- mugwump
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/mug"wump'/, n.1. a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884.2. a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue, esp. in politics; a person who is neutral on a controversial issue.[1830-35, Amer.; artificial 19th-cent. revival of Massachusett (E sp.) mugquomp, syncopated form of muggumquomp war leader (equiv. to Proto-Algonquian *memekw- perh., swift + *-a·pe·w man)]
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Member of the reform faction of the early Republican Party.In 1884 the Mugwumps refused to support the Republican presidential candidate, James Blaine, whom they considered politically corrupt, and campaigned instead for Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland, whom they saw as a reformer. The term, derived from an Indian word for "war leader," had been used in political slang to mean "kingpin" and was applied to the breakaway group by a New York newspaper. In U.S. political slang mugwump came to mean any independent voter; the term was later adopted in England.* * *
▪ American political factionin U.S. politics, member of a reform-oriented faction of the Republican Party that refused to support the candidacy of James G. Blaine (Blaine, James G.) for the presidency in 1884. Instead, the Mugwumps supported the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland (Cleveland, Grover). Their leaders included Theodore Roosevelt, George Curtis, and Henry Cabot Lodge; all returned to Republican ranks after the defeat of Blaine. The term, first used by Charles A. Dana (Dana, Charles A.) in the New York Sun, was derived from the Algonquian Indian word mogkiomp (“great man,” or “big chief”). In U.S. political slang “mugwump” came to mean any independent voter, and later the term was adopted in England.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
