Detroit is the place where the professional football team, the Detroit Lions, play a game every Thanksgiving. It is the city were musical superstars Eminem and Kid Rock were born. It is the city next to the town of Flynt, Michigan, where Oscar winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was born and made his first documentary. And, of course, it is where Henry Ford created the Ford Motor Company and built the world's first car assembly line, thus paving the way for Detroit to become the Motor City.

French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac discovered a large patch of land in 1701. He thought this land would be a good base of operations for sending furs north to Canada, so he settled there. A river ran through the land, connecting Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. Because of this, Cadillac named the land Ville d'Etroit, or City of the Strait.

Ville d'Etroit did not experience much change until Henry Ford moved there from nearby Dearborn. He established the Ford Motor Company in 1903, and by 1908 had perfected the automobile assembly line. This invention caused the forming of the United Auto Workers (UAW), who initiated the industrial union movement. This led to the huge success of the automobile, and set the course for Detroit to become the first city with a paved concrete road, the first with a traffic light, and the first to have an urban freeway.

Detroit was a vital stop for the Underground Railroad. Due to its close proximity to Canada, it became a major escape route for fleeing slaves. This influx of people brought jazz and blues music with them, and from the late 1800's on, music became a huge part of Detroit's personality. The city was even the first in America to have an integrated musicians' union.

John Lee Hooker and other now famous musicians started emerging on the scene around 1940. They created Motown, which www.lonelyplanet.com/ calls, "the biggest American music phenomenon of this century and African-American Detroit's ticket to the big leagues."

Detroit's success as a city skyrocketed. Even after businesses began to move to the suburbs, and riots rocked the neighborhoods, the city still held strong. It took a loss, and experienced a massive recession, but still held strong. American automobiles are becoming popular again, and Detroit's industry is picking back up. It is becoming a thriving metropolis once more.

Sources:

www.lonelyplanet.com
(Accessed June 15, 2005)

www.fraserlawfirm.com/Employment/LivDet.html
(Accessed June 15, 2005)

Detroit.about.com/od/localtours/tp/beforeyoudie.htm
(Accessed June 15, 2005)