Question

why did elbridge gerry of Massachusetts redraw the congressional districts in his state?

Answer 1

Because he could. Congressional distrcits are redrawn every 10 years, in response to the results of the decennial Census (mandated by the Constitution), because the Constitution specifies that the number of Representatives a State can have in Congress must be proportional to its population, except that no state can have fewer than one. As population shifts over time, it is necessary to move seats from states with declining or slower-growing populations (like New York, Michigan, or Ohio) to states with fast-growing populations (like Arizona and Texas). That means states that lose seats must redraw districts to eliminate some, and states that gain seats must redraw districts to have more -- and most states redraw districts just so that the party in power in that state can have better chances of having the strong representation in Congress, which is what Gerry and his colleagues did.