Boustrophedonical – Part Two

Part two of a two-part episode, on this edition of Lanstories, host David Siwik continues his exploration of the namesake of Meridian Township, the land survey of Michigan conducted during the territorial and early statehood period of Michigan history. In this part two, Host Siwik takes a deep dive into the methods by which early land surveyors conducted their craft and the long-term implications for the land survey and sales systems that came out of this period of Michigan’s past. Other topics explored include the impact the land survey had on Michigan becoming a state, including the historical significance of the boustrophedonical section number system both short and long-term.

Related Podcasts: Lanstories - Indigenous Mid-Michigan Lands, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Tags/Keywords: Michigan History, United States History, Northwest Territory, Ordinance of 1784, Land Ordinance of 1785, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, Township, Township Section, Boustrophedonical Section Number System, Michigan Territory, Statehood

Part one of a two-part episode, on this edition of Lanstories, host David Siwik explores the namesake of Meridian Township - the land survey of Michigan conducted during the territorial and early statehood period, centered around the Meridian survey line, and the establishment of the boustrophedonical section number system. Topics covered include an overview of the establishment of the Northwest Territory, the Ordinance of 1784, Land Ordinance of 1785, and how these early laws laid the foundation for virtually all land surveys and sales in Michigan, with the principal survey meridian located where Meridian Township lies now.

Related Podcasts: Lanstories - Indigenous Mid-Michigan Lands, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Tags/Keywords: Michigan History, United States History, Northwest Territory, Ordinance of 1784, Land Ordinance of 1785, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, Township, Township Section, Boustrophedonical Section Number System, Michigan Territory, Statehood, Survey Point State Park

In this third part of a three-part episode, Lanstories host David Siwik concludes his look at Lansing during the childhood of Malcolm X in the 1920s and 1930s. Topics discussed include housing discrimination, foster care, the death of Malcolm X's father and the threats the Little family faced from the state authorities and local white supremacist terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Legion.

Topics/Tags/Keywords

• Malcolm X
• Malcolm Little
• Earl Little
• Louis Little
• Ella Little
• Lansing
• Michigan
• Michigan History
• United States History
• 1920s
• 1930s
• Housing Discrimination
• Grand River Avenue
• Pleasant Grove Elementary School
• Pleasant Grove Avenue
• Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC)
• Mason
• Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital
• Ku Klux Klan
• Black Legion

In part two of a three part episode, host David Siwik continues the exploration of Lansing, Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s, with a consideration of Malcolm X’s childhood and the broader socioeconomic dynamics of a black family living in a northern city during these years. Specific episode topics include historical housing discrimination, the growth of Lansing neighborhoods and the establishment of several organizations that would play a major role in creating Lansing’s neighborhoods and the impact changes in Federal housing policy had on Lansing.

Keywords/Tags:

• Malcolm X
• Earl Little
• Louise Little
• Lansing
• Michigan
• United States
• Michigan History
• 1920s
• Great Migration
• Harlem Renaissance
• American history 1920s-1940s
• Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley, by Alex Haley
• Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable
• Federal Housing Administration
• Home Owner’s Loan Corporation
• New Deal
• National Housing Act, 1934

In part one of a three part episode, host David Siwik discusses life in Lansing in the 1920s and 1930s as the childhood home of Malcolm X, with a focus on broader socioeconomic realities in the city and elsewhere at the time. Siwik discusses the arrival of the Little family into Lansing in the 1920s and the broader cultural dynamic their arrival into a growing industrial city with strained race relations.

Keywords/Tags:

• Malcolm X
• Earl Little
• Louise Little
• Lansing
• Michigan
• United States
• Michigan History
• 1920s
• Great Migration
• Harlem Renaissance
• American history 1920s-1940s
• Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley, by Alex Haley
• Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable
• Federal Housing Administration
• Home Owner’s Loan Corporation
• New Deal
• National Housing Act, 1934

On this episode, show host David Siwik interviewed John Beck of the School of Human Resources & Labor Relations at Michigan State University to discuss Lansing as part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, an ongoing project of the US National Park Service. Focusing on Beck’s role in leading the Lansing chapter of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, and some of their work in preserving the automobile heritage of Lansing.

Keywords/Tags: Automobile, Automobile Production, Labor Relations, Business Management, Labor history, Automotive History, Lansing History, Michigan History, Labor Unions, United Auto Workers (UAW), Lansing Labor Holiday of 1937, Michigan Historical Marker, 20th century US History

Michigan Capitol Tour Guide and historian Jerry Benson joined host David Siwik to discuss Zachariah Chandler, one of the Michigan’s most important leaders of the 19thcentury. Jerry Benson is an expert on Chandler and has done extensive research on Chandler’s connections to the mid-Michigan area, including the Chandler-Marsh farm in Clinton County.

Tags/Keywords:

Zachariah Chandler, Jerry Benson, Michigan, Michigan History, Antebellum History, Civil War, Lansing, Clinton County, Republican Party, Anti-slavery, Abolition, Underground Railroad, Detroit, Clinton County, Scientific Farming, Land Usage, Reconstruction.

Matt VanAcker, Director Capitol Tour, Education & Information Services, Director/Curator-Save the Flags for the state of Michigan, joins host David Siwik to discuss Lansing’s role in the Civil War, and the book Matt recently published of the same title. This episode focuses primarily on the folks from Lansing who contributed to Michigan’s effort to save the Union. Topics discussed also included VanAcker’s curation work on the Michigan regimental battle flag collection.

Tags/Keywords: American Civil War, Civil War, Lansing history, Michigan history, United States history, Confederacy, Union, Union Army, Union Navy, Confederate Army, Charles Foster, Michigan Agricultural College, Downtown Lansing, Michigan Capitol, Matt VanAcker