Power Point Maps & Boundary Details (to supplement the History Channel video) prepared and compiled by Max Beauregard based upon the book by Mark Stein Original maps courtesy of Perry Castaneda Library, University of Texas at Austin and U.S. Bureau of Census
This Powerpoint supplements the book and online video series (90 minute hotlinks), How the States Got their Shapes How the States got their Shape, 10 parts of 10minutes each http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbuutrgxmok http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikstf4ke5ho http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhrglmql4qa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrnqjua7egk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0abngmrnys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyfp6yvwx8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt8q0p5g-wa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjoooidynyc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfsbt6zlyfi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46iccrvp7om
Geography classes have typically focused on merely recognizing the form of the states, rather than understanding the numerous geo-political reasons why the boundaries developed as they have. The audience for Mark Stein s book are families who study a road atlas in their car as they travel across the country on vacation. His research is to answer general, historical questions about the States Shape, rather than detailed legal technicalities. This series of original and recreated maps by Max Beauregard displays land acquisitions and the Congressional negotiations that created the boundaries and geography for states as they were admitted. Once admitted, boundaries could no longer be adjusted. This has current ramifications for a dispute between TN & GA over water rights.
Geography is largely dependent on the visual ability to recognize the form of the area under study, particularly peripheral boundaries of a state or country. The shape of a country is its primary method of identification, and therefore this recognition is very important part of the study, so much as the elementary childhood matching capabilities of basic shapes and colors.
Failure to accomplish this basic task of shape identification of country boundaries will be devastating to your understanding, communicating, and succeeding with geographic principles. This ability to observe and distinguish the shape / form of objects is a very important concept and skill!!
Such simple skill indicates a full understanding of the relationship of the central object to its surroundings. In geographic terms, it means recognizing a country and its neighbors.
Thus, visually identifying and labeling countries and boundaries from a blank map is an important element of geographic studies. We will learn map reading and the major countries of the world. You have to learn the states of the US and major countries of the world!
Factors that determine the geographic form and boundaries for the states: Natural features such as rivers, lakes, and mountains Political objectives of the governing body (Congress vs. the British Government) Access, proximity, and discovery of economic resources, such as gold and mineral resources Social, cultural, religious groups that define a population by clustering it together, or by attempts to isolate them By using convenient and standard geographic measurement systems, i.e. graticules and parallels The Article 4 of the Constitution insured that all states were treated and created equally. It also provides for the admission of new states and the changing of state boundaries.
Boundaries for the original 13 Colonies were created by the British government, prior to the Revolutionary War in 1776.
Yet limited surveying expertise left Colonial boundaries relatively undefined.
The Congressional objective in configuring the state boundaries after 1776 was based upon equality. Any inequities in state size were balanced politically with the bicameral chambers of Congress: 2 Senators for each state (independently of geographic size); and with the House of Representatives, members were proportionally assigned based upon state population size. The first Census was conducted in 1790, specifically to enumerate the population and allocate members to Congress based upon a ratio, thus enacting the one man/one vote concept. Thomas Jefferson proposed states of similar size, ideally 2 degrees in height and 3 degrees in width. Rhode Island was created as a haven for religious tolerance, fully separated from Massachusetts.
Original 13 colonies were defined by the land east of the Appalachian Mts. 1775 Spain Appalachian Mts. were a natural border for the 13 Colonies.
New Jersey, one of the three original 13 Colonies.
Jersey is part of the 3 Channel Islands, located in the English Channel near France. Home to Henry Cavill, film star of Man of Steel.
