Michigan is one of the fifty states in the United States of America. It is the 11th largest state in the United States.  It is made up of two peninsulas (connected by the Mackinac Bridge): the only state to be so. It borders the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois. Its borders with Minnesota and Illinois are only by water.  It also borders Canada by water.  It was the 26th state to join the union on January 26, 1837.  In 1847, Michigan became the first U.S. state to abolish the death penalty.

History
Native American tribes first settled in Michigan before the arrival of Europeans.

Economy
Michigan is noted as the place where many automobiles were made, and it still shows today. Michigan is 50% forest, which makes it very useful to the lumber industry. It also borders four of the Great Lakes, which are some of the largest reservoirs of fresh water in the world.  Lake Superior is the largest body of freshwater in the world.

Culture and weather
The state experiences four seasons, with the winter being predominant and severe in the north, while the south has more mild, equally long seasons. The northern areas are very popular for skiing in the winter. The National Ski Hall of Fame can be found in Ishpeming in the Upper Peninsula. It is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes. It is also home to the largest mosque in North America, the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.

Due to the large amount of water surrounding the state, boating is very popular in the warmer months.  There are more private boats registered in Michigan than in any other state.

Famous Michiganders
Many famous people have come from Michigan.  They include the singer Madonna, the comedian Andy Richter, singer Stevie Wonder, Anthony Kiedis, former president Gerald Ford, singer Kid Rock, rapper Eminem, the former Reverend Jim Bakker, basketball legend Magic Johnson,  Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin, as well as being the home of Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company.

Cities
The capital city of Michigan is Lansing, and large cities include Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw. Marquette is the largest city in the Upper Peninsula.

Education
Michigan has several state universities including Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Saginaw Valley State University, Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University. The state also has many private colleges.

Politics
The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who took office in January 2019, and its two national senators are Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both Democrats. Out of its 14 congressmen, 7 are Democrats, 6 are Republicans and Justin Amash is a Libertarian. In any event, Michigan had once been reliably blue in presidential elections, having voted for the Democrat in presidential elections since 1988, but then in 2016 it swung red to support Donald Trump. It will be regarded in future as a Swing State.

In comparison to the Midwest 
In general, Michigan is more liberal than the states of Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio, about as liberal as Pennsylvania and Iowa, and less liberal than Illinois and Minnesota. In the State Legislature, Republicans control both houses, although this is true even in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio.

Related pages
 List of counties in Michigan

References

Other websites

 
1837 establishments in the United States