This is perhaps the most important part of the Sea Grant Week 2005 Web site, because here you'll find invaluable hints on how to act and sound like a Mainer—so no one will know you're from away!

Tip #3: As Maine Goes, So Goes the Nation

Prior to 1958, Maine held its presidential elections two months before the rest of the country. People looked at the results from Maine elections to predict who would be president, which in the late 1800s gave rise to the saying, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation…"

And indeed, Maine has had a powerful influence on national and international politics, especially when you consider the state's relatively small and rural population (just over one million people). Many of those who were born or lived in Maine have become political leaders, and no state is more proud of its native sons and daughters. When you read about some of these people and their accomplishments below, you'll know why this pride can be fierce.

William King, born in Scarborough in 1768, was the first governor of Maine. King led the drive for Maine's separation from Massachusetts and acceptance as a state. His work was rewarded in 1820, when he was elected first governor of the new state of Maine.

Dorothea Dix (Hampden, 1802) was a social reformer and advocate for improved treatment of the mentally ill. Dix became the Union's Superintendent of Female Nurses during the Civil War.

Hannibal Hamlin (Paris Hill, 1809) served as the first vice president under Abraham Lincoln.

Joshua Chamberlain (Brewer, 1828) was a Union general in the Civil War and later served as governor of Maine.

James Blaine (West Brownsville, PA, 1830) was one of the founders of the Republican Party. He was a candidate for president in 1884 and twice served as secretary of state in 1881 and 1889. He led the first Pan-American Congress. Blaine's mansion in the Maine Capitol of Augusta has been the official residence of the governor since 1920.

Melville W. Fuller (Augusta, 1833) served as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1888-1909.

Percival Baxter (Portland, 1876) was the 53rd governor of Maine. A lifelong philanthropist, Baxter purchased Mt. Katahdin, along with 6,000 acres of surrounding wilderness in 1930. One year later, he donated the land to the land to the state and it is now part of Baxter State Park.

Margaret Chase Smith (Skowhegan, 1897) was the first woman elected to both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and the first senator to criticize and challenge the tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Edmund Muskie (Rumford, 1914) served as governor of Maine from 1955-1959. Muskie was a U.S. Senator from 1959 until 1980, when he became Secretary of State. During his time in the senate, Muskie was responsible for the enactment of both the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

George J. Mitchell (Waterville, 1933) served as U.S. senator for 14 years beginning in 1980 after Edmund Muskie was appointed secretary of state. Reauthorization of the Clean Air Act and the 1998 peace agreements in Northern Ireland are prominent among Senator Mitchell's numerous accomplishments.

William S. Cohen (Bangor, 1940) was U.S. representative from 1972-1978 and U.S. senator from 1979-1997. Cohen served as secretary of defense under President Clinton from 1997-2001. As defense secretary Cohen played a large role in directing the United States military actions in Iraq and Kosovo.

Click here for previous Things You Should Know Before Coming to Maine Tips
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