1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,239 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday everyone. I Heart Radio has a new podcast 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: out called Why I'm Voting. Holly as the host, and 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: she talks to actors and musicians and comedians and other 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: podcasters about their experiences with voting and why it's so important. Yeah, 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: I have been so lucky. I've gotten to talk to 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: a lot of amazing people I would not otherwise have spoken. 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: With our first episode already out. We have six out 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: as when we're recording this, Like I got to talk 9 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: to Will Ferrell about voting and discovered that he really 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: really loves his Why I Voted sticker. Uh. Also talked 11 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: a lot just about very sincerely about why it's so important. 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: A lot of people are talking about the importance of 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: voting in local elections and not ever thinking that an 14 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: election outcome is a lock, and just really making sure 15 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: that anybody who is maybe um not feeling enthusiastic or 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: inspired about voting in this election, just ma clear, like 17 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: this is the place where your voice could be heard, 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: where you actually have of a way to tell your 19 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: government from the very local level all the way up 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: what you want. Uh. And it's it's a cool thing, 21 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: and it's been really really fun to have some of 22 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: these conversations, so to go along with that, today's classic 23 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: is one that we chose on the topic of elections 24 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: as our episode on jerrymandering, which originally came out on 25 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: April eleven, and in this episode we talk about cases 26 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 1: that were before the Supreme Court at the time which 27 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: related to the issue of partisan jerrymandering that was decided 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: on June in a five four decision. Partisan jerrymandering claims 29 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts. 30 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that quote, 31 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust. 32 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: But the fact that such jerrymandering is incompatible with democratic 33 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: principles does not mean that the solution lies with the 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: federal judiciary. So enjoy the episode and check out Why 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: I'm Voting wherever you get podcasts. Welcome to Stuff You 36 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class, a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, 37 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 38 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: I'm Holly fry So l Bridge Gerry not really a 39 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: household name unless you start talking about jerrymandering, which at 40 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: this point is a household word and is named after him, 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: So just in case you're not familiar, jerrymandering is the 42 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: drawing of political districts to give particular advantage or disadvantage 43 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: to a party or a group. And back when we 44 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: talked about the Wilmington's Que earlier this year, we got 45 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: a number of angry letters about how we should have 46 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: specifically said that both major parties in the United States 47 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: jerry mander, even though we talked about both major parties 48 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,080 Speaker 1: doing that in the episode. A lot of those letters 49 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: also suggested that we should do a podcast on the 50 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: history of jerrymandering to remedy our obvious ignorance on that subject. 51 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: But the funny thing was, at that point it had 52 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: been lingering on my short list for a really long time, 53 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: based on having already educated myself. So it's now April 54 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: of eighteen. Just last month, the U. S. Supreme Court 55 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: heard oral arguments in a jerrymandering case, and they had 56 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: heard arguments in a previous case the previous October, and 57 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: then the North Carolina case that we mentioned in that 58 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: Wilmington Que episode was put on hold pending decisions and 59 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: all that, so it seemed like a good time to 60 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: actually move this thing that's been on my short list 61 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: for more than a year up to the top. We 62 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: are not going to get into the details of the 63 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: cases that the Supreme Court is examining right now. Uh, 64 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: there is a ton of very good, reliable, nonpartisan coverage 65 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: that is very easy to find if you google something 66 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: like jerrymandering SCOTUS or gerrymandering Supreme Court. Today's show is 67 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: more about the history of congressional districts and who this 68 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: l Bridge Gary person was and how he became associated 69 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: with a district that was so convoluted that the whole 70 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: practice of drawing skewed political districts is now named after him. 71 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,479 Speaker 1: So in the US, the word gerrymandering can apply to 72 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: any political district, but it's most often used to describe 73 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: state and federal legislative districts. The various states have their 74 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: own particulars, but for the most part, state legislative districts 75 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: follow the same basic principles that the congressional