Dunstable Free Public Library

One person, one vote, a surprising history of gerrymandering in America, where it is today and how we got here, Nick Seabrook

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-343) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

One person, one vote

bibliography

1286675891

Nick Seabrook

a surprising history of gerrymandering in America, where it is today and how we got here

"Nicholas Seabrook, authority on constitutional and election law, and expert on gerrymandering, begins with the earliest gerrymandering (pronounced with a hard 'g'!) before our nation's founding with the rigging of American elections for partisan and political gain and the election-meddling of the colonial governor of North Carolina (George Burrington) in retaliation against his critics. The author writes of Patrick Henry, who used redistricting to settle an old score with political foe and fellow Founding Father, James Madison, almost preventing the Bill of Rights from happening and of Elbridge Gerry, the Massachusetts governor from whom the naming of gerrymander derives. Seabrook writes of the Supreme Court's 20th century battles to curtail gerrymandering, first with Felix Frankfurter, the court's most outspoken advocate of judicial restraint, who fought for decades to prevent the judiciary from involving itself in disputes over the drawing of districts, only to see his judicial legacy collapse before his eyes; and Byron White, professional football player turned Supreme Court Justice who tried, and failed, to convince his colleagues to put a stop to partisan gerrymandering before most Americans were even aware that it was happening . . . One Person, One Vote explores the rise of the most partisan gerrymanders in U.S. history put in place by the Republican Party after the 2010 Census. We see how the battle has shifted to the states with REDMAP, the GOP's successful strategy to use control of state government and rig the results of state legislative and congressional elections for an entire decade. Seabrook makes clear that a vast new redistricting is already here and to safeguard our republic, action is needed before it is too late"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction : a uniquely American problem -- The first gerrymander -- James Madison's Henrymander -- Revenge of the Whigs -- Honest Abe stacks the states -- Frankfurter's political thicket -- Echoes of slavery -- A blue tide in the Golden State -- The prisoner's dilemma -- Win one for the Whizzer -- The handshake deal -- Hollow hope -- Conclusion : if you can keep it

adult