Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 114,024, which includes about 30,000 students. A person from Ann Arbor is called an "Ann Arborite." The city itself is often called A2 ("A two") or A² ("A-squared"), and less commonly Tree Town (or, usually tongue-in-cheek, The People's Republic of Ann Arbor). Recently, some youth have taken to calling Ann Arbor Ace Deuce or simply The Deuce.

History

Main article: History of Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Ann Arbor was founded in January 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, both of whom were land speculators. Allen and Rumsey decided to name the settlement "Annarbour," for their spouses, whose names were both Ann, and for the stands of burr oak in the 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land they had purchased for $800 from the federal government. The Native Americans of the region knew the settlement as Kaw-goosh-kaw-nick, after the sound of Allen's grist mill.

Related Topics:
1824 - John Allen - Elisha Rumsey - Oak - Native Americans

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Ann Arbor later became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827, and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The town set aside 40 acres (162,000 m²) of undeveloped land and offered it to the State of Michigan as the site of the state capitol, but it lost the bid to Lansing in 1836. In 1837 the unused land was sold to the University of Michigan, forever linking Ann Arbor and its history with the university. The town became a regional transportation hub in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad. Ann Arbor was chartered as a city in 1851.

Related Topics:
Washtenaw County - 1827 - 1833 - Lansing - 1836 - 1837 - University of Michigan - 1839 - Michigan Central Railroad - 1851

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During World War II, Ford Motor Company's nearby Willow Run plant turned out B-24 Liberator bombers and the population of Ann Arbor exploded with an influx of military personnel, war workers, and their families.

Related Topics:
World War II - Ford Motor Company - Willow Run - B-24 Liberator

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The city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal and left-wing activism over the course of the 1960s and 1970s, becoming a locus for the American civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the 1960s student movement. The first major meetings of the national left-wing campus group Students for a Democratic Society took place in Ann Arbor in 1960, and in 1965 the city was home to the first U.S. teach-in against the Vietnam War. Over the course of the ensuing fifteen years, a plethora of countercultural and New Left enterprises sprang up and developed strong constituencies within the city.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s - American civil rights movement - Anti-Vietnam War movement - Students for a Democratic Society - 1960 - 1965 - Teach-in - Vietnam War - Countercultural - New Left

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These influences washed into municipal politics during the early and mid-1970s when three members of the local, progressive Human Rights Party (HRP) won city-council seats on the strength of the student vote. During their time on council, HRP representatives successfully fought for measures ranging from pioneering antidiscrimination ordinances to measures decriminalizing marijuana possession to a rent-control ordinance – many of which remain in effect in modified form today.

Related Topics:
1970s - Human Rights Party - Antidiscrimination - Measures decriminalizing marijuana possession - Rent-control

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Alongside these liberal and left-wing efforts, a small handful of conservative institutions were also born in Ann Arbor. These include Word of God (est. 1967), a charismatic Catholic movement of national scope; and the Thomas More Law Center (est. 1999), a leading religious-conservative advocacy group.

Related Topics:
Word of God - Thomas More Law Center

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The economy of Ann Arbor underwent a gradual shift from a manufacturing base to a service and technology base over the course of the 20th century, a shift which accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, the downtown has transformed from one dominated primarily by retail establishments dealing in staple goods to one comprised mainly of eateries, cafés, bars and clubs, and specialty shops.

Related Topics:
20th century - 1970s - 1980s

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Over the past several decades, the city has increasingly found itself grappling with the effects of sharply rising land values and gentrification, as well as urban sprawl stretching far into the outlying countryside. On November 2, 2004, voters approved a greenbelt plan under which the city government would buy up the development rights to large swaths of land adjacent to Ann Arbor in order to prevent sprawling development. Since then, a vociferous local debate has hinged on whether, and how, to accommodate and guide development within city limits.

Related Topics:
Gentrification - Urban sprawl - November 2 - 2004 - Greenbelt

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