In 1810, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry and the Democratic party redrew the state’s Senate districts to secure a lasting political advantage. By grouping towns to give their party small majorities in most districts—while concentrating Federalist votes into a few—the Democrats could win more seats without increasing their vote share. The move broke up counties, dismantled established communities, and was widely condemned as an obvious attempt to retain power “even against the will of the people.”
Although Gerry disliked the plan, he signed it into law. One oddly shaped district on the map resembled a monster, leading opponents to nickname it the “Gerrymander.” The article notes that similar schemes in other states rarely brought lasting success and warns that any party relying on gerrymandering or other manipulative election laws is ultimately “doomed, sooner or later, to entire overthrow.”
- “The law was injudicious; but there was no stronger objection to it, in the obvious motive to retain power in the hands of a party, even against the will of the people.”
- “There was an apparent management, too plain not to be perceived, and which being seen was universally reprobated.”
- “The ill-shapen monster was called the Gerrymander.”
- “The thing has never permanently benefited any party that has tried to keep itself in power by these means.”
- “Any party which puts [gerrymandering] into operation is doomed, sooner or later, to entire overthrow.”
“Origin of the Word Gerrymander” Buffalo Daily Republican — November 14, 1840 14 Nov 1840, Sat Buffalo Daily Republican (Buffalo, New York) Newspapers.com
