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This piece by Susan Schulten, "A Mysterious Map of Louisiana,"
appeared in the 25 May 2014 <u>NY Times</u> and is accessible at:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/a-mysterious-map-of-louisiana/?ref=opinion">http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/a-mysterious-map-of-louisiana/?ref=opinion</a>
. From the article:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>"...the idea of mapping data in the United States can
actually be traced to the Civil War. Earlier posts in Disunion
have discussed the maps of slavery generated by the United States
Coast Survey. At the same time, the Census Office (also part of
the Treasury Department) was experimenting with maps of not just
one but multiple types of data. These were designed to aid the
Union war effort, but perhaps more importantly to plan for
Reconstruction. ...<br>
<br>
...The map contains almost no environmental information save for
the river systems and a few railroads. Even roads are omitted,
truly unusual for any 19th-century map.<br>
<br>
Instead, the emphasis is on parish boundaries, within which are
listed free and slave populations alongside data about resources,
from swine to ginned cotton. While this population data would have
been available as early as 1862, the agricultural data was only
published in 1864. With this information, officers and
administrators moving through the state could locate the richest
parishes, the largest sources of labor and the easiest means of
river and rail transportation. ..."<br>
</blockquote>
Prof. Schulten has posted a number of articles within this series:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/susan-schulten/">http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/susan-schulten/</a> . Also
recommended is the companion website to her last book, <u>Mapping
the Nation: History and Cartography in Nineteenth Century America</u>:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.mappingthenation.com/">http://www.mappingthenation.com/</a> .<br>
<blockquote><br>
Joel Kovarsky<br>
</blockquote>
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