districts do, 76 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: but with different numbers. The United States has four hundred 77 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: thirty five congressional districts, which are distributed among the states 78 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: based on their population, and that population count comes from 79 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: the census, which has been conducted every ten years since 80 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: se The census is something that Congress is empowered to 81 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: conduct in Article one, Section two of the Constitution, so 82 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: it's right there in the nation's founding document. The census 83 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: is used for a lot of other things as well, 84 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: but it's primary purpose is connected to creating congressional districts, 85 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: and the idea that the districts will be allocated to 86 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: the states based on their population is also in the Constitution, 87 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: also in Article one, section two, which is amended in 88 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: Section two of the fourteenth Amendment, quote, Representatives shall be 89 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, 90 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding 91 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: Indians not taxed. The Indians not taxed part is connected 92 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: to the idea of tribal sovereignty, and at the time, 93 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: tribal persons who were not paying any taxes were not 94 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: being counted. We'll get to that a little bit more later. 95 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: All the congressional districts across all the states are supposed 96 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: to have roughly the same number of people. And although 97 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: that basic idea has been part of the process from 98 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: the very beginning, it wasn't until the Apportionment Act of 99 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: eighteen forty two that the law really spelled out that 100 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: every state should be divided into congressional districts, with a 101 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: single representative elected from each one. The congressional districts themselves 102 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: are divided and distributed through a process called apportionment, which 103 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: is governed by federal law. The exact method of apportionment 104 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: has changed several times over the centuries, and all those 105 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: methods are actually pretty tricky to explain in the course 106 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: of an audio podcast, so we will put it this way. 107 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 1: It is a math exercise intended to ensure equal representation nationwide. 108 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: The current system of apportionment goes back to nineteen forty, 109 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: at which point it was also decided that there were 110 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: no longer any Indians not text to be factored into 111 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: the equation. The number of congressional districts corresponds to the 112 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: number of seats in the House of Representatives, so the 113 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: nation started out with sixty five seats in seventeen eighty seven, 114 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: which increased to a hundred and five after the first 115 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 1: census was conducted. Apart from a temporary increase between when 116 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: Alaska and Hawaii became states, and they each got one representative, 117 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: and then when the next census was held, which point 118 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: it drop back down. The number has been fixed at 119 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: four hundred thirty five since Arizona and New Mexico became 120 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: states in nineteen twelve. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 121 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US 122 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: Virgin Islands are each represented by a non voting member 123 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: of the House, which is separate from the four hundred 124 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: thirty five voting members. That limit of four hundred thirty 125 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: five congressional districts means that apportionment is a zero sum game. 126 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: There are four hundred and thirty five districts to go 127 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: around among fifty states, and each district nationwide is supposed 128 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: to have about the same number of people, So the 129 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: census reveals that the state's population has increased enough that 130 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: it requires another district to ke things balanced out. Another 131 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: state whose population has decreased has to lose a district 132 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: to make up for it. Since each district is supposed 133 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: to have about the same number of people, it's not 134 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: really possible to just add or subtract one in a 135 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: state without redrawing the entire map, and the states have 136 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: their own laws about exactly how such redistricting should happen. 137 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: In some states, an independent voting commission draws the lines, 138 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: or the legislature draws the lines, but is forbidden by 139 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: law from doing so in a way that favors their 140 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: own party. But in a lot of states, redistricting is 141 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: handled just like any other piece of legislation, with a 142 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: vote in the legislature and an approval or a veto 143 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,959 Speaker 1: by the governor. That means whichever party has the majority 144 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: in the state government has the potential to put more 145 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: influence on the way that the map is drawn. Throughout 146 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: all these decades of adjustments to how many districts there 147 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: are and how they're apportioned, legislators have tried a number 148 