Statehood Admission Timeline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_u.s._states_by_date_of_statehood Orig 13 Year Month Date State 1 1787 Dec 7 Delaware 2 1787 Dec 12 Pennsylvania 3 1787 Dec 18 New Jersey 4 1788 Apr 28 Maryland 5 1788 Feb 6 Massachusetts 6 1788 Jan 2 Georgia 7 1788 Jan 9 Connecticut 8 1788 Jul 26 New York 9 1788 Jun 21 New Hampshire 10 1788 Jun 25 Virginia 11 1788 May 23 South Carolina 12 1789 Nov 21 North Carolina 13 1790 May 29 Rhode Island 1791 Mar 4 Vermont 1792 Jun 1 Kentucky 1796 Jun 1 Tennessee 1803 Mar 1 Ohio 1812 Apr 30 Louisiana 1816 Dec 11 Indiana 1817 Dec 10 Mississippi 1818 Dec 3 Illinois 1819 Dec 14 Alabama 1820 Mar 15 Maine 1821 Aug 10 Missouri Year Month Date State 1836 Jun 15 Arkansas 1837 Jan 26 Michigan 1845 Dec 29 Texas 1845 Mar 3 Florida 1846 Dec 28 Iowa 1848 May 29 Wisconsin 1850 Sep 9 California 1858 May 11 Minnesota 1859 Feb 14 Oregon 1861 Jan 29 Kansas 1863 Jun 20 West Virginia 1864 Oct 31 Nevada 1867 Mar 1 Nebraska 1876 Aug 1 Colorado 1889 Nov 2 South Dakota 1889 Nov 2 North Dakota 1889 Nov 8 Montana 1889 Nov 11 Washington 1890 Jul 3 Idaho 1890 Jul 10 Wyoming 1896 Jan 4 Utah 1907 Nov 16 Oklahoma 1912 Feb 14 Arizona 1912 Jan 6 New Mexico 1959 Aug 21 Hawaii 1959 Jan 3 Alaska
Westward expansion occurred very quickly. 1790
The Constitution specifically mandates the decennial Census from which redistricting of Congressional boundaries (and other districts) is balanced to insure that the one man/one vote concept is guaranteed as the population grows and relocates itself. Copy of an original 1790 Census form
The Constitution defines the apportionment of Congress and mandates the Census of population to gage that allocation.
Article I, Section 2 calls for the Census every 10 years to assign members to Congress. Originally, one Representative/ 30,000 people.
As the US population has moved west and south since the initial Census in 1790, so has the geographic center of the country, based upon a weighted average.
Population Centroids from Census 2000 for each State define the location of the population mass within that state or county, similar to the national centroid.
Census 2000 Population Centroids for each Texas County
13 COLONIES
NY & PA
1783-1803 Appalachian Mountains were a physical barrier and therefore a natural boundary to westward settlement.
Additional states were created after the Revolution by Congress by dividing some of the original colonies.
New states created from the land N. of the Ohio R. and E. of the Mississippi R. were all given important trade access to the Great Lakes. Michigan Territory Indiana Territory Ohio Territory
Construction of the Erie Canal linked Lake Erie and Buffalo NY with Albany NY on the Hudson R., and ultimately NYC. This vital trade link demonstrated the importance of waterways with trade access via the Lakes and resulted in a policy whereby as many states were granted lake access as possible. NYC
The success of the Canal made Congress aware of the importance of trade access on the Great Lakes to the states, so as new state boundaries were configured, they deliberately chose to give as many states access to the Lakes as possible. The Article 4 of the Constitution insured that all states were treated and created equally. It also provides for the admission of new states and the changing of state boundaries.
Important access to the lakes was granted to as many states as possible.
Detroit is the only U.S. city N. of Canada Michigan was granted the Upper Peninsula in exchange for locating Toledo in OH. Upper Peninsula The Mitten
Michigan boundary is stepped to give lake access to both Toledo, OH and Gary, IN. MICHIGAN INDIANA OHIO
Detroit is the only US city that is north of Canada. MICHIGAN OHIO
MICHIGAN INDIANA OHIO
1800
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the proslavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36 30' north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. Prior to the agreement, the House of Representatives had refused to accept this compromise and a conference committee was appointed. The United States Senate refused to concur in the amendment, and the whole measure was lost.
1820 36 0 30 Missouri was admitted conditionally as a slave state, but no other states north of its southern boundary, 36 0 30 were allowed. Texas original boundary as part of the Louisiana Purchase extended as far north as current Wyoming, but was sold and cropped upon entry to pay off war debts.
