1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Mugwump
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| ←Muggleton, Lodowicke | 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 18 Mugwump |
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| See also Mugwump on Wikipedia, and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer. |
MUGWUMP, in American political slang, a name applied to any independent voter, and especially to those independents in the Republican party who refused to support James G. Blaine, when nominated by that party for the presidency in 1884; as since adopted in England it usually means one who stays neutral and votes for no party. Originally “mugwump” (mogkiomp) was a North American Indian word, in the Massachusett dialect of the Algonquian, meaning “great man” (mogki, great; omp, man); and in New England it was used of self-conceited politicians.
