The Negro element in the population of the city was relatively small. In 1827 it comprised sixty-six free Negroes.180 The 126 Negroes given in the census of 1830 were about half of the whole number in the Territory.181 The census figures of 1834 give 138 "colored persons," but these figures were apparently affected by the Negro riot in Detroit in 1833 over the attempt to enforce the fugitive slave law, which caused many of the persecuted race to flee to Canada.182 There appear to have been no slaves owned by citizens at these dates, though the earlier census of 1810 shows seventeen in the Territory.18 Since the Ordinance of 1787 was opposed to slavery in the Territory, immigration formed a strong antisalvery sentiment in Detroit, which as a molder of public opinion in Michigan became a strong force in preparing for the crisis of 1860.

The proportion of foreign born citizens in the population was small; the Germans apparently composed the largest European element. Among the eight churches of the city Blois mentions a Protestant Church for Germans and a Catholic Church for English, Irish and Germans. 184 MacCabe mentions a German 180. Census of Michigan, 1884, I, xlviii. The semi-official report of the committee of the Detroit Lyceum in 1819 gives seventy "free pcople of color" for that year. Gazette, January 29, 1819.

181. United States Census (1830), 153.

182. Detroit Journal and Michigan Advertiser, September 10, 1834. Blois mentions a church for "colored persons,' Gazetteer, 274.

183. Farmer, History of Detroit, I, 345. See also Mich. Hist. Colls., I, 415-417.

184. Gazetteer, 274.

Church built by subscriptions from citizens of Detroit of all denominations. 185 As early as 1853 the Germans appear to have been numerous enough to form a separate religious organization, said to have been ministered to by Pastor Schmidt of Ann Arbor, and it is probable that these earliest Detroit Germans came with the wave following the European revolutions of 1830 which brought the first Germans to Washtenaw County.1 By 1835 their voting strength seems to have been sufficient to attract the attention of politicians; at least a city newspaper announces its intention "to detail to the public the manoeuvres of the Central Committee to buy up our German fellow citizens."187

186

The French-Canadians appear to have been still a numerous class, and their language seems to have been spoken in Detroit to a considerable extent in 1837. Yet they are said to have been fast amalgamating with the predominant immigrant population. 188 In 1834 they apparently numbered less than one-sixth of the population of the city, "which was a much less proportion to the whole than we had anticipated," comments a city paper.189 Their voting strength was sufficient in 1823 to elect their candidate for 185. Directory of Detroit, 1837. A wooden building 50 x 35 feet. 186. See "Our German Immigrations," Mich. Hist. Colls., XXVI, 255.

187. Detroit Journal and Michigan Advertiser, January 14, 1835. 188. Gazetteer, 279. 189. Detroit Journal and Michigan Advertiser, April 9, 1834. In a population of 4,973, the French numbered 801. Some accounts of the large French landowners about 1837 is given by a contemporary in "The Last of the Barons," Mich Hist. Colls., XXI, 499. Some forty-seven are mentioned.

delegate to Congress, Father Richard, against the combination of two eager and experienced politicians, 190

192

Though in general the culture of the city had to wait upon the task of subduing nature, it was not lacking in some circles at least even at an early day. Detroit gained socially from being the capital city of the Territory; the leaders of its society were born and educated in cultured sections of the eastern states. On his visit to Detroit in 1826 McKenney wrote, "The company at Major Biddle's last night was sufficient to satisfy me that although I have reached the confines of our population in this direction, I am yet in the circle of hospitable and polished life."191 Hoffman in 1833 found the city "remarkable for agreeableness and elegant hospitality. The society of Detroit appealed to Harriet Martineau on her visit in 1836 as "very choice," and she ventures to say that it had been so since the old colonial days. She found every reason to think that "under its new dignities Detroit will become a more and more desirable place to live." "Some of its inferior society," she says, "is 190. Landmarks, 361-362. See comment on the election by a writer in the Gazette for October 17, 1823, to the effect that the election was no evidence of "religious toleration in Michigan," since Father Richard was supported only by his own sect. The Patriot War of 1837 is said to have caused the immigration of Canadians to Detroit, but apparently not in large numbers. For this event in relation to Detroit, see Mich. Hist. Colls., II, 573-579. It does nor appear that distinctively French or English ideas made any permanent impression upon the fundamental laws of either city or Territory.

still very youthful,193-but the most enlightened society is, I believe, equal to any which is to be found in the United States."'194

This culture was reflected institutionally in many ways, as seen for example in the works of Blois and MacCabe, where much space is given to the theatre, museum, public garden, newspapers, schools, churches, orphan asylums, and to societies of a literary, historical, scientific and moral character.195 Blois mentions a public library containing 4,100 volumes.196 Of "chief interest to those who regard the diffusion of useful knowledge as important to the preservation of good morals and of liberty," is a newspaper-mention of the lyceum and a course of lectures given by Mr. Houghton.197 The lyceum, founded in 1818, was the forum of Detroit where the leading men of the city as well as amateurs discussed and debated topics of national interest not alone for the sharpening of wits but for the edification of the people. The programs and 193. Traits of this youthfulness appear in a contemporary's description of scenes on an election day of about that time. Mich. Hist. Colls., I, 190-191.

194. Society in America, I, 314-315.

195. Gazetteer, 274-276; MacCabe, Directory of Detroit, 30-32. An act for the encouragement of literature and the improvement of the city of Detroit was one of the first acts of the Governor and Judges, September 9, 1805. Territorial Laws, I, 67. The sum of $20,000 for the purpose was to be raised by four successive lotteries.

196. Gazetteer, 277. See lists of books for sale by Sheldon and Reed (publishers of the Gazette), at the Gazette office at various times, the first appearing July 25 and September 26, 1817. The Library of the City of Detroit was incorporated in 1817. Territorial Laws, I, 310. Its meetings are frequently mentioned in the Gazette. 197. Detroit Journal and Michigan Advertiser, December 29,

This building, 60x90 feet, was built in 1823-28 at a cost of $24,500. It was first used by the Legislative Council of the Territory May 5, 1828, and last used by the State Legislature in the session which closed March 17, 1847. After 1848 it was used by the Detroit Board of Education for school purposes. Its classical design reflects a characteristic influence of the period.