Elbridge Gerry Goes Full Salamander

Elbridge Gerry was born in 1744, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a bustling port town north of Boston. His family was well-established in the merchant trade, and young Gerry was set on a path to wealth and influence early in life. His father, Thomas Gerry, had emigrated from England and built a prosperous business, ensuring his son received an elite education. At just 14 years old, Gerry entered Harvard College, where he excelled in his studies, earning both a Bachelor of Arts (1762) and a Master of Arts (1765). Unlike many of his Harvard-educated peers who pursued law or the clergy, Gerry followed in his father’s footsteps and became a successful merchant, expanding the family’s shipping business throughout the Atlantic trade.

However, as tensions between the American colonies and the British Crown escalated in the 1760s and 1770s, Gerry’s role as a merchant exposed him to the economic impact of British policies—especially taxation without representation. This early frustration pushed him into politics and into the orbit of some of the most influential revolutionaries of his time.

Gerry became a vocal opponent of British colonial policies, working closely with Samuel Adams, John Adams, and other leaders of the growing resistance. He played a key role in organizing the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence, an underground network that spread revolutionary sentiment and coordinated efforts against British rule.

As a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Gerry emerged as a staunch advocate for independence, signing both the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Articles of Confederation (1777). He was not just a signature on a document—he was deeply involved in securing support for the war effort, using his business connections to help supply the Continental Army. His reputation as a principled patriot was well established by the time the war ended, but Gerry wasn’t done shaping the new nation.

In 1787, Gerry attended the Constitutional Convention, where he found himself in a difficult position. While he supported a strong national government, he feared that the proposed Constitution lacked sufficient protections for individual liberties. Unlike many of his fellow Founders, Gerry refused to sign the final document, believing it gave too much power to the federal government and failed to include a Bill of Rights. This stance put him at odds with many of his peers, including George Washington and James Madison, but it also cemented his legacy as a defender of civil liberties.

However, when the Constitution was ultimately ratified, Gerry joined the first Congress in 1789, where he played a key role in drafting and passing the Bill of Rights—the very protections he had demanded. His work ensured that the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution, protecting freedoms like speech, religion, and due process.

After serving in Congress and a brief retirement from public life, Gerry returned to politics in 1810, becoming Governor of Massachusetts. His tenure was marked by deep political divisions between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, but his efforts to advance his party’s policies made him a valuable figure in national politics.

In 1812, the Democratic-Republicans selected Gerry as James Madison’s running mate, and he was elected as Vice President of the United States. At the time, the office of Vice President was largely ceremonial, with few real responsibilities beyond presiding over the Senate. Gerry, in poor health and already 68 years old, served in the role for just over a year before his death in 1814, making him one of the few vice presidents to die in office.

One of the most controversial episodes in Gerry’s career occurred during the XYZ Affair, a diplomatic crisis that soured relations between the United States and France in the late 1790s.

In 1797, President John Adams appointed Gerry to a three-man diplomatic delegation sent to France to negotiate a resolution to rising tensions. The French, angered by the U.S.’s Jay Treaty with Britain, had begun seizing American ships. Gerry, along with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and John Marshall, was tasked with finding a diplomatic solution.

However, when the American diplomats arrived in France, they were met by three agents of the French foreign minister, Talleyrand, who demanded bribes in exchange for negotiations. This scandal, later known as the XYZ Affair, outraged Americans when news of the demands became public. The Federalists blamed Gerry for staying behind after Pinckney and Marshall left, accusing him of being too sympathetic to the French.

Although Gerry had refused to pay the bribes, the damage to his reputation was done. He was burned in effigy, and Federalists labeled him a traitor to American interests. This event pushed Gerry firmly into the Democratic-Republican camp, where he remained for the rest of his career.

Gerry returned to Massachusetts politics in 1810, winning the governorship in a highly partisan environment. His tenure as governor was defined by bitter battles with the Federalists, who remained strong in Massachusetts despite the national dominance of the Democratic-Republicans.

In 1812, the Massachusetts legislature, controlled by Gerry’s Democratic-Republicans, passed a controversial redistricting plan designed to favor their party. The new legislative map included oddly shaped districts, one of which was so distorted that it resembled a salamander. On February 11, 1812, a local Federalist leaning newspaper, coined the term “Gerry-mander,” a portmanteau of his name and the shape of the new district, which resembled a salamander. A month later, the Boston Gazette would publish its famous cartoon of the term, and to this day, the practice of manipulating district lines for political advantage is called gerrymandering.

Ironically, despite the redistricting plan, Gerry lost re-election in 1812 to his Federalist rival Caleb Strong. However, his party retained control of the state Senate, showing that the district map had done its job. Though he went on to serve as Vice President, Gerry’s legacy was permanently linked to the controversial practice of gerrymandering—a term that remains synonymous with political manipulation over 200 years later.

Elbridge Gerry’s career was one of contradictions. He was a staunch patriot, yet he was vilified for his role in the XYZ Affair. He refused to sign the Constitution, but later helped draft the Bill of Rights. He was a man of principles, yet his name became synonymous with political trickery.

Though his contributions to American independence and the Bill of Rights were monumental, Gerry is best remembered for gerrymandering—a practice that continues to shape American elections to this day. Whether he would approve or condemn modern gerrymandering is up for debate, but one thing is certain: his legacy endures.

Never go full salamander…