Category: (Book)
17 new, starting at $16.10
12 used, starting at $14.31
"An engaging account of the Toledo War of 1835, a serious
confrontation whose outcome established the borders of the
state of Michigan. Faber expertly narrates the history of a
dispute conducted by fascinating characters practicing
political shenanigans of the highest order."
---Andrew Cayton, author of Ohio: The History of a
People and a general editor of The American Midwest:
An Interpretive Encyclopedia
Most are familiar with the Michigan-Ohio football rivalry, an intense but usually good-natured contest that stretches back over one hundred years. Yet far fewer may know that in the early nineteenth century Michigan and Ohio were locked in a different kind of battle---one that began before Michigan became a state.
The conflict started with a long-simmering dispute over a narrow wedge of land called the Toledo Strip. Early maps were famously imprecise, adding to the uncertainty of the true boundary between the states. When Ohio claimed to the mouth of the Maumee River, land that according to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 fell in the territory of Michigan, the "Toledo War" began.
Today the fight may bring a smile to Michiganians and Ohioans because both states benefited: Ohioans won the war and Michigan got the Upper Peninsula. But back then passions about rightful ownership ran high, and it would take many years---and colorful personalities all the way up to presidents---to settle the dispute. The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry gives a well-researched and fascinating account of the famous war.
Don Faber is best known as the former editor of the Ann Arbor News. He also served on the staff of the Michigan Constitutional Convention, won a Ford Foundation Fellowship to work in the Michigan Senate, and was a speechwriter for Michigan governor George Romney. Now retired, Faber lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Jeannette, and indulges in his love of Michigan history.
The Toledo WarReviewed by David M. Keck, 2009-10-08
This is a very interesting and well-researched work. Much discussed in the Toledo and Michigan area, but largely ignored as an academic subject, this topic was long overdue for the excellent treatment this qualified author gives it. An interesting read that includes much about the context of the times in which the event occurs.
Fascinating historyReviewed by J. Nemecek, 2009-07-03
This is a well written account of a fascinating piece of American history. The book is definitely worth a read. My only criticism is that the author tends to wander in an almost stream-of-conscious manner throughout the book. This is most especially noticeable during the last few chapters of the book where the writer jumps back to the middle of the war after already addressing the war's end and Michigan's admission into statehood. Don't let that stop you from enjoying an otherwise fine book.
a "War" between Ohio & Michigan and the Loser was . . .
WisconsinReviewed by Timothy P. Koerner, 2009-07-01
It was a war in which no humans were killed. It supposedly involved
principle, prestige and honor. Some have argued that in the end
both sides received land that neither had a right to possess. This
conflict was between the state of Ohio and the then territory of
Michigan. And it's probably accurate to say that most current
residents of Ohio and Michigan are unaware that a nasty argument
over a 468 square mile strip of land around Toledo had Buckeyes and
Wolverines in a fighting mood during the early 1830s. It is known
to history as the "Toledo War".
The conflict over the strip had been festering for some time before
it came to a head in 1835 when Michigan desired to become a state.
But Ohio (which had become a state in 1803) said "no way,
Michigan". Ohioans wanted no statehood for their neighbors to the
north until a boundary dispute between the two was settled. . . in
Ohio's favor.
A few specifics. If the language of the Northwest Ordinance (of
1787) had been strictly followed, the strip belonged to Michigan.
That is what President Andrew Jackson's Attorney General ruled. But
Ohio had claimed (at the time and shortly after it achieved
statehood)that its northern boundary should be north of the
disputed strip, and therefore Toledo, and its lucrative future
economic possibilities belonged to the Buckeye state.
In the end, as it often does, political might ruled. Ohio (and
Indiana and Illinois, which had also benefitted) had voting
Senators, Congressmen, and electoral votes. Michigan, as a
territory, had none of these. The compromise solution: Ohio to
receive the 468 square mile Toledo strip and Michigan gets 9,000
square miles of land in the western upper peninsula - - land that
was detached from Wisconsin territory! So, in the words of one
writer (described in the book as an Ohio historian): "Both parties
acquired lands...that neither had any legal right to....If there
was one loser in all this, it was Wisconsin...." (p. 182)
The little known and at times humorous subject is revived in this
2008 book by Don Faber. The book skips around quite a bit and is
not always easy to follow. The Toledo War awaits its historian, but
in the meantime this account may be the best we have on a topic
that doesn't get discussed much except perhaps in Ohio history and
Michigan history textbooks and courses.
I especially like the epilogue where the author discusses
Michigan's "lost peninsula". Bet you didn't know about that!
Tim Koerner July 2009
© 2010 Toledo Concierge. Powered by the DevHub Website Builder
