Lincoln coined the term Michigander when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1848, Lincoln gave a speech against Lewis Cass -- Michigan's first governor who was campaigning for president. The word "Michigander" came from a combination of Michigan and gander, a male goose.
Lincoln used the word for goose to accuse Cass for campaigning on the coattails of (or following like a goose) president Andrew Jackson, according to the column Talking About Words from the University of Michigan. Lincoln also said Cass was exaggerating his military accomplishments.
Here's what Lincoln said, according to the column:
Like a horde of hungry ticks you have stuck to the tail of the Hermitage lion (Jackson) to the end of his life, and you are still sticking to it, and drawing a loathsome sustenance from it, after he is dead. ... 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.
While the term was originally used as an insult, residents came to embrace it. But there's still a divide. While Gov. Rick Snyder (terms of office 2011 - current) uses the term, previous Governors of the state of Michigan, USA, Jennifer Granholm, John Engler, and Jim Blanchard all used Michiganian. A 2011 poll found that 58 percent of people in Michigan prefer Michigander.http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/02/happy_birthday_abe_lincoln_tha.html
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