Politics & Government

Origin of the Term 'Gerrymander'

In a political cartoon published in the Boston-Gazette, the term 'gerrymander' was coined to describe electoral districts with bizarre, elongated shapes. The cartoon was a response to Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's efforts to manipulate district boundaries in favor of his party, the Democratic-Republicans. The illustration depicted a district shaped like a salamander, combining Gerry's name with the creature. This marked the beginning of a term that would influence political discourse around electoral fairness and manipulation.

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