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: of other tactics to influence the outcome as well. One 149 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: notorious example is the three fifths Compromise, which is an 150 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: Article one, Section two of the Constitution, along with the 151 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: census and the idea of apportionment. This was an appeasement 152 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: to the slave states who wanted their enslaved population to 153 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,079 Speaker 1: be counted in the census so they could get more 154 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: representation in Congress, but not to be counted in a 155 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: way that would affect taxation. So the compromise was to 156 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: count three fifths of the enslaved people in each state, 157 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: which gave the Southern states more seats in the House 158 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: during the apportionment process. That is why the fourteenth Amendment 159 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: specifies the whole number of persons in each state. The 160 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: idea of the three fifths compromise actually goes back to 161 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: before the drafting of the Constitution, and the practice of 162 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:49,199 Speaker 1: gerrymandering goes back almost as far too before the word 163 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:54,600 Speaker 1: was even coined. The first recognized example comes from which 164 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: was the year after the Constitution was ratified. Patrick Henry 165 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: was governor the Commonwealth of Virginia that year, and when 166 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: Virginia was drawing its congressional map, he convinced the state 167 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: legislature to draw one of its districts in such a 168 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: way that would force James Madison to run against James Monroe. 169 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: His hope was that Monroe, who was his political ally, 170 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: would defeat Madison in the congressional race, but that didn't 171 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: work out. Madison was the winner. There's a paper in 172 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: the journal Early American Studies that argues that these districts 173 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: were fairly drawn, but people at the time and in 174 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: the decades since then, have been positive that Patrick Henry 175 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: was doing this on purpose. James Madison, the winner of 176 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,559 Speaker 1: that election, would later become the fourth President of the 177 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: United States, and during his second term in office, to 178 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: bring this back around to the subject of the show, 179 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,319 Speaker 1: his vice president was Elbridge Gary. And we're going to 180 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: talk more about Elbridge Gary, who is, of course the 181 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: first statesman we all think of after we first paused 182 00:10:55,280 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: for a little sponsor break. Elbridge Gary was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, 183 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,199 Speaker 1: on July seventeenth, seventeen forty four. His father, Thomas, had 184 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: emigrated to the colony from England in seventeen thirty, and 185 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: he'd become a prominent figure in the marble Head community. 186 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: The family was also well off, but as devout members 187 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 1: of First Congressional Church, they weren't particularly showy about their wealth. 188 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: Elbridge was one of eleven siblings, although six of them 189 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: died while still in childhood. Gary went to Harvard College, 190 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: where he earned a master's degree, and in his master's 191 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: thesis he argued that the colonies should resist the British 192 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 1: government after the implementation of the Stamp Act He returned 193 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: to marble Head after he graduated in seventeen sixty five, 194 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: where he joined his father's merchant business and became active 195 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 1: in the growing movement for independence from Britain. This included 196 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: serving on a committee to enforce a ban on the 197 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: sale and consumption of t In seventeen seventy to Gary 198 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,479 Speaker 1: was elected to the colony's legislature, the General Court of Massachusetts. 199 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: In May of seventeen seventy four, after the Boston Tea Party, 200 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, which were a 201 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,080 Speaker 1: collection of laws meant to both punish Massachusetts and to 202 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: try to bring the colony back in line. One of 203 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: these was the Massachusetts Government Act, which abolished the colony's 204 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: charter and replaced most of its elected members of the 205 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: government with people appointed by the Crown. When this happened, 206 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: the General Court reorganized itself as a provisional government called 207 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,959 Speaker 1: the Provisional Congress, and Elbridge Gary was part of it. 208 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: In seventeen seventy six, Gary signed the Declaration of Independence, 209 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: and then he was elected to the Second Continental Congress, 210 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: where he served until seventeen seventy nine. I did find 211 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: one report that His term really lasted until seventeen eighty, 212 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: but after a dispute about how much to pay suppliers, 213 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,079 Speaker 1: of which Gary was one, he walked out of Congress 214 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,200 Speaker 1: in discussed and didn't come back. That seems a little 215 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: incongruous with the reputation that he developed for himself of 216 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: being very dedicated. Afterward, Uh, there's was this one source 217 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: that I found that made that claim, and then all 218 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: the other sources were echoing back to that one. And 219 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: I didn't find a mention of it in a biography 220 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:18,680 Speaker 1: that was written during his lifetime, So maybe that would 221 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: have happened. I guarantee if anybody ever makes a movie 222 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: of his life, that will be included. Yeah. In his 223 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,719 Speaker 1: work in the government Elbridge, Gary developed a reputation as 224 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: being highly dedicated and efficient. He was also obstinate and 225 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: cantankerous and not afraid to stand by an unpopular opinion. 