"Michigan" was laid down on 17 December 1906 at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. Her completed hull was launched on 26 May 1908. Fitting out work was completed by 4 January 1910, when she was commissioned into the US Navy. After entering service, she was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. She then began a shakedown cruise down to the Caribbean Sea that lasted until 7 June. "Michigan" joined training maneuvers off New England beginning on 29 July. A training cruise to Europe followed; she departed Boston, Massachusetts, on 2 November and stops included Portland in the United Kingdom and Cherbourg, France. She arrived in the latter port on 8 December and remained there until the 30th, when she left for the Caribbean. The ship reached Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on 10 January 1911 and continued on to Norfolk, arriving four days later. During this period, future naval aviation pioneer John Henry Towers served aboard the ship as a spotter for the main guns. The long range of the guns, which could shoot further than the horizon, convinced Towers of the need for spotter aircraft.