Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lake waters, our state’s greatest resource. These massive bodies of water are said to have waves as large as those found in the oceans. These waves are not the only waves Michigan has and continues to experience. As we enter the year 2008, Michigan is in the midst of two of great waves: migration and economic.
Michigan, as with all of North America, has been settled by immigrants. Migration in and out of Michigan has been a staple of our landscape since statehood in 1837. At that time, the demography of Michigan was a mix of old-world French, transplanted Yankees from New England and natives of the Anishinaabemowin tongue. Today, a quarter of us were born either in another state or abroad. I happen to be one of them. Michigan has benefited from several waves of migration, each bringing a new group of people with their own culture and experiences, ever strengthening our melting pot. In the mid-19th century we saw the British, Scots-Irish and Dutch; many of us continue to be descendants of this group. They came to escape religious and political persecution and risked it all to be part of this great experiment. Later, Belgians, Scandinavians and Germans came to call Michigan home, pulled by the lure of economic prosperity and cheap farmland. We’ve had waves of African-Americans and Eastern Europeans in the early 20th century; they came to participate in the growing auto industry and provide a better life for their families. Today, we are welcoming Hispanics, Arabs and Asians who come for many of the same reasons.
Michigan has also experienced waves of economic prosperity and despair. From our start as a small, flourishing fur trading post in Sault Ste. Marie to our modern industrial, cultural, historical and academic cities of the 21st century, we have had our share of both economic prosperity and anguish. From simple subsistence farming in the early 1800’s to the struggling manufacturing industry today, it has surely been a rocky ride. We were the hardest hit during the Depression, and the most prosperous during the “Roaring Twenties”. The World Wars were good for us, Vietnam was not. After each wave, Michigan has emerged as a powerhouse of economic prosperity, better than before.
As we enter 2008, remember the waves. Remember the strong-willed families who risked it all to come to this great state. Remember how, after each economic low, we emerge stronger. We have hit the bottom of this economic wave. We are on the way back up. We can thank the determination, heart and work ethic of our worldly citizens for making Michigan the greatest state in the union.
