and Chancery Courts of the New State.
Upon his appointment, in 1831, as secretary of war in the cabinet of President Jackson, Lewis Cass was succeeded as governor of Michigan Territory by a leading Pennsylvania politician of the day, George B. Porter. But two events of importance obtrude themselves in the Porter administration,-the bringing into prominence of Stevens T. Mason, the first governor of the state of Michigan, and the outbreak of the Black Hawk war. Though this short conflict, which resulted from the uprising of the western Indians under Chief Black Hawk, in Wisconsin, did not directly affect Detroit, indirectly it brought about much distress to the citizens and much loss of life. In July the steamer "Henry Clay," having on board a detachment of troops en route to the front, touched at Detroit, and on the following day one of the soldiers fell victim to cholera. Some little concern had been felt for the public health during the summer months prior to the death of the unfortunate soldier, and as soon as his fate became noised about the city, the vessel was immediately ordered away. She proceeded upstream as far as Belle Isle and later to Fort Gratiot, at Port Huron. Here she was forced to stop by the general outbreak of the dread disease among the troops. Those who had not already been struck down, made their way back to Detroit, where they attempted to re-embark on board the steamer "William Penn." But again they were forced ashore. Quickly the plague spread among the citizens, and those who were able fled from the city. By the residents of the smaller surrounding towns a strict quarantine was maintained against all who came from Detroit, and even the bridges and roads were destroyed or blockaded. Armed patrols guarded the roads outside Pontiac; and mail coaches were held up for examination of passengers, all of whom were fleeing from the stricken city. Emergency hospitals were established in the capitol and other buildings, and in these Father Richard, priest of the parish of Ste. Anne's, and other devoted nurses worked day and night in a warfare against the scourge, to which they, too, finally succumbed. De- spite the efforts of the priest, his friends and the health officers, nearly one hundred lives were sacrificed before the disease had run its course. The epidemic lasted from July 4, 1832, until the middle of the following month. At the time of the epidemic of cholera many of the citizens of Detroit were absent at Chicago, under John R. Williams, for the purpose of aiding in the protection of that village against Black Hawk and his warriors.
During the year prior to the resignation of Governor Cass, who became secretary of war in 1831, the president appointed as secretary of the territory of Michigan, John T. Mason, a member of a Virginia family prominent in the political and official history of the United States. His son, Stevens Thomson Mason, destined to become one of Michigan's most bril- liant men, had been born in Virginia during the memorable year of 1812. The father served
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as secretary of the territory until the appointment of Governor Porter, at which time he resigned, after bringing sufficient pressure to bear at Washington to insure the appointment of his son as his successor. The political ambitions of many of the older families of Detroit easily matched those of the Mason family, and this appointment of a comparative stranger over the heads of several older aspirants met with an almost general objection. This was raised to white heat by the discovery of the fact that the young secretary had not yet attained legal manhood. Meetings were held in several places in the territory to bring sufficient public sentiment to bear to prevent the realization of the Mason ambitions, and a commis- sion was named to investigate the age of the younger Mason. It was discovered that in case of the illness, absence or death of the governor, the affairs of the territory would be left in the hands of a "mere stripling." Before effective demands for the resignation of the young secretary could be formally placed before the president, however, John Mason, the father, was enabled to take advantage of an opportunity for ameliorating the public senti- ment. This afforded itself, so tradition has it, at a farewell dinner given by former Gov- ernor Cass. On this occasion the elder Mason made so pathetic an appeal for a fair trial of his son that many of the family's bitterest opponents were completely won over. Though there still remained a strong undercurrent of feeling against the son, he assumed the du- ties of his office and soon proved himself to be a man of resource and ability.
In 1834 the cholera again broke out in Detroit; this time with increased severity. Be- ginning with August and continuing through that month and the next, the streets were daily filled with funeral processions; many of the city's most prominent residents, including Governor Porter, were taken off. Throughout these trying days the young secretary of the territory, the mayor of the city, C. C. Trowbridge, Father Martin Kundig, a Catholic priest, and many volunteers worked untiringly to save or ease the sufferings of the afflicted.
Upon the death of Governor Porter, Mason became acting governor of the territory. During the time subsequent to his appointment as secretary he had made many friends even among those who had at first sought his removal. Now these former opponents sought to have Mason made governor by presidential appointment, but President Jackson turned a deaf ear to all such suggestions. Instead of acceding to the popular demand, he attempted to thrust Henry D. Gilpin upon the people of the territory as their executive head. Jack- son's desires were, however, frustrated by the action of the Mason family, who were of sufficient political importance to induce many senators to disapprove the president's se- lection.
A census of the territory taken in the fall of 1834 gave Michigan a population of 87,273, of which nearly 5,000 were residents of Detroit.