226 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: He wasn't nearly as eloquent as speaker as a lot 227 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: of the more famous founders, but he spoke tirelessly on 228 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: subjects that he thought were important. One of the things 229 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: that was really important to Gary was independence from Britain. 230 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: He was relentless in his efforts to convince colonies that 231 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: were on the fence about it that independence really was 232 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: and their best interests. John Adams described it the Sway quote. 233 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: If every man here was a Gary, the liberties of 234 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,960 Speaker 1: America would be safe against the gates of Earth and Hell. 235 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: In seventeen eighty three, after the end of the Revolutionary War, 236 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: Gary was elected once again to the nation's governing body, 237 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: which was now the Congress of the Confederation. He served 238 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: until seventeen eighty five. In seventeen eighty seven, he was 239 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. This was 240 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: the convention that was established to craft a replacement for 241 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 1: the Articles of Confederation, which had formed the basis for 242 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: the United States government after the Revolutionary War. Elbridge Gary 243 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: was also one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation. 244 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: Elbridge Gary had a lot of extremely strong opinions about 245 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: how the government that the Constitutional Convention was creating should work. 246 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: He wasn't so much behind the all men are created 247 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: equal language from the Declaration of Independence. He thought that 248 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: humanity had a natural elite and that those elite persons 249 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: should lead the nation. He also thought that the new 250 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: government should take the best elements of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, 251 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: and create a strong central government that also delegated significant 252 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: power to the states. But he wanted limits on the 253 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: central government that would prevent it from descending into tyranny, 254 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: and he wasn't in favor of having a standing army 255 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: because of its potential tyrannical uses. He also became one 256 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: of the most vocal supporters of the Great Compromise. The 257 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: Constitutional Convention was considering two plans for the federal legislature. 258 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: One was called the Virginia or Large State plan, which 259 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: involved a bicameral legislature with the state's representatives to both 260 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: houses being determined by their population. The other was the 261 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: New Jersey or Small State plan, in which the government 262 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: would have only one house and each state would have 263 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:53,040 Speaker 1: the same number of representatives. Neither side was willing to budge, 264 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: and the Constitutional Convention came to a complete deadlock. The 265 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,479 Speaker 1: Connecticut Compromise, or a Great comp Mise, was a combination 266 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: of the two proposed plans b cameral legislature, in which 267 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: one house had the same number of representatives for each 268 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: state and the other house had a number of representatives 269 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: based on the state's population. This is what we have today, 270 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: So this plan is most often associated with Oliver Ellsworth 271 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: and Roger Sherman, who largely proposed it, but l Bridge 272 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: Gary was the chair of the committee that was responsible 273 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: for coming up with a compromise, and he was one 274 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: of its most strident and vocal advocates. He called for 275 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: compromise again and again during this process, and he pointed 276 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: out that if the Constitutional Convention did not reach a 277 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: successful end, quote, we shall not only disappoint America, but 278 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: the rest of the world. Geary's work with the Constitutional 279 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: Convention went way beyond the Great Compromise. He also advocated 280 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: for checks and balances, including Congress being able to overrule 281 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: a presidential veto. He called for provisions for impeach the president, 282 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: saying quote, a good magistrate will not fear them, and 283 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: a bad one ought to be kept in fear of them. 284 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 1: He opposed direct elections because he thought it too easy 285 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: for the voting population to be misled, but when proposals 286 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 1: were raised to have Congress elect the president, he argued 287 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,680 Speaker 1: