Sterling Township

Sterling Township
Author: Sterling Township Public Library and Historical Commision
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2005-10-31
Genre: Photography
ISBN: 1439632804

Sterling Township, located about 18 miles northeast of Detroit, was first settled after the Erie Canal was opened. The rich soil, relatively flat land, and the vital Clinton River attracted pioneer and immigrant families who arrived to establish farmsteads. The first influx of immigrants came mainly from the British Isles, and by the 1870s, German families had flocked to the area, raising dairy cattle and establishing farms. Belgians, arriving in the early 1900s, developed truck farminggrowing fruits and vegetables to sell every week at the farmers market in Detroit. Farm culture prevailed until the 1950s, when large industrial plants began moving in, bringing with them workers and a need for housing and city services. Sterling Township became the city of Sterling Heights in 1968, and this collection of photographs will showcase the families and the way of life in the early days of this community, a historic community that is now the fourth largest city in Michigan.

Frontier Seaport

Frontier Seaport
Author: Catherine Cangany
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-03-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780226096704

Detroit’s industrial health has long been crucial to the American economy. Today’s troubles notwithstanding, Detroit has experienced multiple periods of prosperity, particularly in the second half of the eighteenth century, when the city was the center of the thriving fur trade. Its proximity to the West as well as its access to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River positioned this new metropolis at the intersection of the fur-rich frontier and the Atlantic trade routes. In Frontier Seaport, Catherine Cangany details this seldom-discussed chapter of Detroit’s history. She argues that by the time of the American Revolution, Detroit functioned much like a coastal town as a result of the prosperous fur trade, serving as a critical link in a commercial chain that stretched all the way to Russia and China—thus opening Detroit’s shores for eastern merchants and other transplants. This influx of newcomers brought its own transatlantic networks and fed residents’ desires for popular culture and manufactured merchandise. Detroit began to be both a frontier town and seaport city—a mixed identity, Cangany argues, that hindered it from becoming a thoroughly “American” metropolis.

Black Detroit

Black Detroit
Author: Herb Boyd
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2017-06-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0062346644

NAACP 2017 Image Award Finalist 2018 Michigan Notable Books honoree The author of Baldwin’s Harlem looks at the evolving culture, politics, economics, and spiritual life of Detroit—a blend of memoir, love letter, history, and clear-eyed reportage that explores the city’s past, present, and future and its significance to the African American legacy and the nation’s fabric. Herb Boyd moved to Detroit in 1943, as race riots were engulfing the city. Though he did not grasp their full significance at the time, this critical moment would be one of many he witnessed that would mold his political activism and exposed a city restless for change. In Black Detroit, he reflects on his life and this landmark place, in search of understanding why Detroit is a special place for black people. Boyd reveals how Black Detroiters were prominent in the city’s historic, groundbreaking union movement and—when given an opportunity—were among the tireless workers who made the automobile industry the center of American industry. Well paying jobs on assembly lines allowed working class Black Detroiters to ascend to the middle class and achieve financial stability, an accomplishment not often attainable in other industries. Boyd makes clear that while many of these middle-class jobs have disappeared, decimating the population and hitting blacks hardest, Detroit survives thanks to the emergence of companies such as Shinola—which represent the strength of the Motor City and and its continued importance to the country. He also brings into focus the major figures who have defined and shaped Detroit, including William Lambert, the great abolitionist, Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, Coleman Young, the city’s first black mayor, diva songstress Aretha Franklin, Malcolm X, and Ralphe Bunche, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. With a stunning eye for detail and passion for Detroit, Boyd celebrates the music, manufacturing, politics, and culture that make it an American original.

American Enterprise

American Enterprise
Author: Andy Serwer
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2015-05-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1588344975

What does it mean to be an American? What are American ideas and values? American Enterprise, the companion book to a major exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, aims to answer these questions about the American experience through an exploration of its economic and commercial history. It argues that by looking at the intersection of capitalism and democracy, we can see where we as a nation have come from and where we might be going in the future. Richly illustrated with images of objects from the museum’s collections, American Enterprise includes a 1794 dollar coin, Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 telephone, a brass cash register from Marshall Fields, Sam Walton’s cap, and many other goods and services that have shaped American culture. Historical and contemporary advertisements are also featured, emphasizing the evolution of the relationship between producers and consumers over time. Interspersed in the historical narrative are essays from today’s industry leaders—including Sheila Bair, Adam Davidson, Bill Ford, Sally Greenberg, Fisk Johnson, Hank Paulson, Richard Trumka, and Pat Woertz—that pose provocative questions about the state of contemporary American business and society. American Enterprise is a multi-faceted survey of the nation’s business heritage and corresponding social effects that is fundamental to an understanding of the lives of the American people, the history of the United States, and the nation’s role in global affairs.

