Michigander

From Free net encyclopedia

Michigander (mish-uh-GAN-der) is a demonym for residents of the U.S. state of Michigan. It coexists with Michiganian (mish-uh-GAIN-ee-un) and Michiganer and various Michigan residents may prefer one or the other. Many Michigan residents prefer the sound of Michigander (which more closely parallels the pronunciation of Michigan). The term was once considered pejorative, but has since lost its negative connotation. Some use Michigander to indicate any resident of Michigan, and use Michiganian to indicate an alumnus/alumna of the University of Michigan.

Origin

Image:LewisCass.jpg The word Michigander is attributed to Abraham Lincoln, coining it when he was a Whig representative in Congress. On July 27, 1848, Lincoln made a speech against Lewis Cass, who had been a long-time governor of the Michigan Territory. Cass was then running for president on a "popular sovereignty" platform that would have let states that were conquered in the Mexican War decide whether to legalize slavery. Lincoln accused the Democrats of campaigning on the former President Andrew Jackson's coattails by exaggerating their military accomplishments.

But in my hurry I was very near closing on the subject of military tails before I was done with it. There is one entire article of the sort I have not discussed yet; I mean the military tail you Democrats are now engaged in dovetailing onto the great Michigander [i.e. Lewis Cass].<ref>Michigan Today News. "Talking About Words". University of Michigan News Service. September 15, 2003.</ref>

Lincoln thus combined Michigan with gander to form a nickname that made Cass sound foolish like a goose.

References