that would make the president too dependent upon the will 288 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 1: of Congress. He suggested having state governors elect the president instead, 289 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: but in the end, Elbridge Gary wasn't happy with the 290 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: Constitution that the that the Convention created, and he refused 291 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: to sign it. He thought there weren't enough protections of 292 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: individual liberties, and he proposed the addition of a Bill 293 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: of rights, and the Constitution today does have a Bill 294 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: of rights, but that didn't come along until after it 295 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: was ratified. Even though Gary was highly critical of the 296 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: Constitution as it was drafted, once it was sent for ratification, 297 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,400 Speaker 1: he toned down his criticism. He still had his objections, 298 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: but he thought if the States didn't ratify the Constitution, 299 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: the nation would either fall up heart or dissolve into 300 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 1: a civil war. Ratifying the Constitution and amending it later 301 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: was the lesser of two evils, so during and after 302 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: the ratification process he kept advocating for amendments and a 303 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: Bill of rights. The Bill of Rights was proposed by 304 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: James Madison before the First United States Congress on June eighth, 305 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty nine. Gary's work with the government didn't stop there. 306 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,760 Speaker 1: He ran for governor of Massachusetts in seventeen eighty eight 307 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: and was defeated, and then he served in the House 308 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: of Representatives from seventeen eighty nine to seventeen ninety three. 309 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,360 Speaker 1: In the middle of all that, he married Anne Thompson 310 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,439 Speaker 1: in seventeen eighty six, and they would go on to 311 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: have ten children together, at the rate of almost one 312 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 1: a year. He eventually became disillusioned with Congress after trying 313 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: to work through extremely partisan bickering over Alexander Hamilton's proposal 314 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: to assume state debt and establish a national bank. Gary 315 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: retired at the end of his second term in the 316 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: House and went back to Massachusetts, where he lived in 317 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 1: k Bridge with his ever growing family. He didn't stay 318 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: out of politics completely for very long, though. In seventeen 319 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: nine six he was a presidential elector in support of 320 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:13,239 Speaker 1: John Adams, and the following year Adams appointed him as 321 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 1: an envoy to France. His mission there was not very 322 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: successful though. This all took place after the United States 323 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 1: and Great Britain signed the j Treaty, and the j 324 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 1: Treaty resolved some issues between those two nations, but France 325 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: thought it was in violation of earlier treaties between the 326 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: United States and France, so Gary and the rest of 327 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: the delegation were then part of the x y Z affair, 328 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: which could maybe be its own episode. One day, the 329 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: French Foreign minister demanded a bribe before negotiations could begin, 330 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 1: and then the American delegation refused to pay that bribe. 331 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: This all blossomed into an undeclared naval war that lasted 332 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: until eighteen o one. Back home, Gary was in and 333 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: out of politics before being elected governor of Massachusetts in 334 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: eighteen ten. It was during his term as governor that 335 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: the term jerrymander was coined, which we're going to get 336 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 1: right back to in a moment. After the Gerrymander. He 337 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:11,439 Speaker 1: ran for re election and lost in eighteen twelve, but 338 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 1: that same year, James Madison tapped him to be his 339 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: presidential running mate, hoping to win the Massachusetts vote. Madison 340 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: lost Massachusetts, but he won the presidency, and Gary served 341 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: as Vice president with the same cantankerus diligence as he 342 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 1: did the rest of his career. Gary died in office 343 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: on November fourteen, while on his way to the Senate. 344 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: He's buried at Congressional Cemetery, and the monument over his 345 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,199 Speaker 1: grave bears a quote from him quote, it is the 346 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: duty of every man, though he may have but one 347 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: day to live, to devote that day to the good 348 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: of his country. Which makes it kind of sad that 349 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: his legacy today is a practice that's frequently criticized as 350 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,400 Speaker 1: being to the detriment of the country and its democratic process. 351 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,679 Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about that after we have 352 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. L Bridge Gary signed the Declaration 353 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He was an 354 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: unflagging presence at the Constitutional Convention. He shared the committee 355 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: that came up with a great compromise and was one 356 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: of its most vocal supporters at a time with the 357 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: Constitutional Convention was at risk of a total collapse. During 358 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: his inaugural address when he was elected governor of Massachusetts, 359 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: he called for an end to partisan in fighting and 360 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: for the political parties to work together. But today his 361 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:42,480 Speaker 1: legacy boils down to one word, gerrymander, something that goes 362 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: directly against the democratic ideals he championed during his legislative career. 