Which way to the Republic of Indian Stream?

Marking boundaries was not a big deal in the early history of the US. Typical these boundaries were in the uninhabited frontier. After the Revolutionary War, a boundary between the US and British North America (Canada) was defined in the "Article 2nd" of theTreaty of Paris 1783. For the region of Maine to New York, the international boundary would start:

"along the said Highlands which divide those Rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the northwesternmost Head of Connecticut River; Thence down along the middle of that River to the forty-fifth Degree of North Latitude; From thence by a Line due West on said Latitude"



An early map of New Hampshire from 1799 is on the right. Zooming to the area in question on the left.



But a little question arose between the two countries: where is the northwestern most head of the Connecticut River?

Great Britain had the boundary going through the Connecticut Lakes (starting at the Third and Fourth Lake). Not surprisingly, the US thought the northwestern most head water was at the start of Halls Stream. Therefore, there was an overlap of land claims, shown in green in the above map. Both countries apparently sent tax collectors to the settlers there. Also the British tried to enlist them into the British military and to tax them for importing goods. 

On April 6, 1829, the citizens in the area declared their independence from Great Britain and the United States and named their new country, the Indian Stream Republic. They created a government, constitution, and bill of rights. This was done in the main town in the region, Pittsburg. Also a 40 person militia was created to protect the settlers. Several small skirmishes occurred over the next 7 years. Many of these were arrests of pro- or anti-Canadian residents either in Canada or the Indian Stream Republic. One main incident occurred in 1835 when a settler was arrested in Canada for an unpaid hardware store debt. Other settlers went to Canada and shot up the house of the judge in charge of that case. To help further quell any antagonism between the two countries by these settlers, the New Hampshire militia invaded the region. The Republic voted to be annexed by the US in 1835. Negotiations between the two countries resulted in Great Britain giving up its claim to the land in January 1836. The US then annexed the area in May 1836. It was made official in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (November 10 1842) where this northern boundary starts:

"down along the said highlands which divide the waters which empty themselves into the river Saint Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the head of Hall's Stream; thence, down the middle of said Stream, till the line thus run intersects the old line of boundary surveyed and marked by Valentine and Collins previously to the year 1774, as the 45th degree of north latitude,"

The independent Republic of Indian Stream only lasted from 1832 to 1836. It  wasn't the first of the breakaway republics since the US was founded (that was probably the Independent Republic of West Florida), but it was one of the longer lasting ones because of a valid disagreement in an international treaty.

But the oddities do not end there. In 1836, that main town, Pittsburg, ended up annexing all of the land that was part of the Republic of Indian Stream. In doing so, the town now covered 291 square miles, the largest town in America, and it still is.

Does Illinois share a border with Michigan (AKA who owns the Great Lakes)?

1st Question: What are the borders of the Great Lakes states?
2nd Question: Why were the borders drawn up like that?
3rd Question: Who owns the Great Lakes?

Most of us learned memorized the location of all fifty US states some time in grade school. Some of us were even able to recognize or draw the shape of the all the US states. But something odd happens to the shape of states around the Great Lake. I'll use Illinois and Indiana as an example.

Now 5 states were formed from the old Northwest Territory, a region north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. (Parts of it did become Minnesota.) The guidelines for how the states should be created from the NW Territory is contained in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. One part of this ordinance states the region could be divided into northern and southern states by a boundary

"which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan"


If those words were followed precisely, then the states of Illinois and Indiana would look like the graphic on the right. Chicago would have ended up in Wisconsin and the shapes of those 2 states would obviously be different.

So how did these states end up with different borders? There are well known stories about how the northern borders got extended further north than the southerly end of Lake Michigan.

Indiana supposedly wanted more usable lakeshore. Using the original guidelines, they would not have any access to Lake Michigan. So the state extended the border 10 miles north when its boundaries are described in its state constitution. Congress followed suit on June 23, 1836 when they agreed to this 10 mile northerly deviation. But what about Illinois?

The change in the Illinois northerly boundary is attributed to Nathaniel Pope, the states first (territorial) delegate to the US Congress. While Congress was debating the Act to admit Illinois as a state into the Union, Pope suggested that the northern boundary be moved from the southernly end of Lake Michigan to a parallel at 42 degree 30 minutes.

Various reasons were given to move the boundary. Politicians then were already concerned of a potential rift in the Union between Northern and Southern states. Pope may have argued that isolating Illinois from Lake Michigan would force the state to use the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers for commerce which would make it dependent on Southern States. By having access to Lake Michigan, it could form relationships with other northerly states such as New York or Pennsylvania. The Annals of Congress (April 4, 1818) describe Pope arguing that giving Illinois access to Lake Michigan would connect it to northern states and "would afford additional security to the perpetuity of the Union". He also argued that the new northern border would include Fort Dearborn (being rebuilt) at the Chicago River in the newly created state and increase the interest of creating a canal between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River next to Chicago. Congress agreed to the changed boundary.

So who owns the Great Lakes? Well, regional maps rarely show the boundaries of the states as they extend into the Great Lakes such as the northern boundaries of Illinois and Indiana which actually extend into Lake Michigan. These added area of Lake Michigan can be included in the representations of the states to better understand how the Great Lake states related to each other.

So the shapes of the Great Lake states go from this:

to this:

But I doubt anyone will learn them this way. Most lakes that cross a state boundary are not big enough to cause a significant change in the boundary of states (exception being Lake Tahoe). The Great Lakes are the exception. States extend into them. So if you're drawing the state of Illinois, don't forget the piece the sticks out north and east of Chicago. Besides Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, Illinois also borders Michigan. It just happens in the middle of Lake Michigan.