Elbridge Gerry was born in July 1744. Thomas Gerry, his father, was a wealthy merchant based in Boston. Gerry was the third of 12 children. In his early years, Gerry studied with private tutors, and attended Harvard, receiving a master’s degree in 1762. Upon his return from Harvard, he joined the family business and helped to establish the Gerrys as one of the wealthiest merchant families in Massachusetts.
Though Gerry was an accomplished businessman, he had a slight stutter and always seemed worried. Despite this, he entered the world of politics around 1770, when he became a part of a committee that enforced trade embargos against British merchants. After his time in this committee, Gerry served with Samuel Adams and others in the Massachusetts General Assembly.
Despite his associations with Adams, Gerry felt the Sons of Liberty acted in poor judgement during the Boston Tea Party. These feelings led to a distancing between himself and the patriot cause for a time. When the British closed Boston harbor, Gerry made his way back to the cause of liberty and was an influential voice in the early years of the revolution.
Gerry was elected as a delegate in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and worked closely with John Hancock and Samuel Adams. He became a member of the Committee of Safety and helped prepare defenses against Great Britain. He also served as chair of the Committee of Supplies.
On the eighteenth of April, 1775, Gerry met with the safety and supplies committee members in the Black Horse Tavern. Following the meeting, Gerry and two others spent the night in the tavern, planning to return to their homes the following day. They were awakened by the sound of British troops in the street early in the morning and went and hid in the stubble of a cornfield. Legend has it that the British searched the tavern and found nothing, enabling Gerry and the other men to continue their support of the revolutionists.
In 1776 Gerry was elected to the second Continental Congress. His desire for independence and freedom inspired many. John Adams wrote, “If every Man here was a Gerry, the Liberties of America would be safe against the Gates of Earth and Hell.” Gerry signed the Declaration of Independence in November of 1776 and was later present at the Constitutional Convention. Throughout his political career, Gerry was known to irritate many other politicians due to his controversial opinions and unpredictability.
Gerry served as the Governor of Massachusetts from 1810-1812, during which time the term gerrymandering was created, following Gerry and the Democratic-Republicans attempt to redistrict the state senate in their favor. Following his time as governor, Gerry was Vice President in the administration of James Madison from 1813 until his death in 1814.
Additional Resources:
Elbridge Gerry | Constitution Center
Elbridge Gerry, Founding Father, Signer, American Revolution
