Two Supreme Court cases, ''Wisconsin v. Michigan'', 295 U.S. 455 (1935) and ''Wisconsin v. Michigan'', 297 U.S. 547 (1936), settled a

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession (law), possession or control of territories (land, maritime territory, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial ...

between

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Background

The 1836 boundary description between Wisconsin and Michigan described the line through northwest

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

as "the most usual ship channel". This description needed clarification as two routes were in use into Green Bay. Multiple islands lay in between and all were claimed as part of both

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. ...

, and

Delta County, Michigan Delta County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,903. The county seat is Escanaba. The county was surveyed in 1843 and organized in 1861. Its name originates from the ...

. A similar case, ''Michigan v. Wisconsin'' 270 U.S. 295 (1926), had previously been brought to the Supreme Court but was dismissed.

Decision

In 1936, the Supreme Court decision chose the ship channel through the Rock Island Passage as the more common, so Wisconsin retained the intervening water area with its islands:

Plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Washington, Hog, and Rock. ISS048-E-3055 - View of Earth

References

* * * (Archived September 25, 2009) * (Archived August 3, 2008) *Captain Cram's reports were printed in: * *

External links

* * {{caselaw source , case = ''Wisconsin v. Michigan'', {{ussc, 297, 547, 1936, el=no , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/297/547/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep297/usrep297547/usrep297547.pdf Legal history of Michigan Legal history of Wisconsin United States Supreme Court cases 1936 in United States case law 1936 in Michigan 1936 in Wisconsin United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court Internal territorial disputes of the United States United States Supreme Court original jurisdiction cases Borders of Michigan Borders of Wisconsin Lake Michigan Door County, Wisconsin Delta County, Michigan

Background

Decision

See also

References

External links