A Comment on Resources
Numerous resources in print and on-line support the literal and figurative exploration of the American West. Yale's Beinecke Library holds the collection of original maps and papers of the Lewis and Clark expedition. These can be accessed remotely through digital images posted by the Beinecke library. Other on-line resources such as JSTOR offer immense exposure to journal articles. The University of Texas hosts the largest collection of on-line maps in the world.
It was exciting to browse the web site posted by the Herman Dunlap Smith Center for the Study of Cartography at The Newberry Library. The Dunlap Smith Center posts a number of annotated slide shows of maps connected to particular themes or events. These slide shows can be viewed from the website for free or purchased in hardcopy form. Slide set 21: Cartography of the Mexico-United States Frontier presents annotated images of maps from United States history as well as Mexico's history.
Slide show 31: Hiding and Highlighting Power in Eighteenth-Century North American Maps with commentary by Andrea Foroughi (Union College) 2002 discusses the notion that map images of the eighteenth century both hide and highlight the power of competing groups over land claims. Essentially maps say as much about political power by means of what they don't include as well as through what they feature. Slide five discusses the importance of John Mitchell's 1755 map of the English and French possessions in North America.
Historical study requires examining particular events from multiple perspectives. Deeper understanding of history can be achieved by finding and presenting the representative voice of all parties involved. 'The Cartography of the Mexico-United States Frontier' slides present multiple perspectives on events in the westward expansion that occur south of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It essentially is a representative and cartographical story of how the border between Mexico and the United States became defined. Lucas Alama'n's map of Mexico in his Historia de Mexico (1849-52) compares the size of Mexico before and after the Mexican American War (1846-48). This is a useful presentation in that students can explore a representative image and Mexican point of view as well as distinguish the territory that changed hands through the Mexican American conflict (http://www.newberry.org/smith/slidesets/ss21.html ).
The United States Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov ) has been an incredible source of historical maps, digital images, and topographical maps. Through the Rocky Mountain Mapping Center (http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/) I was able to view and download satellite images and topographical maps of New Haven and Wilbur Cross High School from the educational resources page via TerraServer at no cost. This will help in having students compare and contrast old and new map images of New Haven. In addition, the USGS hosts Maps of an Emerging Nation: The United States 1775-1987 (http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/ lewisclark/emergingnation.html ). Students will benefit from viewing online versions of the Abel Buell map and maps that show the territorial growth of the United States. The online exhibit also contains lesson plans and classroom activities.
The Library of Congress hosts a number of maps including the maps of Buell, Mitchell and a Panoramic Map of New Haven from 1879.
Most sites allow students to navigate the maps through an image viewer that allows the reader to zoom in and out of maps as well as scroll across map images. This feature will be an invaluable tool in having students examine map images.
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