in its Heyday Detroit was one of America's most significant contributors to the automobile
industry with a population of over 1 million as the birthplace of Motown it also heavily
shaped the 1960s Pop R B and Soul music scene but this Legacy saw a sharp social
and economic decline with its population plummeting from its peak by the thousands
many of its formerly famous buildings sit empty and abandoned left to wither as remnants of a
Time long since past the high crime rates also have been a significant concern to
those familiar with it but things were not always this way today we discover the rise
and fall of Detroit I'm your host Ryan so cash and you're watching its history
in 1699 a French military leader and traitor named Antoni Cadillac traveled hoping to establish a
new settlement along the straight that connected Lake Erie and Lake Huron at the time the French
government was sharply divided over a Canadian expansion they went back and forth depending on
fur prices and whether or not war with England was imminent and eventually allowed Cadillac to
go through with his plan this was because the government knew that King Lewis had a plan to
put his grandson on the Spanish throne and was almost sure it would cause a significant
conflict with Britain if the conflict sparked a war establishing a Garrison in the strait would
offer a highly advantageous defense position that allowed France to control the river Cadillac was
accompanied by a group of settlers soldiers and Native Americans he chose these particular are
groups in hopes of forming a community that could support military activity and profit from the fur
trade himself to do this he need Ed an established community of Native Americans who would buy goods
and services for merchants and Artisans with their firsts however Cadillac was far from popular with
the budding Community he was so focused on lining his pockets that he quickly lost popularity with
the settlers and sparked many conflicts between rival tribes this tragic oversight led to much
inter-tribal violence and death especially for the fox tribe Cadillac left Detroit in 1711 no
more prosperous than he was when he started France's long-standing piece with Britain was
also a double-edged sword as it caused the French government to neglect Detroit and its other minor
garrisons as they served no immediate use at the time the fur trade in Detroit couldn't hold
a candle to other fur trading centers it wasn't until around half a century later that the income
from the trade would become lucrative and so for the time being Detroit lived on but struggled
as its population stagnated remember this point as this is a problem that has resurged again in
the modern day in 1740 only 17 of the original hundred soldiers remained in Detroit it wasn't
until 1744 that France retook an interest in Detroit as a military asset when Britain and
France declared war on one another Detroit quickly became valuable first as a staging
area for Native American raiding parties and then as a defensive position for the French in the end
however the British captured Montreal and Detroit surrendered shortly thereafter they took control
of Detroit on November the 29th 1760 though they were later obligated to relinquish it under the
1783 Treaty of Paris Detroit was in incorporated as a village in 1802 just three years before it
became the capital of the newly created Michigan territory following a devastating fire in 1805 it
was rebuilt but surrendered again to the British during the war of 1812. Americans eventually
recaptured the territory in 1813. after the war of 1812 Detroit saw a significant boom
Detroit's Harbor welcomed steamships to and from its Waters in The 1825 opening of the Erie Canal
made transporting goods to and from Detroit easier than ever thanks to the influx of grain and other
agricultural Goods into the City by Rail and water it quickly became one of the most important flower
Milling centers in the country processing and forwarding Goods all across the United States
and Beyond to Europe Detroit was incorporated as a city in 1815 and its manufacturing industries were
particularly successful with things such as Steam Engines stoves and furnaces the end
of the American Civil War in 1865 also marked the start of a significant shift in the city's primary
economic Source from an agricultural staple to an industrial giant but it didn't end there the
city also saw a rise in the pharmaceutical business actually its industrial growth was
so tremendous that it would kick-start one of the city's most dramatic rises in population over the
next Century from 1850 to 1950 attracting many European and later African-American inhabitants
by the year 1880 Detroit had a population of over 116 000 people representing more than
40 nationalities the 20th century also saw the rise of the automobile industry at the
start of Detroit's reputation as Motor City it was Prime rarely propelled by the rise of the
big three Ford General Motors and Chrysler some of America's biggest automobile companies Ford
in particular helped Pioneer a brand new form of factory assemblage Henry Ford officially founded
the company in 1903 by 1908 it was producing the Model T for which demand was so high that it led
to the introduction of the assembly line though one of its most significant contributions was the
Auto industry the city also produced things such as paints metal crafts rail cars brass and copper
the city also saw many cultural developments such as the Fox Theater and the Detroit institution of
Arts by 1929 it was the fourth largest city in the country with a population of 1.6 million and 160
000 people working in the Auto industry the downtown area was full of life from industrial
buildings and hotels to theaters and Opera Houses 1930 also saw the completion of the
Detroit Windsor Tunnel the world's first and only International vehicular tunnel however trouble
was on the horizon around this time as the Great Depression took a tremendous toll on the bustling
City you see because its economy depended so heavily on the Auto industry thousands of people
were put out of work when Auto Sales declined the economy's later recovery was primarily thanks to
the auto plants being repurposed for World War II efforts such as building tanks and missiles
this earned Detroit the name quote the arsenal of democracy what's more we can't discuss Detroit's
most significant achievements without taking a look at Motown the story of of Motown began
