Elbridge Gerry

Elbridge Thomas Gerry [ ɛlbɹɪdʒ gɛɹɪ ] (* July 17, 1744 in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts, † November 23, 1814 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician. Gerry was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of Massachusetts, March 4, 1813 to his death in the following year Vice President of the United States under James Madison.

Gerry was born on July 17, 1744, the son of an emigrated to America in 1730 and respected dealer. He attended Harvard College as a teenager already. Although he originally wanted to study medicine, he became a successful and respected businessman, who was sent by the inhabitants of his native city as a representative to the General Assembly of the Province of Massachusetts under the guidance of his father.

Later Gerry was a member of the Philadelphia Convention; he was a strong opponent, central government and refused to sign the Constitution of the United States because it contained no Bill of Rights. From 1789 to 1793, he was a deputy in Congress, he was also a member of the U.S. delegation, whose visit to Paris in 1797 was the XYZ Affair result. As governor of Massachusetts for two terms he fell for drawing new boundaries of constituencies in favor of the Democratic-Republican Party in the criticism. This practice has been named after him ( gerrymandering ). Ironically, it turned out that he had nothing to do with the practice of gerrymandering and he was against it even in private.