Michigan is one of the fifty states in the United States of America. It is the11th largest state in the United States. It is made up of two peninsulas (connected by the Mackinac Bridge): the only state to be so. It borders the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois. Its borders with Minnesota and Illinois are only by water. It also borders Canada by water. It was the 26th state to join the union on January 26, 1837. In 1847, Michigan became the first U.S. state to abolish the death penalty.