Elbridge Gerry
About Elbridge Gerry
The fifth Vice President, serving under Madison. Gerry is the source of the word gerrymandering, the practice of drawing electoral districts for political advantage. As governor of Massachusetts, he approved a redistricting map shaped like a salamander, which opponents called a gerrymander. Gerry died in office in 1814, the second vice president to do so. He had been a signer of the Declaration of Independence but initially refused to sign the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights.
Related Leaders
George Washington
The first President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutiona...
John Adams
The first Vice President and second President of the United States. Adams was a leading advocate for independe...
Thomas Jefferson
The primary author of the Declaration of Independence and third President. Jeffersons presidency saw the Louis...
James Madison
The Father of the Constitution and fourth President. Madison was the principal architect of the US Constitutio...