Detroit's Hidden Channels

Detroit's Hidden Channels
Author: Karen L. Marrero
Publisher: MSU Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2020-04-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1628953969

French-Indigenous families were a central force in shaping Detroit’s history. Detroit’s Hidden Channels: The Power of French-Indigenous Families in the Eighteenth Century examines the role of these kinship networks in Detroit’s development as a site of singular political and economic importance in the continental interior. Situated where Anishinaabe, Wendat, Myaamia, and later French communities were established and where the system of waterways linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico narrowed, Detroit’s location was its primary attribute. While the French state viewed Detroit as a decaying site of illegal activities, the influence of the French-Indigenous networks grew as members diverted imperial resources to bolster an alternative configuration of power relations that crossed Indigenous and Euro-American nations. Women furthered commerce by navigating a multitude of gender norms of their nations, allowing them to defy the state that sought to control them by holding them to European ideals of womanhood. By the mid-eighteenth century, French-Indigenous families had become so powerful, incoming British traders and imperial officials courted their favor. These families would maintain that power as the British imperial presence splintered on the eve of the American Revolution.

Detroit in History and Commerce

Detroit in History and Commerce
Author:
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2015-07-18
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9781331685708

Excerpt from Detroit in History and Commerce: A Careful Compilation of the History, Mercantile and Manufacturing Interests of Detroit; Illustrated With Views of the City's Principal Streets As a reliable source from which may be derived information concerning the history of the city from its nucleus as a French trading post to its culmina tion into the grand commercial emporium of to-day, it will materially contribute to advance its interests by citing the records of the best exemplars of its prosperity and prominence. The author has, in the compilation of this history, sought only for the facts which of themselves, represent the chief incidents herein narrated, and which are always the true foundations of accurate information. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Detroit

Detroit
Author: Paul Vachon
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-05
Genre: Detroit (Mich.)
ISBN: 9781681061801

Let's talk a walk"š€š"a long walk, back over three centuries. At the dawn of the eighteenth century Detroit was established as simply an outpost for the French to take advantage of the fur trade while keeping the British at bay. Over the subsequent 300 plus years this small settlement advanced to become a regional hub of commerce, a focal point of nineteenth century industrial strength, and ultimately the nexus of the auto business--the industry that redefined mobility and in doing so changed the course of world history. Detroit's long evolution occurred along an often rocky path, marked by a devastating fire, military conquests, conflicts with southern slave hunters, a burgeoning population, all while enduring persistent racial tensions and insurrection. As the Arsenal of Democracy the city proved essential to the allied victory in World War II; but the following decades proved ruinous. As the city bled people and resources, whole areas were decimated--yet nonetheless poised for a rousing comeback. This book points out many of the seminal events and noteworthy turning points of Detroit's long journey, some little known: the city's fall to the British during the War of 1812, the existence of slavery in Detroit as late as the 1820s, and Mayor Hazen Pingree's aggressive advocacy for the everyday citizen against corporate interests. Chapters devoted to the twentieth century highlight Detroit's underappreciated architectural heritage, the development of its notable cultural institutions, as well as the exploits of assorted scoundrels, such as the Black Legion, the Purple Gang, Harry Bennett and Father Charles Coughlin. Triumphant sports teams, the contributions of religious leaders, and courage of civil rights leaders are all brought to life, completing this chronological sketch of America's city of the straits.

Detroit

Detroit
Author: David Lee Poremba
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738533735

In this rare and unprecedented collection, discover Detroit as it once was, with the people and industries that flourished in this community prior to the twentieth century. With over 230 photographs, Detroit 1860-1899 encompasses a visual history of the city before the birth of the automobile industry. Join Mr. Poremba on a trip down memory lane to the beginnings of the "Motor City." Witness its growth and change, and its lasting contributions to our nation's history. Detroit 1860-1899 will be enjoyed by young and old, resident and visitor alike.