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 Gazette editor's own account of naming the word
   • The exact vote totals in the districts in 1812
   • A record made by a witness to the redistricting in Massachusetts in 1812
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
   • 29 percent, reading the seat count as a percent
   • About 2.6 percent, since 29 divided by 11 is 2.6
   • 72.5 percent, since 29 divided by 40 is 0.725
4. 3.

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

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

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

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

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

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

   How might Federalists and Republicans each view the district map, given card A, Noah asks?

   • Federalists had reason to call it unfair; Republicans to defend it
   • Both parties gained seats, so both parties defended the new map
   • The Federalists wrote the bill and pushed it through
   • The Republicans had their votes packed into a few districts
9. 8.

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

   • The cartoon came first, and the plan was then signed in reply
   • The word came first, and the editor then named the district after it
   • Madison dispute, then a plan packing Federalists, then the cartoon, then the word
   • The plan passed because the cartoon turned readers against Federalists in March
10. 9.

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

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

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

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