363 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: The map that led to the term was drawn from 364 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: Massachusetts States senate districts. Before eighteen twelve, the Commonwealth of 365 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: Massachusetts had senate districts that followed county boundary lines, but 366 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: that year Demock Cradic Republicans and the state legislature redrew 367 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: the map to give themselves an advantage by packing the 368 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: Federalist vote into only a few districts. This new map 369 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: was filled with bizarre shapes that the Federalists described as quote, 370 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: carvings and manglings. The district that Governor Gary lived in 371 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,040 Speaker 1: was shaped roughly like a lower case are tilted backward. 372 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 1: Gary wasn't fully in support of these carved mangled districts. 373 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: In the words of contemporary biographer James T. Austin, quote 374 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: to the governor, the project of this law was exceedingly disagreeable. 375 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,399 Speaker 1: He urged his friends strong arguments against its policy as 376 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,880 Speaker 1: well as its effects. After it had passed both houses, 377 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: he hesitated to give it his signature and meditated to 378 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 1: return it to the legislature with his objections to its 379 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,920 Speaker 1: becoming law. But being satisfied that it conformed to the Constitution, 380 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 1: he doubted whether, against precedents to the contrary, the private 381 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: opinion of a governor on a mere question of propriety 382 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,959 Speaker 1: or policy would justify the interposition of his negative, and 383 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:09,960 Speaker 1: he accordingly permitted it to pass. So that basically boils 384 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: down to, well, it's not unconstitutional, but that was really 385 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: only part of it. When he approved these districts on 386 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: February eleventh, eighteen twelve. Gary, who had long resisted joining 387 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 1: a political party but was now a Democratic Republican, was 388 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: highly concerned about what the Federalist Party was doing. He 389 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 1: thought that Federalist criticism of President James Madison's foreign policy 390 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: bordered on trees and us. He also feared that the 391 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,879 Speaker 1: Federalist Party was becoming too close to Great Britain, and 392 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 1: he worried that Federalists secretly wanted to roll back American 393 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 1: independence and returned to the British Empire. It is extremely 394 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: likely that all of this influenced his decision. Page two 395 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: of the Boston Gazette on March eighteen twelve included a 396 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:00,840 Speaker 1: satirical picture of Gary's district. The districts southern end at 397 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 1: the bottom of the R ended in talents. In the 398 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: northeast corner had a dragon lake head two wings sprouted 399 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: just below the eastward bend at the top of the R, 400 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: and this picture ran unto the heading the Gary Mander, 401 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,640 Speaker 1: followed by a scathing article that began quote The horrid 402 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: monster of which this drawing is a correct representation, appeared 403 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: in the County of Essex during the last session of 404 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 1: the Legislature. There are a couple of different versions about 405 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: who exactly coined the term gary mander. The common theme 406 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,639 Speaker 1: in all of them is that somebody pointed out that 407 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: this long bent district looked like a salamander, than somebody 408 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: else responded with something along the lines of no, no, no, 409 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: It's a gary mander. And one version of this story 410 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 1: it happened over dinner, with illustrator Elkna Tisdale drawing a 411 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:52,440 Speaker 1: snaky looking version of the map and poet Richard Alsop 412 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 1: being the one to say no, a gary mander. And 413 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: another version it started with Boston Gazette editor Benjamin Russell 414 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 1: hanging a map of the district over his desk and 415 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,199 Speaker 1: artist Gilbert Stewart seeing it there and adding on the 416 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: wing's head and talents. And then Russell was the one 417 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: to say that it was a gary mander. And this 418 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,679 Speaker 1: garymandered map had exactly the effect that the people who 419 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: drew it wanted. In the election that followed, Democratic Republicans 420 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: earned twenty nine seats while the Federalists earned eleven, but 421 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: in terms of the number of votes, Democratic Republicans got 422 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,960 Speaker 1: fifty thousand, one hundred sixty four votes, while Federalists got 423 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:35,240 Speaker 1: fifty one thousand, seven hundred sixty six. So while the 424 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: Federalists got the majority of the votes, those votes earned 425 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,719 Speaker 1: them well under half as many seats in the Senate. 