#war of 1848

Alexander Von Bensa (Austrian, 1820–1902)

“A new map of Texas, Oregon, and California,” 1846 

Commercial mapmakers became active during the 19th century, as printing technology advanced and public interest mounted in world affairs. S. Augustus Mitchell’s pocket map, published in 1846, depicted the Southwest when much of it was under Mexican control. This popular map showed the new state of Texas and the disputed territories of Oregon, Upper California, Missouri, and Oklahoma (including most of Kansas and Colorado). 

To make this map, Mitchell compiled maps of Fremont, Emory, Wilkes, and Nicollet, and made use of data from the Louis & Clark expedition. Brigham Young famously ordered six copies of this map when planning the 1847 Mormon migration west. A 46-page “Accompaniment to Mitchell’s New Map of Texas, Oregon and California” included some of the best contemporary descriptions of Oregon and California.

The popularity of the map both reflected and also intensified the American public’s interest in “Manifest Destiny” -- the idea that the USA’s destiny was to spread across North America from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans. By inflaming public and political opinion on this topic during the Mexican-American war, this proved to be one of the most important maps in American history.