You'd never know it, but originally Congressional districts were meant to be of equal, rectangular shapes.* Actually Patrick Henry originated unfair redistricting more than 20 years before the event that coined the term "gerrymandering," a race for the state senate in Massachusetts. Henry wanted his favorite U.S. Congressional candidate, James Monroe, to defeat James Madison in Virginia, but the latter prevailed narrowly. This WaPo article ...

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You'd never know it, but originally Congressional districts were meant to be of equal, rectangular shapes.* Actually Patrick Henry originated unfair redistricting more than 20 years before the event that coined the term "gerrymandering," a race for the state senate in Massachusetts. Henry wanted his favorite U.S. Congressional candidate, James Monroe, to defeat James Madison in Virginia, but the latter prevailed narrowly. This WaPo article describes events as they've evolved most lately and what can be done, a suggestion that's not new but always worth considering, one that people have favored when it's been offered via referendums.

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*I can't find the source for this now--I read of it years ago and was surprised. Today representation is supposed to be determined by population size and is too often determined by partisanship, legally, according to a recent SCOTUS decision.

Authors Website: http://www.wordsunltd.com

Authors Bio:

Marta Steele is an author/editor/blogger who has been writing for Opednews.com since 2006. She is also author of the 2012 book "Grassroots, Geeks, Pros, and Pols: The Election Integrity Movement's Nonstop Battle to Win Back the People's Vote, 2000-2008" (Columbus, Free Press) and a member of the Election Integrity movement since 2001. Her original website, WordsUnLtd.com, first entered the blogosphere in 2003. She recently became a senior editor for Opednews.com. She has in the past taught college and worked as a full-time as well as freelance reporter. She has been a peace and election integrity activist since 1999. Her undergraduate and graduate educational background are in Spanish, classical philology, and historical and comparative linguistics. Her biography is most recently listed in "Who's Who in America" 2019 and in 2018 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Who's Who.