Read a historical political cartoon: symbols, labels and message

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The Gerry-mander cartoon, 1812 (cards A to D), from the Library of Congress Law Library blog "Elbridge Gerry and the Monstrous Gerrymander" (February 10, 2017), in our words except where quoted. Card A: on February 11, 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting plan that heavily favored his Republican party. The Federalist Party had been critical of President James Madison's foreign policy. The Republican legislators who forced the bill through redrew the voting lines so that the Federalist vote was concentrated in a few districts, while the Republican vote was spread over many. The blog says Gerry was hesitant to sign, and that the plan won 29 seats for the Republicans and 11 for the Federalists, citing an encyclopedia (Selesky, 2006). Card B: the cartoon, a map of the Essex County district drawn with a head, wings and a tail, appeared in the Boston Gazette on March 26, 1812, page 2. Its caption says that the creature of which the drawing is a correct representation "appeared in the County of Essex, during the last session of the Legislature." Card C: the blog says that, reportedly, the Gazette's editor posted the map on his office wall and compared the district to a salamander, saying: "Salamander! Call it a Gerrymander." The word is Gerry plus salamander. Card D: the blog says the original cartoon was drawn by Elkanah Tisdale for the Gazette and is held by the Library of Congress. It adds that Gerry was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and went on to become James Madison's vice president later in 1812.

2. 1.

   The blog was posted by the Library of Congress Law Library in 2017. What is it best evidence for, Esme asks?

   • A modern summary of the 1812 story that cites a source for the seats
   • The exact vote totals in the districts in 1812
   • A record made by a witness to the redistricting in Massachusetts in 1812
   • The Gazette editor's own account of naming the word
3. 2.

   Card A: 29 Republican seats and 11 Federalist. What share of the 40 seats did the Republicans win, Bo asks?

   • 27.5 percent, the Federalist share of the 40 seats
   • 72.5 percent, since 29 divided by 40 is 0.725
   • 29 percent, reading the seat count as a percent
   • About 2.6 percent, since 29 divided by 11 is 2.6
4. 3.

   A student writes: "The seat counts alone prove the districts were unfair." How strong is that claim, given card A, Jun asks?

   • Weak: card A says the two parties won equal numbers of seats
   • Weak: card A gives seat counts but no vote totals to compare
   • Strong: Gerry signed the plan, which shows it was unfair
   • Strong: 29 to 11 is such a lopsided result that it must be unfair
5. 4.

   What would a reader need to judge whether the 29 to 11 result matched what voters wanted, Kira asks?

   • The statewide vote totals for each party, to compare with seat share
   • A longer list of the offices Gerry held in his life
   • The names of the 40 senators and the towns they lived in at the time
   • More copies of the cartoon from the Gazette
6. 5.

   Why does the caption call the drawing a "correct representation" of a creature found in Essex County, Luz asks?

   • To teach readers about salamanders and their habits in New England
   • To mock the plan by calling the odd shape a sign of unfair lines
   • To claim a real animal of that shape had been found in Essex County
   • To honor the governor for drawing a clever new map
7. 6.

   Card C says the editor "reportedly" compared the district to a salamander. How should a reader treat the story, Milo asks?

   • As a story the blog does not confirm, which needs earlier evidence from 1812
   • As false, since stories like this are rarely true
   • As proven fact, since a Library of Congress blog repeats it
   • As the Gazette's own claim, and a newspaper's story about itself is settled
8. 7.

   Which chain do cards A to C best support, Zee asks?

   • The cartoon came first, and the plan was then signed in reply
   • Madison dispute, then a plan packing Federalists, then the cartoon, then the word
   • The word came first, and the editor then named the district after it
   • The plan passed because the cartoon turned readers against Federalists in March
9. 8.

   Gerry signed on February 11 and the cartoon ran on March 26, 1812, a leap year with 29 days in February. About how long between them, Pia asks?

   • About two weeks, since 26 minus 11 is 15 days
   • About six weeks, since 18 days left in February plus 26 is 44 days
   • About three months, since winter lasts that long in Massachusetts
   • About six months, since the Declaration of Independence came first
10. 9.

    What new evidence would best test whether the editor coined "Gerrymander" in March 1812, Ren asks?

    • The blog's own text again, to read the same story twice more
    • A modern map of Essex County drawn in 2017 for a school lesson
    • Gazette and other March 1812 papers showing the word's earliest uses
    • Gerry's later career as vice president of the United States
11. 10.

    Card D credits Elkanah Tisdale as the cartoonist. How sure should a reader be, Ari asks?

    • Certain, since the word Gerry-mander is written across the map of the district
    • Fairly sure the blog accepts it, but it names no 1812 document, so check it
    • Doubtful, since a blog cannot name an artist
    • Certain, since the Library of Congress holds the cartoon