The vast opportunities unfolding west of the Mississippi River are clearly evident in this magnificent map. Both the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail – called routes on this map – are recorded, as are the newly discovered Gold Fields in California. The Republic of Texas had become the 28th state, and Upper or New California had been added after the Mexican American War. The southern border of the United States was the Rio Grande and Gila Rivers in the southwest. This map dates from a very small window in time; the Gadsden Purchase added over 29,000 square miles – what is now southern Arizona – in 1853, just four years after this map was drawn.
The Oregon and Nebraska Territories comprise most of the northwest, and the ranges of many of the Native American tribes are noted. Transatlantic sailing routes are marked, as are the British Provinces that later became Canada. The confidence of the American Dream is reflected in the ornate decorative border, recording Willamette Falls and Lewis & Clark’s settlement on the Pacific coast at Astoria, Oregon as well as the cathedral in Mexico City. In the border’s lower right is the original capitol building in Washington - before the new dome was added during the civil war and the larger house and senate chambers were added to each end.
