' . 3" !
lifflft
10 The Conservative *
A WIT OF FORGOTTEN HISTORY.
I wonder how many of the young
people of Michigan how many , indeed ,
of the older people ? know that these
two peninsulas came very near being
organized into two states , instead of one ?
And that , instead of being called Michi
gan , this lower "beautiful peninsula"
as our coat of arms puts it was to have
borne the clumsy , classical cognomen ,
"Ohersonesns , " while the upper penin
sula was to have received the pretty
name "Sylvania ? " There is a curious
bit of history about the matter , but it
has been so long buried up in the official
records , that probably not one in a hun
dred thousand of the people now living
within our borders ever heard the story.
To rehearse it may not be uninteresting.
We will pass by the earliest history ,
the explorations of the Jesuit mission
aries , Nicholet , Joliet and Marquette ,
and of the adventurers , La Salle and
Cadillac , and the French claim to all
these regions , which was wiped out
when Great Britain drove France from
North America in 1768 all this is fam
iliar ; and take up the story at the close
of the war of the American revolution
when all this vast "hinterland" lying
be ween the Great Lakes , the Ohio and
the Mississippi rivers , passed under the
control of the newly-formed United
States of America. What should be
done with this grand and magnificent
region as large a territory as the orig
inal thirteen states , still almost an un
broken wilderness , but full of wonderful
possibilities ? How should it be govern
ed ? Congress wrestled with the ques
tion some years before reaching a final
decision. Various plans were proposed.
One was to divide the "Northwest ter
ritory , " as it was called , into seventeen
states. Think of the burdens that plan
would have added to American school
boys and girls twelve states more to
"bound" and describe than now !
Thomas Jefferson took the leading part
! in the planning and discussions. He ,
assisted by two other congressmen as a
committee , brought in a proposition for
dividing the northwest territory into
ten states.
This ten-state scheme of Jefferson's is
the bit of forgotten history we set out to
relate. It was elaborately worked out.
The divisions were carefully marked.
The names selected for the ten states
show a curious combination of classic
learning and pretty sounds. Some were
borrowed from the Latin , some from the
Greek , while others were Latinized
forms of Indian names. The states
were to be , as far as possible , two degrees
of latitude in width , and arranged in
three tiers. Let us give their general
limitations :
1. All that vast extent of land north
of the forty fifth parallel of latitude , to
the British line , and stretching from the
upper end of Lake Huron and the rapids
of Sault Ste. Marie westward to the
ll
upper waters of the Mississippi , was to
form the northernmost state. It inclu
ded the upper peninsula of Michigan ,
northern Wisconsin and northeastern
Minnesota. Being covered with dense
forests , it was appropriately named
"Sylvania. "
2. The region lying between Lakes
Huron and Erie on the east , and Lake
Michigan on the west the lower penin
sula of the present state of Michigan-
was the next state. It was named
"Ohersonesus , " probably from a fancied
resemblance to the classic peninsula of
that name extending southward from
Thrace alongside the Hellespont. Had
Mr. Jefferson's first scheme prevailed ,
instead of singing "Michigan , my Michigan
" Wolverines of the lower
igan , we pen
insula would be obliged to say we
couldn't sing it "Ohersonesus , My
Ohersonesus ! " What a mouthful 1
8. The next state was west of
Lake Michigan , extending to the Missis
sippi , and from Sylvania on the north to
two degrees southward , taking in the
bulk of the present state of Wisconsin.
It was named "Michigania , " after the
lake on its eastern boundary.
4. South of Michigania , two degrees
farther , stretched the next state , taking
in the southern part of the present state
of Wisconsin , and the northern third of
Illinois , including the great western me
tropolis , Ohicaco. This was called
"Assenisipia , " after the Indian name
for the Rock river , Assenisipi , which ran
across the state.
5. Next southward , for two degrees ,
taking in the very heart of the present
state of Illinois , and a part of Indiana ,
came "Illinoia , " named after the Illinois
river , its principal stream. The eastern
boundary of Assenisipia and Illinoia , it
should be noted , was a meridian drawn
northward from the Falls of the Ohio ,
opposite Louisville , Ky.
6. East of Assenisipia and south of
Ohersonesus , occupying what is now
northeastern Indiana and northwestern
Ohio , was carved out the next state.
Within its boundaries were the sources
of numerous rivers the Illinois , Wabash -
bash , Mnskingum , Maumee , Miami and
Sandusky. Hence our state-builders
thought that "Metropotamia" ( Mother
of Rivers ) would be an appropriate
name , and so it was christened.
7. Next south and lying east of Illi
noia , comprising what is now central
Indiana and western Ohio , came the
etate of Saratoga.
8. Under Illinoia and Saratoga and
stretching along the Ohio river , was the
eighth state. Within its confines the
waters of the Illinois , Wabash , Kaskas-
kia , Ohio and other rivers mingled with
the "Father of Waters. " So the com
mittee judged that "Polypotamia"Land (
of Many Rivers ) would be a fitting
name , and thus it was called.
9. East of Polypotamia , and also
stretching along the Ohio eastward to a
line opposite the mouth of the Great
Kanawha river was "Pelisipia , " so
called from the Oherokee nauio for the
Ohio , Pelisipia.
10. The tenth state occupied all that
was left the broad tract extending from
Lake Erie to the Ohio river , and east
ward to the border of Pennsylvania.
This choice region was named after the
"Father of His Country , " Washington.
The report of Jefferson's committee
provided a node of laws for each of the <
ten states , which should serve for its
government till it had20,000 free inhabi
tants who might then make their own
laws. Another clause provided for the
abolition of slavery after the year 1800.
This was the first attempt at a national
condemnation of slavery. It was , how
ever , stricken out by the house , and
after being amended by omitting the
portion giving names to the states , the '
report was adopted and became a law , '
and remained so from 1784 to 1787 , when
the whole plan was repealed , and the
famous "Ordinance of 1787" was substi
tuted for it.
This ordinance has been ranked with
the Declaration of Independence and
the Constitution of the United States as
"the three title-deeds of American con
stitutional liberty. " The ordinance was
the handiwork of Thomas Jefferson , the
immortal author of the Declaration of
Independence. Its three chief corner
stones were (1) ) complete religious liber
ty (2) ( ) the liberal support of public
schools and (8) ( ) the prohibition forever
of slavery. Thus , as Senator Hoar neat
ly says , "When older states or nations ,
where the chains of human bonds have
been broken , shall utter the proud
boast , 'With a great sum obtained I this
freedom , ' each sister of this imperial
group Ohio , Michigan .Indiana , Illinois ,
Wisconsin may lift her queenly head
with the yet prouder answer , " 'But I
was free-born. ' "
The Ordinance of 1787 radically
changed the plan of division , providing
for "not less than three nor more than
five states" out of the northwest terri
tory. Thus we have this group of five
great commonwealths , whose population
now is nearly five times as largo as the
entire thirteen colonies a hundred years
ago , and is one-fifth of the entire popula
tion of the United States today. Merle
Howe , sr. , in Michigan Christian Advo
cate.
ABNORMAL , POLITICS.
Colonel Bryan's reliance for a nomi
nation is upon the solid South. His
only hope of an election is in the cer
tainty of the southern electoral vote and
the expectation to join New York
thereto , by the help of Tammany.
Now the remarkable feature in this
situation is that neither Tammany nor
the South believes in anything that
Colonel Bryan advocates. Those who
have investigated the subject in the last