426 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,160 Speaker 1: As Gary Mander became part of the political lex con 427 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,879 Speaker 1: its pronunciation gradually shifted to jerrymander the way that we 428 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: say it today, and it was included in Webster's Dictionary 429 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty four. Apart from that political cartoon of 430 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 1: the Gary Mander, opponents of the Massachusetts redistricting during Elbridge 431 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,920 Speaker 1: Gary's term as governor said it quote inflicted a grievous 432 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 1: wound on the Constitution, and partisan gerrymandering has been similarly 433 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:15,359 Speaker 1: criticized throughout American history. When the Virginia Legislature created the 434 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: map to force Madison to run against Monroe, newspapers reported 435 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: that it was violating the rights of the people to 436 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: choose their representation in the government. President James Garfield, while 437 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: he was serving in the House of Representatives, said that 438 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: jerrymandering was indefensible no matter a person's politics, and this 439 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: criticism continues until today. Although there are definitely cases when 440 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: politicians are more critical of the other parties partisan gerrymandering 441 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: than of their own. Ronald Reagan called jerrymandering a national scandal, 442 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: and Barack Obama said, quote, We've got to end the 443 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,640 Speaker 1: practice of drawing our congressional district so that politicians can 444 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: pick their voters and not the other way around. Let 445 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 1: a bipartisan group do it. But have also been attempts 446 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: to use jerrymandering in a positive way. After the Voting 447 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: Rights Act of nine five, a number of states created 448 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 1: one or more congressional districts that were meant to guarantee 449 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,919 Speaker 1: at least one black representative from that state. Sometimes the 450 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 1: creation of these majority minority districts was called things like 451 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: benevolent or affirmative jerrymandering. States that had a history of 452 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: discriminating against black voters had to have their voting laws 453 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 1: pre cleared at the federal level before they could be implemented, 454 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 1: and there were cases where states were ordered to redraw 455 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 1: their maps to add majority minority districts. But this is 456 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,879 Speaker 1: a contentious issue. Since these districts concentrate minority voting power 457 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: into one place, it dilutes that power and the rest 458 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 1: of the state. And there have also been cases in 459 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: which lawmakers used the creation of majority minority districts as 460 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: a smoke screen, deliberately packing the district to give themselves 461 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: an advantage and the rest of the state. So today, 462 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: intentionally created majority minority districts are usually only going to 463 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 1: be found constitutional when they really are absolutely necessary and 464 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: not a cover for partisan jerrymandering. The Supreme Court has 465 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: made it clear that racist jerrymandering to prevent minorities from 466 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:21,760 Speaker 1: having an equal political voice is unconstitutional, and it has 467 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,000 Speaker 1: also issued a number of decisions related to apportionment and 468 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,920 Speaker 1: other aspects of redistricting, but it hasn't taken a clear 469 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: stance on partisan jerrymandering before this point, which could change 470 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: with the cases currently on the docket. Ideally, political districts 471 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: reflect the people living in the district, so there will 472 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: always be districts that reliably vote for one party or another, 473 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: and the general consensus up to this point has been 474 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: that some degree of partisan influence on how the districts 475 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:57,800 Speaker 1: are drawn is probably constitutional and to be expected. But 476 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: what the Supreme Court is looking at right now is 477 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:04,959 Speaker 1: mainly partisan jerrymandering that followed census, which is being described. 478 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: I'm using this as a quote as extreme. According to 479 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 1: the authors of the book Jerrymandering in America from Cambridge 480 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 1: University Press, partisan bias roughly tripled in district maps in 481 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: versus two thousand. Also, in was an election that saw 482 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: huge Republican gains in state legislatures and governorships, which means 483 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: at this point gerrymandered districts are skewing Republican about three 484 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: to four times as often as they're skewing Democratic. Like 485 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,520 Speaker 1: we said at the top of the show, in most states, 486 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,080 Speaker 1: whichever party is in control of the state legislature has 487 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: the most poll in how the map is drawn. Yeah, 488 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: we got a lot of parties have always been doing 489 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: this after the Wilmington Que episode, but like the parties 490 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: haven't necessarily been doing this to the extreme or scale 491 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: that they are right now, which is how this is 492 00:29:55,320 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 1: again in front of the Supreme Court. Yeah, thanks so 493 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 1: much for joining us on this Saturday. 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