Exploring the West

The text that accompanies this 1822 map, from the first U.S. atlas to provide separate maps of the various states and territories, openly discusses the removal of Cherokees from their residence east of the Mississippi and their resettlement in Arkansas Territory, later Oklahoma. The publishers, Carey & Lea, acknowledge "the politeness of Major [Stephen H.] Long, of the Corps of Engineers, for the use of his Manuscript map of the Western Territories, constructed from surveys made in his last expedition to that country, under the direction of the department of War." Major Long is best known for designating the Great Plains region as the "Great Desert" on this map; some scholars think this designation alone had a very powerful negative effect on the settlement of this area.

Long's map was first published, not as a government document, but in a profit-making commercial atlas with wide popular distribution. The map emphasized political boundaries with strong color, but careful examination reveals geological formation boundaries, Spanish and Indian trails, explorers' routes, and tribal boundaries imposed by the federal government.

The text openly discusses the removal of Cherokees from east of the Mississippi and their settlement in Arkansas Territory, later Oklahoma. A Christian mission was established to "teach them the arts of civilized life, and to instruct them in Christianity." As the Cherokees had previously adopted a "civilized life," with permanent villages, agricultural economy, a written language, etc., one wonders what else they evidently needed to learn.

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