When I saw this cartoon, I was shocked to see that the original gerrymandered district dated to 1812. You would think that we had better things to do at the time (e.g., conduct the War of 1812) than do this.
The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander) was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette on 26 March 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of Massachusetts state senate election districts under the then-governor Elbridge Gerry (pronounced /ˈɡɛri/; 1744–1814). In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a salamander. The term was a portmanteau of the governor's last name and the word salamander. The redistricting was a notable success: in the 1812 election, both the Massachusetts House and governorship were won by Federalists by a comfortable margin (costing Gerry his seat), but the senate remained firmly in Democratic-Republican hands.
A portmanteau (
i/pɔrtˈmæntoʊ/, /ˌpɔrtmænˈtoʊ/; plural portmanteaux or portmanteaus) or portmanteau word is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word.[1][2] The English is derived from Frenchportemanteau (portmanteau luggage which has two compartments). A portmanteau word fuses both the sounds and the meanings of its components, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, or the term "wurly" to describe hair that is both wavy and curly. In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph which represents two or more morphemes.
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| The original gerrymander: Massachusetts legislature, circa 1812 |
The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander) was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette on 26 March 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of Massachusetts state senate election districts under the then-governor Elbridge Gerry (pronounced /ˈɡɛri/; 1744–1814). In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a salamander. The term was a portmanteau of the governor's last name and the word salamander. The redistricting was a notable success: in the 1812 election, both the Massachusetts House and governorship were won by Federalists by a comfortable margin (costing Gerry his seat), but the senate remained firmly in Democratic-Republican hands.
A portmanteau (
i/pɔrtˈmæntoʊ/, /ˌpɔrtmænˈtoʊ/; plural portmanteaux or portmanteaus) or portmanteau word is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word.[1][2] The English is derived from Frenchportemanteau (portmanteau luggage which has two compartments). A portmanteau word fuses both the sounds and the meanings of its components, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, or the term "wurly" to describe hair that is both wavy and curly. In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph which represents two or more morphemes.
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