<DOC>
<DOCID>Article-_Upper_Peninsula.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>Stephanie Rice</AUTHOR>
<TEXT>
Since Hawaii became the 50th state in August of 1959, there have been no new states added to the United States of America, until now.  The United States government has decided to officially make Michigans Upper Peninsula into a separate state.  

In the 1830s, when Michigan was still a territory, the Upper Peninsula was not a part of Michigan.  When Michigan moved for statehood, it wanted to include in its boundaries the Toledo Strip, part of which is present-day Toledo, Ohio.  The state of Ohio did not want the Toledo Strip to be a part of Michigan, so they decided to fight for it.  Although there were no casualties, the dispute became known as the Toledo War.  To make a long story short, Ohio won, and as a consolation prize, the United States government gave Michigan the Upper Peninsula.  

Because the Lower Peninsula never wanted the Upper Peninsula in the first place, and only held on to it for so long because of the copper and iron ore the U.P. provided, the Upper Peninsula decided to make a bid to become its own state.  In the past month, Congress decided to pass the Upper Peninsula into statehood, officially freeing it from the Lower Peninsula.  

The state will officially be called Upper Peninsula, kind of like North Dakota, but better.  The official state bird of Upper Peninsula is to be the mosquito, and the state animal the cougar. The state wont have a state stone or gem; instead it will have something better: a state element (Copper).  Many states have an official state drink, but Upper Peninsula wont, instead, it has a state food: the pasty.  Like Hawaii, where natives speak both English and Polynesian, Upper Peninsula also has two languages: English and Yoop; both of which are already widely spoken across the state.  The state slogan and song are still under discussion, but an official announcement will be made as soon as a decision is reached.
</TEXT>
</DOC>