1820 Creation of same-sized, near-mirror images for MS in 1817 & AL in 1819 from the Mississippi Territory included a Panhandle for each state, with port access to the Gulf Coast.
Panhandles with access to the gulf coast were created for MS & AL to balance their economic opportunity relative to the other states.
1830 Mississippi R.
1840 Mississippi R. West boundary of Michigan had been the Mississippi R. until Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa were created 20 yrs later in 1848 & 1849. The boundary was shifted from the river to give the new state Minnesota access to Lake Superior.
1849 Minnesota gains access to Lake Superior by shifting the boundary from the Mississippi R. 1845 Texas Admission to US
Mississippi River was abandoned as the boundary in 1849 so Minnesota could have access to Lake Superior. MINNESOTA WISCONSIN
Major Land Acquisitions 1867 & Westward Expansion British 1846 Spanish 1848 French Louisiana Purchase 1803 1853 Mexico Texas 1845 1845
Northwest Angle is a portion of the US physically separated by Lake of the Woods MN 1858 MI WI
US Border Northwest Angle is a portion of the US physically separated by Lake of the Woods
Numerous irregularities exist in state boundaries due to the political muscle of land owners when the state boundaries were established. Delaware was the first state admitted to the Union.
Mason-Dixon Line defined the states of the North & South during the Civil War of the 1860s
Missouri boot heel Numerous irregularities exist in state boundaries. PANHANDLES (required by Congress) gave MS & AL direct access to the gulf coast in an attempt for fairness regarding economic development.
An Inaccurate Surveying Error of 1 mile could alter water rights access to the Tennessee River in 2007. (see Online video) Tennessee 1 mile Alabama Georgia
New GPS survey techniques have found the original boundary between NC & SC is off by 150 because of surveying errors that occurred during the original establishment of state boundaries in 1788. North Carolina South Carolina South Carolina
A car coming from North Carolina turns into the Lake Wylie Minimart in Lake Wylie, S.C. on March 21, 2012. The store's owner thought his business was in South Carolina, but recent surveyors have determined it is actually in North Carolina, meaning his gas prices will likely go up 30 cents and he can't sell fireworks. Photo: Jeffrey Collins / AP
1803-1810
1810-1835
1835-1855
After 1855
Texas (purple line) was annexed in 1845, but because of the Missouri Compromise, no slave states were allowed admittance with territory above the 36 o 30 parallel. Thus, Texas was cropped at its current Panhandle. California demanded an early admission with the discovery of gold in 1850. 1850 1849 MN
Mexico in 1835 included Republic of Texas Texas and California until 1850.
Discovery of gold in California in 1848 was a catalyst for growth and westward expansion. CA applied for statehood almost immediately afterwards.
1860
1870
1880
1900
1907 Forced migration of Indians American Indians /Native Americans were driven from North Carolina during the Admin of Pres. Andrew Jackson and thousands were massacred during the Trails of Tears forced migration to Indiana and Arkansas. However, Indiana quickly rejected them and they were again forced to migrate to Oklahoma or Indian Territory. OK was admitted in 1907 and its Panhandle resulted from the difference of land between Texas at 36 o 30 and KS southern boundary at 37 o.
1920
Missouri Compromise prohibited slaves state extending beyond 36 o 30, so Texas was forced to crop its northern boundary from 37 o back to 36 o 30
OK Panhandle was created by the difference in 37 o & 36 o 30 parallels
4 plains states were defined in height using 3 o parallels.
4 o parallels of height defined the mountain states
States Uniformly Partitioned at 7 Degree Meridians
4 Corners
4 Corners Grid overlaid independently of the natural topography as railroads expanded.
4 Corners Monument
Sections are the land surveying pattern that subdivide land into gridded squares. This became the standard for land platting on the flatlands of the west.
AK & HI were admitted in 1959 with great resentment and confusion by the public because of their detached locations. AK HI
US Population Density by County, 2000