With a population exceeding, by about twenty-five thousand, that legally entitling Michigan to become a state, the people now began to look toward placing the commonwealth on a footing equal to that of her older sisters in the federal union. The first definite step in this direction was taken in May, 1835, when a constitutional convention was held at De- troit. This body framed a constitution which gave the right of franchise to all residents of the territory who should have attained legal age whenever the constitution became effect- ive, and provided for an election to be held on the first Monday in October, 1835. At this election the people were to select a governor and lieutenant governor, a state legislature and a representative in congress. During the same year, however, an event that for a time threatened to embroil the territory in a war with Ohio, diverted all efforts towards statehood.
The Ohio trouble, known as the Toledo war, was occasioned by a boundary dispute be- tween Michigan Territory and her southern neighbor. Under the ordinance of 1787, provi-
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sion was made for the division of the Northwest Territory into either three or five states. The ordinance stipulated that if five states were to be created, the three states on the south were to be divided from those to the north by a line drawn eastward from the southerly extremity of Lake Michigan, and extending to the line of the Northwest Territory in Lake Erie. When Ohio was admitted to the Union, however, the constitution which was accepted by congress contained a provision which stipulated that in case this line should not pass as far north as the northerly cape of the Maumee bay, then a line extending easterly from the foot of Lake Michigan to the north cape of Maumee bay, should serve as the northern boun- dary of the state. When Michigan Territory was cut off from Indiana, the residents in the territory later in dispute preferred to be governed under the Michigan laws, which were accordingly extended to cover the area. The disputed territory consisted of a strip of land, about eight miles in width, which lay between two lines of survey,-one known as the Ful- ton and the other as the Harris line.
In 1833 an Ohio senator brought the question of establishing a definite boundary be- tween Ohio and Michigan before the Ohio legislature, but nothing was accomplished fur- ther than the passage of a resolution asking congress to determine the difficulty. In 1835 the matter came before congress and John Quincy Adams made an elaborate report against the claim of Ohio. Following this, the Ohioans petitioned their legislature asking for an extension of the laws of Ohio over the territory in dispute. On the passage of an act granting the prayer of the petitioners, the disputed area was added, by the Ohio legislature, to the Ohio counties of Wood, Henry and Williams. This occasioned a counter-action on the part of Michigan. A double set of officers were created at the spring election, and war be- came inevitable. The Michigan sympathizers living in the trouble zone formed a posse which, under the direction of their sheriff, carried off some of the would-be citizens of Ohio to Monroe. Under advices from Acting Governor Mason, the Michigan legislative assembly made a ruling which prevented any official from assuming or carrying out the duties of any local office unless commissioned to do so either by congress or the territorial council. This action was ignored by Governor Lucas of Ohio, who directed the officials elected at the Ohio elections to serve without regard to the authority of the Michigan council. Lucas further attempted to survey the boundary in accordance with the Ohio ideas, but the Michi- gan citizens managed to assemble in sufficient force to swoop down upon the surveying parties and arrest them as often as they trespassed on land claimed by the territory.
The Michigan militia, under General Joseph Brown, were ordered to hold themselves in readiness for immediate mobilization by Governor Mason and an appropriation was made to cover the expenses of a campaign against the Ohioans, in case a decisive movement should prove necessary. Ohio at once took similar steps. With the two armed commonwealths facing each other and each waiting only some overt act on the part of the other to precipi- tate a bloody encounter, it was thought best at Washington to dispatch to the west two peace advocates, in the hope of bringing about a peaceful compromise. Accordingly, Richard Rush of Pennsylvania, and Colonel Howard, of Maryland, appeared in the role of ambas- sadors, armed with full powers for the completion of amicable negotiations with the bellig- erants. As the Ohioans were fighting mainly to save for themselves a port on Maumee Bay, the state legislature had passed an act creating Lucas county, of which Toledo is the principal city, and ordering the assembling of a county court at that place. The surveying commis- sion were still active and it was against them that Michigan vented her wrath for what her citizens considered the last straw of presumption. The surveyors were fired upon and several taken prisoners.
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Governor Mason was determined to prevent if possible the convening of the Lucas county court. With a force of about one thousand men, he entered Toledo and formally took possession of the town. Governor Lucas had assembled a small force of Ohio militia at Maumee, but was powerless to move against so imposing a command as that from Michi- gan. Stealthily stealing into Toledo with the judge and court officers, Lucas proceeded to open court as provided by the legislative act. The session was immediately adjourned, the Michigan men being unaware of the strategy until the following day. The dispute was finally settled at the next session of congress, Ohio being given title to the disputed territory, and Michigan being granted the invaluable lands of the upper peninsula, and also her state- hood.
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