228

George Hathaway.

A satirical drawing of the mythical Gerrymander, which had re-emerged in Massachusetts.

Windsor, MA, 20 September 1842
Autograph Letter Signed to cousin George D. Colburn of Hamden, CT. 3 pages, 10 x 7¾ inches, on one folding sheet, plus address panel on verso of one page; address panel leaf with full separation on one fold through the Gerrymander, 1-inch seal tear in the Gerrymander's neck, soiling to address panel, other moderate wear.

This letter was written by George Hathaway (1821-1903), a farmer in Berkshire County, MA. It includes a drawing of the Gerrymander, the horrible creature in the shape of a convoluted new congressional district, which was introduced to the world in an 1812 issue of the Boston Gazette. It was named in honor of Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry, who was held responsible for the special redistricting to benefit the Democratic-Republican Party. 

Hathaway notes "the appearance in this state of a remarkable species of reptile. . . . A creature of infernal origin. . . . Many other powerful causes must have combined to give it existence, among which must be reckoned the present combustible and venomous state of affairs." He traces its birth to "firey ebolutions of party spirit, many explosions of Whig wrath . . . composed of the fag ends & disaffected of all partys, Cooniytes, Ciderites, Clayites, Scotites, Tylerites & Harrisonians and Grumbletonians, which makes it rather speckled."

The state's Whig legislature had recently arranged to pack the state's Democratic voters into one Boston mega-district, so the revival of the Gerrymander was a frequent topic of newspaper commentary.  

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