with its founder Barry Gordy III Gordy met and started writing songs for Jackie Wilson leading
to two hits Reed petite and lonely teardrops this newfound success in songwriting LED Gordy
to begin scouting Detroit for new musical acts to promote he discovered Smokey Robinson's band The
Miracles in 1957 and at the same time started to lay the foundations for his record company
Gordy founded tamla records in Detroit converting a two-story home of Detroit's Grand Boulevard into
a dedicated recording studio and office which he renamed hitsville USA by the early 1960s
the label saw its first hit with Barry Strong's money that's what I want from there Gordy began
to sign more and more acts eventually renaming tamla records as Motown records with Motown come
coming from the words motor and town to honor the city's history by 1964 Barry Gordy had
signed artists such as Marvin Gaye Stevie Wonder and The Temptations not to mention the Supremes
Cordy also hired many professional songwriters among them was Brian and Eddie Holland and LaMont
Dozier who wrote hit songs you most likely know today such as Please Mr Postman and Stop in the
Name of Love motown's unique characteristics also came from the house band that backed
up the songs the label released including the Funk Brothers and many more on sung musicians
however in 1972 Gordy moved motown's corporate headquarters to Los Angeles which had become
a Central Music Industry Hub despite the many outstanding achievements Detroit accomplished
however trouble was looming on the horizon and it had been that way since the 1950s let me explain
a material shortage after World War II profoundly affected the Auto industry the
steel demand skyrocketed and automakers had to compete with many other businesses to get their
supplies there were also many strikes in the coal copper glass and Steel Industries these
strikes and walkouts for poor treatment caused Mass layoffs unemployment and specific factories
to shut down for weeks and even months though work in automobile factories was lucrative when it was
up and running it was unreliable for workers in this period at one point it seemed there was hope
you see the end of material rationing temporarily brought the Auto industry back into swing from
late 1952 to early 1953 though it quickly fell off again with the US's next recession layoffs
returned and with the start of automation many more people lost their jobs overall
Auto industry was essentially a boom and bust industry for Detroit but this was not
the only problem the city faced in the post-war period many cities started to spread out Detroit
was no exception the federal government's tax incentives and subsidiaries helped entice new
families to move out of Detroit and businesses followed soon after discriminatory practices
against minority buyers were unfortunately not uncommon further stoking the fires of
racial tensions in the already segregated City two major riots occurred in 1943 and in 1967 Detroit's
heavy Reliance on automobiles as a part of its industrial landscape was a blessing and a curse
while it contributed significantly to the city's Peak and also led to Rapid population Decline and
economic disaster a disaster that would ultimately follow Automotive decentralization and after the
initial post-world War II Expansion cooled off in Detroit's population and revenue started to fall
the city instituted its first income tax doubling it just six years later you see in the early 1980s
a national recession strained the Auto industry and only further spiraled the city's already poor
finances income taxes would then raise again from 2 percent to 3 percent and with them thousands
of workers would have their wages Frozen the city instituted a new utility tax in 1971 and a
wagering tax in 1999 the more people left the more tariffs the city created to stay afloat basically
the town became more expensive and less attractive for residents and businesses between 1950 and 1980
the city experienced a population loss of over six hundred thousand abandoned factories and homes
were both problematic and expensive to repair or remove making it even more difficult to entice
new businesses this was an official downward spiral with the city doubling its debts by 2012.
Detroit's mayor Kwame Kilpatrick also went down in history for all the scandals he was briefly
incarcerated for obstruction of justice and was forced to resign in 2008 later finding himself
accused of abusing his power in the mayor's office five years later he was convicted of
many counts which included bribery racketeering and extortion and these scandals only further
corroded Detroit's image in May of 2009 former piston star David Bing was elected to finish
out the mayor's term the job ahead of him was massive by then the City's population had already
declined by one-fourth over the past 10 years alone however Bing only focused on more stable
areas to entice more people to move in Shifting the city's much needed money and attention away
from distressed and poverty-stricken neighborhoods the city's Financial
situation only continued to spiral downwards to the to the point where the governor of Michigan
Rick Snyder appointed Kevin Orr as Detroit's emergency manager Orr was given executive
power to deal with the immense debt the city had fallen into unfortunately he was unable to reach
an agreement with the city's creditors and so it was the town was found eligible for bankruptcy
in December of 2013 where it stayed for a year before emerging in 2014. today many buildings and
former attractions still sit abandoned but there remains a projected hope for a slow but eventual
economic recovery between 2010 and 2019 around 708 new housing structures were constructed in
Detroit the U.S treasury Department has founded the removal of 15 000 homes and businesses
foreclosed for years tax and spending policies have been used to push Downtown Development
forward Bond investors have also recently become interested in the city providing yet another
local Revenue Source however it's essential to note that Detroit still continually struggles
with a high poverty rate and concerns regarding gentrification and population displacement and
whereas most images you might come across online suggest that Detroit looks like a
hellish landscape for a lack of better words I've actually heard that the city is lovely so let me
know the truth in the comments section below and until next time this is Ryan silkash signing off