The Toledo War
In 1835, a dispute based on a faulty map in the Upper Midwest, brought two forces to the brink of war over who controlled the largest town in the area. At the center of the dispute, was the town of Toledo. Surprisingly, the forces represented the State of Ohio and then Territory of Michigan, in what was to become known as the “Toledo War.”
After decades of uncertainty, the two forces were prepared to defend, with force of arms, their respective positions over where the border between them lay. The turmoil represented the stresses of a growing nation and rewrote the boundaries of three states. The Toledo Strip promised to be an economic boon to whomever controlled it and led to such confrontations as the Battle of Phillips Corners and the Frostbitten Convention.
Despite questions of legality, Congress chose to recognize the revolution and officially granted Michigan its Upper Peninsula and statehood, while granting Ohio the coveted Toledo Strip. Perhaps the biggest loser in the dispute was neither Michigan nor Ohio, but Wisconsin, because absent the compromise that gave Michigan the Upper Peninsula, that land would have likely been part of Wisconsin.
Tune into the video as The History digs deeper into the fascinating details of The Toledo War.
