Mapping the Nation - A Companion Site to Mapping the Nation by Susan Schulten
Emma Willard, “Introductory” Map of American History
This map opened one of the first historical atlases of America, created by the noted educator Emma Willard. Note that she marked not just the location of tribes, but their migration over time.
Chart of the Inhabited World
Woodbridge devised this world map to represent not topographic detail, but social, cultural, and political geography.
Emma Willard, “First” Map of American History
Willard’s second map in the atlas marked the earliest voyages to America, and took pains to represent change over time. Note the inclusion of failed voyages and settlements..
Course of Cholera in Boston in 1849
This is one of many examples of a map designed for etiological purposes, in this case to locate the source of the city’s 1849 cholera epidemic.
American Temple of Time
In the American edition, Willard drew the outline of the continental nation as the backdrop, and asked students to detail the nation’s history and geography on the floor, ceiling, and pillars.
Emma Willard, “Ninth” Map of American History
In her final map of the historical atlas, Willard proudly asserted the admission of new states in the trans-Mississippi west, and detailed the transfer of territory from native tribes to the Union.
Chronographical Plan of Willard’s History of the United States
Willard used a tree to depict American history as a unified whole even as the nation was descending into Civil War. Though designated a history of the “U. States,” it begins with Columbus.
The Temple of Time
Willard designed this graphic to teach the relationship between geography and history: the ceiling marks individuals, coordinated by pillars of time and the growth of nations on the floor.
Perspective Sketch of the Course of the Empire
Willard designed this comprehensive “picture of nations” to capture the advent of different civilizations, from the beginnings of recorded history down to her own day.