Detroit

Review – Detroit: A Biography by Scott Martelle

Published April 16, 2012 |

Right now no other city is as emblematic of the economic struggles in the United States as Detroit, Michigan. Once the heart of American auto manufacturing and the great booming metal heart of the Midwest, Detroit is a city much reduced, both in population and in cultural standing. Scott Martelle’s new book, is a love letter to the land and its former inhabitants. The city is a rich subject for biography, having as many tragedies and triumphs as any great historical figure.

Review - Detroit: A Biography by Scott Martelle

In recent years many of the stories coming out of Detroit have focused on the ridiculously inexpensive housing, once-grand buildings falling into ruin, and stories of abandoned neighborhoods turned into urban meadows, a bit of a full circle since it was the rich land and wildlife that originally attracted Antoine Laumet de la Mothe sieur de Cadillac to choose the area. The first French settlers tangled with local tribes including the Ottawa before leaving the settlement in the hands of the British. The British were harsh with the local tribes, driving up the exchange rates for fur pelts and treating them with disdain. The Revolutionary War brought Detroit under United States control but it was nearly obliterated by fire in 1805. The city, then part of the Michigan territory was rebuilt along a plan similar to L’Enfant’s spoke and hub design for the District of Columbia. The city was briefly under British control during the War of 1812 but by 1825 with the opening if the Erie Canal, Detroit was poised for greatness. Positioned with access to Lake Erie and the Erie canal but also within striking distance of Chicago, the gateway to the West, Detroit grew rapidly and, by 1860 become the country’s nineteenth largest city.

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Posted in History Book Reviews |

Tagged Books, Detroit, Michigan, US |

The 1796 Surrender of Detroit to the U.S.

Published November 1, 2011 |

Posted by Chris Rivait

I find it interesting to find out why places are named what they are. Wayne County in Michigan is the 15th most populous county in the US. It is where you’ll find Detroit and was named after General Anthony Wayne. In fact, there are 14 other states with a Wayne County all named after the general. “Mad” Anthony Wayne was known for his heroic charges into the hottest spots of the battlefield. As John Willyard of the Farmington Patch explains, Jacob Burnet wrote about his first-hand accounts of the historic events in Michigan during the early years of the United States, many of which are about “Mad” Anthony Wayne.

“Burnet’s Notes On The Northwestern Territory”, written by Jacob Burnet (1770 – 1853), provides very interesting insight into the surrender of Detroit and is quoted below. He was a circuit rider judge who was a personal witness to many significant early events in Michigan’s history. His book was published in 1847 based on a series of letters he wrote starting in 1837.

The Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, which granted the Northwest Territories to the United States. Since there was no pressure from the local inhabitants to hand over Detroit, and since most of the Indians in the Northwest Territories supported the British and vigorously resisted American movement into the territory, it remained in the hands of the British.

The so-called “Western Indian Confederacy,” under the leadership of Blue Jacket of the Shawnees and Little Turtle of the Miamis, engaged U.S. military forces in the area and won decisive victories against them in 1790 and 1791. In response, George Washington placed Revolutionary War hero Anthony Wayne in charge of a military force to overcome the Indian opposition and open the Territory to U.S. settlement.