everyan history tv, weekend on c-span3. american history tv products are now available at the c-span online store. to seeheir website what's new for american history tv, and check out all of the c-span products. the c-span cities tour is in toledo, ohio. but it could have been toledo, michigan. coming up we talk about the battle over who had the right to claim toledo. the toledo war goes back to 1787 and the northwest ordinance that establish the area that eventually became five states. they established a border that started at the bottom of lake michigan, and ran east to lake erie.

the strip of land that was formed was called the toledo strip. the toledo strip was actually formed by two different surveys. and the differences a wedge shaped strip that was five miles wide at the indiana border and eight miles wide by the time it reached lake erie. so it's a pie shaped 450 square mile wedge which became the toledo strip that ohio and michigan really started to wrangle over. that ohio andt michigan were focused on would be what was referred to as the port of miami, miami being the indian term from the mommy -- mommy river. everybody knew it would eventually become an important port. michigan and ohio wanted to be a part of that. on top of that you have the eerie canal opening in 1825, people start flooding down across lake erie into this area.

people recognize the value of the canal system. the 1830's, people see that as a reality, and they realize that a terminus has to be built in this area. michigan and ohio wanted that. what's legend is that if her trapper familiar with the area came down to the legislature and reminded them that if they drew that line as described in the ordinance they would lose the toledo area we would know today. so they made an adjustment and moved the line northward as they reached lake erie, which went into the 1803 statehood application. there was a committee who said we should take a look at that, but nobody stopped it. by the 1830's, the michigan territories were getting ready to apply for statehood. they want to settle this. at the same time, the eerie canal, which are referred to as

today's terminology, a huge economic development project at that time, it was really starting to come to fruition. people wanted to make sure the terminus was inside their state territory. 1835 andup to april of the battle of phillips corner, that was when the michigan militia came down and confronted the ohio surveyors who were trying to confirm the ohio line. they fired shots over their heads, arrested nine of the survey crew. things in washington start to bubble up because they say we have to get involved. this could turn into a civil war. it's the last thing we need. and we really need to get the thing settled. they started mediating. they had been mediating for a while trying to figure out a solution. neither party was reeling -- willing to agree. by late 1835, jackson brings in smarter and more

political consultants, and they work out a plan with lucas from ohio and the approach michigan and say here's what we are going to do. we have to figure out the best way for everyone to get along. the best solution is going to be the keep state lines the way they are, and give michigan the upper peninsula. so about 9000 square miles. michigan, ite in looks like a real downer in terms of a solution. in the end it worked out pretty well for them because of the copper and iron ore deposits eventually found up there. and it's beautiful territory and still highly regarded as a tourism today -- tourism area today in winter and summer. all of this happened over what i consider to be, at that time, their version of aol. everybody thought it was the next thing. then the railroad came. the canals were quickly

regulated to smaller stuff and the railroads really took over the country. it is similar to what happened to aol and the internet. we were all scrambling because the next thing was going to be aol, than the browser appeared and the internet blew up and most people don't listen to you have mail anymore. 1836, michigan byept the program put forth the federal government to accept the border with ohio. this is actually their second convention where they accept that. the earliest convention in september they voted it down. they did not think it was fair that they were getting the upn ohio is getting toledo. things started to shift because they were in financial straits, and they realize to the federal government was getting ready to release money but only to states, not territories. by december they have a second convention referred to as the frostbitten convention, and they accept the proposal.

michigan becomes a state and toledo became a part of ohio. the whole toledo war probably still has an effect on how toledo looks at itself. we sit on the border. a lot of people like to say that toledo is not part of the three season ohio, you have cleveland, columbus, cincinnati, and toledo sits on the michigan border. a lot of folks used to refer to it as the mini detroit. as our thatlves michigan cultures sitting inside ohio. staff cities tour recently traveled to toledo, ohio, to learn about its rich history. to watch more video from the tour, visit our website. you are watching american history tv. all weekend, every weekend, on

c-span3. >> professor jordan smith talks -- >> professor jordan smith talks about the invention of rum. and it's impact on the atlantic world during the 17th and 18th centuries. we recorded the interview at the organization of american historians annual meeting in philadelphia. >> jordan smith, you are here at the organization of historians annual meeting talking about rum. why? >> i'm working on a book project that examines the production of rum in the 17th and 18th century atlantic world. at the heart of the project is an attempt to ask how rum was invented over centuries as different groups of people from the americas, europe, and africa converged