 Michigan became a state in 1837, with the State Capitol in Detroit until the winter of 1847 when the state constitution required that the capital be moved from Detroit to a more central and safer location in the interior of the state.Many were concerned about Detroit's proximity to British-controlled Canada, which had captured Detroit in the War of 1812.The United States had recaptured the city in 1813, but these events led to the dire need to have the center of government relocated away from hostile British territory.