Not long after the original gerrymander took its monstrous shape in 1812, The United States Gazette issued a harsh prophecy. Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry might otherwise have been forgotten to history but for the wicked practice that would come to bear his name. According to the paper, gerrymandering , “like the word mammoth, will probably be familiarly understood long after the filthy beast to which it is applied, shall become extinct.” As political predictions go, it was a good one.