Did Abe Lincoln Coin The Term ‘Michigander’?

Abraham Lincoln did indeed the term 'Michigander' to make presidential candidate (and Michigan Governor) Lewis Cass sound foolish -- like a goose (get it?).

More than a century and a half later, it’s the preferred term state residents use when referring to themselves.

It all happened in 1848, when then Representative Lincoln was opposing Cass' presidential bid (which was based on state's rights, which would have meant expanding slavery, which was a no-no in Lincoln's mind) he gave a speech which accused Cass and the Democrats of riding the coat tails of the late Old Hickory, Andrew Jackson, by exaggerating his military accomplishments.

According to the University of Michigan newspaper, Michigan Today, Lincoln gave a speech in which he emphasized his newly minted name:

“Like a horde of hungry ticks you have stuck to the tail of the Hermitage lion [Jackson] to the end of his life,” Lincoln said, “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 [emphasis added].

 

Lincoln was employing word blending (Michigan + gander), which was a popular technique at the time.

Although historians have proof that the term was in play well before Lincoln used it as an insult, it was after that moment that the word gained critical mass and started appearing in print fairly regularly. State residents have come to embrace the term, although there are still a vocal minority who  prefer the more pompous sounding 'Michiganian'. If you really want to get down in the dirt, 'Yooper' and 'Troll' have been written in as votes in polls on the subject.