Flint, Michigan Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Early and mid-20th century: the auto industry takes shape=== {{Main|Flint, Michigan auto industry|History of General Motors}} [[File:When the Whistle Blows at the Buick.jpg|thumb|[[Buick]] factory complex in Flint, 1912]] In 1904, local entrepreneur [[William C. Durant]] was brought in to manage Buick, which became the largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1908. In 1908, Durant founded General Motors (GM), filing incorporation papers in New Jersey, with headquarters in Flint. GM moved its headquarters to Detroit in the mid-1920s.<ref>[http://www.gm.com/company/corp_info/history/gmhis1900.html General Motors | Corporate Information – History | GM<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610221410/http://www.gm.com/company/corp_info/history/gmhis1900.html |date=June 10, 2011 }}</ref> Durant lost control of GM twice during his lifetime. On the first occasion, he befriended [[Louis Chevrolet]] and founded Chevrolet, which was a runaway success. He used the capital from this success to buy back share control. He later lost decisive control again, permanently. Durant experienced financial ruin in the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|stock market crash of 1929]] and subsequently ran a bowling alley in Flint until the time of his death in 1947. The city's mayors were targeted for recall twice, Mayor [[David R. Cuthbertson]] in 1924 and Mayor [[William H. McKeighan]] in 1927. Recall supporters in both cases were jailed by the police. Cuthbertson had angered the [[Ku Klux Klan]] (KKK) by the appointment of a Catholic police chief. The KKK led the recall effort and supported [[Judson L. Transue|Judson Transue]], Cuthbertson's elected successor. Transue however did not remove the police chief. McKeighan survived his recall only to face conspiracy charges in 1928.<ref>{{cite news |first=James M. |last=Miller |title=Crackdowns on 'reds,' booze didn't silence decade's roar |url=http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1920/1920main.html |work=[[Flint Journal]]: Journal of the 20th Century |publisher=Booth Newspapers |access-date=March 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527003224/http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1920/1920main.html|archive-date=May 27, 2011}}</ref> McKeighan was under investigation for a multitude of crimes which angered city leaders enough to push for changes in the city charter.<ref name=fj20c>{{cite news|last1=Crawford|first1=Kim|title=Flint mayor commanded attention from – voters, police|url=http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1920/1920flintmayor.html|access-date=October 24, 2014|work=Journal of the 20th Century|publisher=The Flint Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041109020208/http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1920/1920flintmayor.html|archive-date=November 9, 2004}}</ref> In 1928, the city adopted a new city charter with a council-manager form of government. Subsequently, McKeighan ran the "Green Slate" of candidates who won in 1931 and 1932 and he was select as mayor in 1931.<ref name=fj20c/> In 1935, the city residents approved a charter amendment establishing the Civil Service Commission.<ref>{{cite news|title=Proposal 5: Voters can eliminate Flint Civil Service Commission with charter vote|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/10/proposal_5_voters_can_eliminat.html|access-date=October 24, 2014|work=The Flint Journal|publisher=Mlive Media Group|date=October 17, 2014}}</ref> For the last century, Flint's history has been dominated by both the auto industry and car culture. The [[Flint Sit-Down Strike|Sit-Down Strike]] of 1936–1937 saw the fledgling [[United Auto Workers|United Automobile Workers]] triumph over General Motors and establish itself as a major union, leading to widespread unionization in US industry. The successful mediation of the strike by Governor [[Frank Murphy]], culminating in a one-page agreement recognizing the Union and rehiring workers fired due to strike participation began an era of successful organizing by the UAW.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=115&category=business |title=Detroit News, Rearview Mirror, ''The Sitdown strike at General Motors''. |access-date=May 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709044347/http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=115&category=business |archive-date=July 9, 2012 }}</ref> The city was a major contributor of tanks and other war machines during World War II due to its extensive manufacturing facilities. For decades, Flint remained politically significant as a major population center as well as for its importance to the automotive industry. A freighter named after the city, the [[SS City of Flint (1919)|SS ''City of Flint'']], was the first US ship to be captured during the Second World War, in October 1939. The vessel was later sunk in 1943.<ref>{{cite book |title=Å være eller ikke være – Under orlogsflagget i den annen verdenskrig |last=Bjørnsson |first=Nils |year=1994 |publisher=Sjømilitære Samfund ved Forlaget Norsk Tidsskrift for Sjøvesen |location=Haakonsvern |isbn=82-990969-3-6 |page=23 |language=no }}</ref> On June 8, 1953, the [[1953 Flint-Beecher tornado|Flint-Beecher tornado]], a large F5 [[tornado]], struck the city, killing 116 people. The city's population peaked in 1960 at almost 200,000, at which time it was the second largest city in the state. The decades of the 1950s and 1960s are seen as the height of Flint's prosperity and influence. They culminated with the establishment of many local institutions, most notably the [[Flint Cultural Center]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flintcultural.org/ |title=Flint Cultural Center |publisher=Flintcultural.org |access-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref> This landmark remains one of the city's chief commercial and artistic draws to this day. The city's [[Bishop International Airport]] was the busiest in Michigan for [[United Airlines]] apart from [[Detroit Metropolitan Airport]], with flights to many destinations in the Mid-West and the Mid-Atlantic.<ref>United Airlines timetable, April 27. 1969, https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ua/ua69/</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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