Rick Snyder ended one of the longest-running debates in our state’s history during his time as governor.
In 2017, he signed into law a package of bills that made the term “Michigander” the official demonym of the Great Lakes State. And he was right to do so.
The folksy alternative to the sterile and corporate “Michiganian” is the proper term for Michigan residents.
These two nicknames define two different types of Michigan residents. One is austere, the other hearty. The ending of one is common (Louisianian, Pennsylvanian), while the other is totally unique.
Michiganians are strivers. They wear zip-up vests and know how many tapas to order for the table. They seriously consider which coffee-table book to leave out for guests. They stomp around the shoveled streets of Ann Arbor in high-priced hiking boots.
Michiganders will give you a bit of whatever they have. They can drop their boat in a lake with ease. They never have trouble getting the grill going. They keep a garden out back and know the calls of birds. They are enjoyers.
Abraham Lincoln popularized the name by using it to insult Lewis Cass, the first governor of the Michigan Territory and a presidential nominee, in 1848.
In a tirade, Lincoln urged voters to recognize that Cass’ campaigning principally relied on likening himself to Andrew Jackson and exaggerating his military achievements.
“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.”
It was a deft insult. Cass, who lost the election to Zachary Taylor, managed to look both jowly and bird-like at the time, and Lincoln had painted him as a honking, molting goose.
That insult has become an integral part of the state’s identity.
A 2011 poll demonstrated this when 58% of Michigan residents expressed their preference for “Michigander” as opposed to only 12% who preferred “Michiganian.” The preferences of our political leaders reflect that sentiment. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Gov. Snyder use the correct name, though the previous three governors all used Michiganian, which in the future may be seen as just another linguistic quirk of an older generation, like calling a couch a “davenport”.
Michiganders care about how their state is portrayed, so it’s good that we haven’t accepted a demonym with a flaccid “-anian” ending. We deserve a name that reflects our folksy heritage, and Michigander is just that.
Mark Naida is managing editor of Michigan Enjoyer.
