"The Gerrymander. A New
Species of Monster"
Boston Gazette, March 26, 1812
Serial & Government
Publications Division (90.6)
In 1812, Jeffersonian Republicans forced through the Massachusetts
legislature a bill rearranging district lines to assure them an
advantage in the upcoming senatorial elections. Although Governor
Elbridge Gerry had only reluctantly signed the law, a Federalist
editor is said to have exclaimed upon seeing the new district lines,
"Salamander! Call it a Gerrymander." This cartoon-map first appeared
in the Boston Gazette for March 26, 1812.