State Nicknames

An article on Slate includes this "Odd and Obsolete 19th Century Nickname Map of the American States (click on map to enlarge it):

The map was a promotion by H.W. Hill & Co., a livestock supply firm whose products included "Calf & Cow Weaners," and it included still-current nicknames such as Hoosier and Buckeye, as well as now-obsolete nicknames such as Whelp (Tennessee) and Bug Eater (Nebraska).

Rebecca Onion, the author of the Slate piece, refers to the Illinois nickname -- Suckers -- as "unfortunate," but that was not how it was viewed in the 1800s.  "Suckers" is thought to have been a reference to the easily accessible water table on the Illinois prairie, meaning that water could almost be sucked out of the ground (a great advantage in an agricultural society dependent on wells).

Abe Lincoln had no problem calling himself a sucker, and the reference was part of his campaign song, "Lincoln and Liberty," which included this chorus:

We'll go for the son of Kentucky,

The hero of Hoosierdom through,

The pride of the suckers so lucky:

It's Lincoln and Liberty, too.

Here is Ronnie Gilbert's rendition (the music begins at :40):

 

The melody was taken from an old Irish song, Rosin the Beau:

 

[NOTE: This post has been edited by changing the version of Rosin the Beau] 

Comments

[Ray McKoski]

Other explanations of the origin of the term “sucker” for Illinoisans are less flattering. One is that most of the workers in the early lead mines in Galena came from southwestern Missouri. They came up the Mississippi river in the spring to work and returned home down the Mississippi in the fall. According to some, that trip was reminiscent of the trip suckers (similar to carp) made up the river in spring and back down again in fall. Another theory is that the term was used because early travelers in Illinois would suck on reeds placed down "crawfish" holes to get a drink of fresh water. The Chicago Tribune carried an interesting story about the origin of the term including a humorous version by Stephen Douglas,http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1885/07/25/page/12/article/why-illinoisans-are-called-suckers.

[Ellen Wertheimer]

It is glorious to find that the wonderful Ronnie Gilbert has not been forgotten! Thank you for posting this.