Whats in a Map?

Map of California - 1650

1. In this particular map, we can see that what was then considered California is portrayed as a massive island, detached from the western coast of America. The map is laid out in a grid pattern with some sort of measuring device in the bottom left corner of the map. One thing that caught my attention was the fact that the further north you went on the map, the less writing and detail there was. This leads me to believe that the cartographers focused more on the southern parts of this area. On what would be the mainland of this map, there are a lot of mountainous regions. This could possibly be the cartographer’s interpretation of the Rocky Mountain range. From what I can tell it also appears that the map is written in Latin.

2. From what this map shows there are a lot of things it portrays about America at this time period. For example, seeing as how 'California' is completely detached from the continental America, this tells us that there was a lot left unknown and unfound. The cartographers at this time had an enormous job to handle in the new world. Everything they found and mapped out had never been cataloged before. Because of this there were mistakes made and fairly significant ones at that. This map tells of how unknown everything was at that time and how the Europeans portrayed America at the time.

3. In Valerie Babb’s article, Crafting Whiteness in America, she states, “What this map displays is a land that is not yet English, one still the domain of its native peoples.” This directly relates to the map that I have chosen to analyze. The reason for this is because there is no depiction of any English or European influence other than the Latin words used for labeling.

What's in a Word?

From Martin Van Buren to Richard Nixon, there are many similarities between what is being said in the Inaugural Addresses. By examining what words have been used and how frequently, we can see what was important during a specific time in American history.

Words such as 'freedom,' 'nation,' and 'people' have always been commonplace throughout the history of presidential speeches. John Quincy Adams uses the word ‘government’ 22 times in his address while President Obama uses ‘nation’ 15 times. Similarities such as these show us the American ideals that we find important. Having a strong and great nation and a government by and for the people are basic American standards that have not faded in our short history as a country.

By examining the differences in wordage throughout the history of presidential speeches, we can see what the key issues of each of the presidencies have been. For example, in President Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural speech he uses the word ‘slave’ 8 times, that is more than any other president. It makes sense since the civil war was in full effect and the entire nation was fighting each other over the importance of that very word.