Don Faber

Most folks reading this review will know the background, but for those who don't: In the mid-1830s Michigan (then a territory) and Ohio (a state) had a boundary dispute, which is generally called The Toledo War. One deputy sheriff got stabbed, but survived; no other blood was shed, but both sides were literally up in arms. In the high schools of both states it's now treated as sort of a comic opera, but to the participants it was quite serious. In the end, Toledo became (or was affirmed as) part of Ohio, most of the Upper Peninsula was added to Michigan, and Michigan became a state.

Don Faber's book examines these events in great detail, giving lots of context, covering the particulars of the "war" itself, and explaining the consequences (evidently Michigan's Wolverines nickname dates from this clash). While I was mostly aware of the context, I'd not seen it put together so well before, and I'd never seen a serious discussion of the actual conflict. The important consequences are common knowledge to anyone knowledgable about Michigan or Ohio history. Faber judges that Michigan had the better legal case, though both sides could present serious arguments. In the end, what mattered was that Ohio had the votes in Congress.

This book's exceptionally good--a well researched and well told account of a significant event. I highly recommend it to anyone seriously interested in the history of either state. Students of Jacksonian politics should also find it worthwhile.… (mehr)

All that trash talk between the valiant Michigan Wolverines and the hopeful Ohio State Buckeyes actually derives from a real conflict that occurred between the two states in the 1830s. The Toledo War concerned the "Toledo strip," 470 square miles along the Ohio-Michigan border valued primarily for the connection of the Maumee River into Lake Erie. Through a combination of multiple surveys, political jockeying, and different interpretations of the Northwest Ordinance, the ownership of this stretch of landed was contested for several years. With Michigan's bid for statehood at stake during the contest, Ohio outmaneuvered and ultimately won. However, Michigan gained much more in being granted much of the Upper Peninsula as part of the compromise. The story is especially of interest to people like me, whose family roots originate in that disputed tract of land, but anyone will appreciate how historian Don Faber explains the whole matter for an enjoyable account. Ohio's savvy Governor Lucas faced off against Michigan's young Governor Mason. Their militias ultimately skirmished as well, though never to the scale that we would today consider "war." In course, propaganda sparked the origins of the two university rival's mascots. The multi-year conflict involved some comical militia, police and legal capers. I'll leave the telling to the expert, but there were two other items I found interesting. First, there were multiple surveys to determine the proper line. One of the later efforts was conducted by Army engineer Robert E. Lee. Second, Ohio wasn't officially admitted as a state until 1953. A resolution was quickly passed to dot that i when it was realized the necessary step had been missed back in 1803.… (mehr)