1853 A New Map of the United States of America
DESCRIPTION
A unique edition of a detailed map of the United States by J. H. Young, published in Philadelphia by Cowperthwait, Silver & Butler in 1853. Filled with rich commentary and geographic notes, it captures the nation at a pivotal moment after the Mexican–American War and the discovery of gold in California, but just before the upheaval of the Civil War.
The eastern half shows the mature infrastructure of the older states, with dense networks of railroads, canals, and rivers linking major cities across the Atlantic seaboard, the Great Lakes region, and the Mississippi Valley. In contrast, the western territories appear far more open, dominated by large administrative regions filled with indigenous tribes, crossed with routes of previous explorers, wagon trails, and proposed trans-continental railroad routes.
Western Exploration and Geographic Notes
In this particular edition of J.H. Young's map of America, the west contains several fascinating annotations describing the landscape and the knowledge available to American geographers at the time.
In the northern Rocky Mountain region near present day Wyoming appears the note “VOLCANIC REGION About 100 sq. m. in a state of eruption,” an early reference to the geothermal area now known as Yellowstone, decades before the creation of the national park. Farther east the map identifies “The Bad Lands, a Region abounding in Fossils,” referencing the rugged fossil rich formations of the northern plains.
Native American tribal territories are identified throughout the plains and mountain regions, including areas associated with the Pawnees, Sioux, and Blackfeet. Military forts and frontier outposts also appear along major travel corridors, illustrating the expanding presence of the United States Army across the western frontier.
Inset maps add further interest, including a detailed “Gold Region of California” highlighting the mining districts of the Sierra Nevada and a small plan of Washington City in the District of Columbia.
Geographic Context: The United States in 1853–1854
The territorial geography places the map firmly in the 1853–1854 period. Washington Territory appears in the far northwest, created in 1853, while the vast region west of Missouri is labeled Nebraska Territory without the separate designation of Kansas Territory. Because the Kansas–Nebraska Act of May 30, 1854 divided this region into two territories, the geography shown here predates that change and preserves the political landscape of the United States on the eve of that important reorganization of the American West.
CONDITION
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