Gerrymandering term coined in the Boston Gazette

Background. Elbridge Gerry, a Democratic-Republican who had won the Massachusetts governorship in 1810 and again in 1811, was governor in 1812 when the state adopted new constitutionally mandated electoral district boundaries. A redrawing of Massachusetts Senate election districts under Governor Gerry produced a partisanly drawn district in the Boston area whose shape was thought to resemble a salamander.

Coining and Spread of the Term. The word gerrymander, originally written Gerry-mander, was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette on 26 March 1812 in Boston, Massachusetts. The shape of one state senate district in Essex County was compared to a salamander by a local Federalist newspaper in a political cartoon calling it a 'Gerry-mander'. The word was reprinted numerous times in Federalist newspapers in Massachusetts, New England, and nationwide for the rest of 1812.

Aftermath in the 1812 Election. In the 1812 election, both the Massachusetts House and governorship were comfortably won by Federalists, costing Gerry his job, but the redistricted state senate remained firmly in Democratic-Republican hands. The redistricting controversy, along with a libel investigation and the impending War of 1812, contributed to Gerry's defeat at the hands of Caleb Strong, whom the Federalists had brought out of retirement.