Elbridge Gerry

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elbridge Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American politician, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was the fifth Vice President of the United States, serving under James Madison, from March 4, 1813 until his death. He was the second Vice President to die in office; the first to have died in office was Gerry's immediate predecessor, George Clinton, who served under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Related Topics:
July 17 - 1744 - November 23 - 1814 - American - Politician - Democratic-Republican Party - Vice President of the United States - James Madison - March 4 - 1813 - George Clinton - Thomas Jefferson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gerry was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He later became governor of Massachusetts. He is most famous for being the namesake of the art of gerrymandering — a process by which electoral districts are drawn with the aim of aiding the party in power.

Related Topics:
Declaration of Independence - Articles of Confederation - Massachusetts - Gerrymandering

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, the third of twelve children, he was a graduate of Harvard College, attending there from age fourteen. He worked in his father's business and came to prominence over his opposition to commerce taxes. He was elected to the General Court of the province of Massachusetts in May 1772 on an anti-British platform.

Related Topics:
Marblehead, Massachusetts - Harvard College - 1772 - British

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gerry was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress from February 1776 to 1780. He also served from 1783 to September 1785. In 1787 he attended the United States Constitutional Convention and was one of the delegates voting against the new constitution (joining Mason and Randolph in not signing it). He was elected to the U.S. House under the new national government, and served in Congress from 1789 to 1793.

Related Topics:
Continental Congress - 1776 - 1780 - 1783 - 1785 - 1787 - United States Constitutional Convention - U.S. House - 1789 - 1793

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1797-98 he served in the delegation to France over the XYZ Affair. In 1810 he was elected Governor of Massachusetts. He was re-elected in 1811 but defeated in 1812 over his support for the redistricting bill that created the word gerrymander. Despite this he was chosen as vice president to James Madison. He died in office in Washington, D.C. and is buried there in the Congressional Cemetery.

Related Topics:
France - XYZ Affair - Governor of Massachusetts - 1811 - Gerrymander - James Madison - Washington, D.C. - Congressional Cemetery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gerry's longtime house, the historic Elmwood mansion in Cambridge, Massachusetts was birthplace to noted poet James Russell Lowell a few years after Gerry's death.

Related Topics:
Elmwood - Cambridge, Massachusetts - James Russell Lowell

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~