2025-08-09
49 分钟Elbridge Gerry was a signer of the Declaration of Independence,
a diplomat to France, a member of the Continental Congress.
He even served as vice president to James Madison.
Unfortunately for him, his political legacy is more narrow.
That's because in 1812,
Gerry was the Massachusetts governor when the statehouse redrew its legislative maps.
Jerry's party packed their opponents into bizarrely shaped districts.
Editorial cartoons satirized the new maps to look like a salamander.
Now states across the country are setting out to gerrymander their own legislative districts,
years before they're set to.
I'm Charlotte Howard, and this is Checks and Balance from The Economist.
Each week, we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.
Today, mid-decade redistricting.
President Trump wants Republicans to draw new maps to ensure they keep their House majority.
Democrats are now expressing outrage and pursuing a similar tactic.
They're promising to draw their own districts to try and capture the House.
Why now?
And what does this mean for the balance of power, for Trump's agenda, and for democracy?
With me this week are James Bennett in Washington, D.C.
Hi, James.