A History of America through 100 Maps

FAIN: FZ-250531-17

Susan Margaret Schulten
Colorado Seminary (Denver, CO 80210-4711)

Using one hundred maps—some well-known, some never before seen—the book illuminates American history  from 1492 to the present, explaining how the maps were made, why they mattered, and how they help us understand the past.

Over the course of five centuries, maps have permeated every aspect of American life. Whether made to navigate terrain, to promote an idea, to win a war, or to investigate a problem, maps record an effort to make sense of the world. They invest information with meaning by translating it into visual form, and in the process reflect decisions about how the world ought to be seen. Above all, maps remind us that the past is not just a chronological story, but also a spatial one. For all these reasons maps are invaluable historical sources. This book frames American history through one hundred maps, taken from all walks of life and all reaches of the continent. It illuminates large themes of history but also recovers little-known stories of the past. By asking how these maps were made—and why they mattered—this project unearths the spatial dimension of American history in an imaginative and visually engaging way.

Associated Products

A History of America in 100 Maps (Book)
Title: A History of America in 100 Maps
Author: Susan Schulten
Abstract: Throughout its history, America has been defined through maps. Whether made for military strategy or urban reform, to encourage settlement or to investigate disease, maps invest information with meaning by translating it into visual form. They capture what people knew, what they thought they knew, what they hoped for, and what they feared. As such they offer unrivaled windows onto the past. In this book Susan Schulten uses maps to explore five centuries of American history, from the voyages of European discovery to the digital age. With stunning visual clarity, A History of America in 100 Maps showcases the power of cartography to illuminate and complicate our understanding of the past. Gathered primarily from the British Library’s incomparable archives and compiled into nine chronological chapters, these one hundred full-color maps range from the iconic to the unfamiliar. Each is discussed in terms of its specific features as well as its larger historical significance in a way that conveys a fresh perspective on the past. Some of these maps were made by established cartographers, while others were made by unknown individuals such as Cherokee tribal leaders, soldiers on the front, and the first generation of girls to be formally educated. Some were tools of statecraft and diplomacy, and others were instruments of social reform or even advertising and entertainment. But when considered together, they demonstrate the many ways that maps both reflect and influence historical change. Audacious in scope and charming in execution, this collection of one hundred full-color maps offers an imaginative and visually engaging tour of American history that will show readers a new way of navigating their own worlds.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://america100maps.com
Primary URL Description: This site is an introduction to the book, with a preview of some of the content and images.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press and The British Library Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780226458618
Copy sent to NEH?: No

A History of America in 100 Maps (Web Resource)
Title: A History of America in 100 Maps
Author: Susan Schulten
Abstract: Below are just a few of the images showcased in A History of America in 100 Maps. Through lively prose and attention to detail, the book explores maps that shaped wartime strategy and peacetime reform, exploration and discovery as well as education and entertainment.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://www.america100maps.com/preview.html

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