Elbridge Gerry, A.B. 1762, might be best known in history as the namesake of “gerrymandering”—the irregular drawing of legislative districts (based on a bill he signed as governor of Massachusetts). But Gerry was also instrumental in the birth of the United States, from signing the Declaration of Independence to attending the Constitutional Convention of 1787. And he was notable for refusing to sign the Constitution he’d helped shape.
Gerry worried that the document didn’t safeguard the rights of private citizens and left them vulnerable to the power of the executive and the charms of self-interested demagogues. “The people do not want virtue,” he said at the Convention, “but are the dupes of pretended patriots.” He argued successfully for including provisions for impeachment in the Constitution. And his advocacy influenced James Madison’s efforts to ensure the passage of the Bill of Rights—a key check on federal power. Gerry eventually joined Madison’s ticket as the vice presidential candidate in the 1812 election. In 1813, he took the oath of office at Elmwood—his home, and later home to Harvard presidents.
