Michigan

Michigan is a state in the United States. The name is derived from Lake Michigan, which in turn is believed to come from the Chippewa Indian word meicigama, meaning "great water." Bounded by four of the Great Lakes, Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the continental United States, the longest total shoreline after Alaska (including island shorelines http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192-29938_30243-103397--,00.html), and more recreational boats than any other state in the union.

Law and Government

• Capital: Lansing
• Law/Government of state
• governor — current, previous governors
• Current: Jennifer Granholm
• Michigan Legislature — bicameral
• Michigan State House of Representatives
• Michigan Senate
• structure of state judiciary
• Michigan Constitutions of 1835, 1850, 1908, and 1963
• state constitution
• Referendum and Voter Initiative: Michigan's constitution provides for voter initiative and referendum (Article II, § 9 ), defined as "the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature, called the referendum. The power of initiative extends only to laws which the legislature may enact under this constitution."

Michigan counties and townships are statutory units of government, meaning that they have only those powers expressly provided or fairly implied by state law. Cities and villages are vested with home rule powers, meaning that they can do almost anything not prohibited by law.

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There are two types of townships in Michigan: general law and charter. Charter township status was created by the state legislature in 1947 and grants additional powers and stream-lined administration in order to provide greater protection against annexation by a city. As of April 2001, there were 127 charter townships in Michigan.

Related Topics:
Townships - Charter township

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Like other northern states, the Republican Party dominated Michigan until the Great Depression. In 1912, Michigan was one of the few states to support progressive third party candidate Teddy Roosevelt for president. In recent years, the state's strong industrial and union heritage has made the state lean Democratic, at least in national elections. Michigan has supported Democrats in the last four presidential elections. In 2004, John Kerry narrowly defeated George Bush, winning Michigan's 17 electoral votes by a margin of 3 percentage points with 51.2% of the vote. Republicans' greatest strength is in the western, northern, and rural parts of the state, especially in the Grand Rapids area. Democrats are strongest in the east, especially in metropolitan Detroit.

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See: List of Michigan Governors, List of United States Senators from Michigan, List of United States Representatives from Michigan

Related Topics:
List of Michigan Governors - List of United States Senators from Michigan - List of United States Representatives from Michigan

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