Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Gerrymander

Gerrymander

Original - Original cartoon of "The Gerry-Mander", this is the political cartoon that led to the coining of the term Gerrymander. The district depicted in the cartoon was created by Massachusetts legislature to favor the incumbent Democratic-Republican party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists in 1812.

Edit - Removal of stray specs and spots

Reason

This is an iconic image of American history that most American citizens should recognize from middle and high school history classes. It is a political cartoon that depicts a bizarrely shaped congressional district in Massachusetts in 1812 created solely to keep the incumbent congressmen in office by "rigging" (if you will) the election by having a significant majority of same-party voters in the district. US congressional districts change every 10 years after the US Census finishes its work (hence the action taking place in 1812). The governor at the time was named Gerry and eventually, the animal in this cartoon (a dragon) was likened to a salamander, giving way to the term Gerrymandering. The term is still in common use in the American vernacular today.

Articles this image appears in

Gerrymandering, Essex County, Massachusetts, Portmanteau, Elbridge Gerry The image was just added to Elbridge Gerry

Creator

Elkanah Tisdale (1771-1835) [References: D. C. O’Brien, “Elkanah Tisdale: Designer, Engraver and Miniature Painter” Connecticut Historical Bulletin, Vol. 49 No. 2, 1984, 83-96. Kenneth C. Martis, “The Original Gerrymander” Political Geography, Vol. 27, No. 4, November 2008, 833-839.] (uploaded by Chowbok)

• Support as nominator --ωαdεstεr16_«talk^stalk» 20:36, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
• Conditional support You beat me to this one. Highly encyclopedic; good find. Clone stamp out the stray spots, please? Durova^Charge! 02:05, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
  • Done as far as I can tell. My first ever retouch (if you could even call it that). Seems GIMP is easier to use than I expected. Let me know if I've missed anything. ~ ωαdεstεr16_«talk^stalk» 06:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
    • Very good for a first time effort. :) If you get the bug do let me know; historic political cartoons can be very encyclopedic and relatively easy to restore. Best regards. Durova^Charge! 18:58, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
• Comment Would it be worthwhile/possible to fix up the white patch on the lower part of the wing, and the A of Andover? Sasata (talk) 08:24, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
• Support alternative But I'd suggest tweaking the levels so the lines are darker - it'd thumbnail better. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 02:03, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
• Support. High enc., good quality. I'm suprised that there isn't one like this already featured. Spencer^T♦C 21:17, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Original reviewers please comment on edited version. Wronkiew (talk) 06:19, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Promoted File:The Gerry-Mander Edit.png MER-C 07:22, 5 March 2009 (UTC)