1845 Meyer and Radefeld Map of the United States w/ Republic of Texas

This is an 1845 Joseph Meyer and Carl Radefeld map of the United States and a pre-annexation Republic of Texas leading up to the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848). The map additionally highlights border disputes between the United States and British Canada - the '54-40 or Fight' dispute and the Aroostook War. An index in the lower left identifies the Slave States, thus underscoring rising tensions between North and South. The map is also interesting for the term 'Fristaaten', a German word meaning 'Free States', not a common name for the United States, but one deep with meaning in Germany. 'Fristaaten' typically referred to German states, like Bavaria and Saxony, which were republics independent of monarchial rule. In the lead-up to the Revolutions of 1848, this term would have had great meaning for Meyer's German audience, setting up the United States as a republican ideal.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces the United States before the Mexican-American War, thus including the independent Republic of Texas and controversial British claims to Oregon and parts of Maine. Here, Texas's borders follow the Mexican convention of terminating at the Nueces River. A year later, the Republic-claimed borders adopted by the U.S. Annexation expanded Texas to the Rio Grande. In Oregon, the British Columbia border extends south to the Columbia River. Astoria is not named, although Fort Clatsop, built by Lewis and Clark, and the British-built Fort Vancouver are illustrated - giving this map a distinct pro-British flavor. Similarly, the Maine border is well south of the St. John River, following British claims.

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was a short-lived nation established in March 1836 when it seceded from Mexico. Following the independence of Mexico from Spain, the American Stephen Fuller Austin led a group of 300 Empresarios to settle in Texas near Austin, where they received a grant from the Mexican government. As more Americans moved to Texas, resentment and strife began to build between the American settlers and Mexican authorities. This and other factors ultimately led to the Texan Revolution in 1835 and the declaration of Texan independence in 1836. Texas remained an independent republic until it joined the United States ten years later in 1846.

54-40 or Fight! American Claims to British Columbia

Following the transcontinental crossing of North America by the British Northwest Company sponsored explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1792 - 1793), and the American expedition of Lewis and Clark up the Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia River (1804 - 1806), it became apparent that control of the fur and resource-rich Pacific Northwest would bring wealth and power to whoever could assert sovereignty. The American tycoon John Jacob Astor, with the permission of President Thomas Jefferson, was the first to attempt a permanent trading colony in the region, founding Astoria on the Columbia River in 1811. Astoria's founding led to a confrontation with the established British-Canadian Northwest Company. Americans in the 1820s through the 1840s argued that most of the Pacific Northwest should be part of the United States as a legacy of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. On the other hand, England argued for residual claims derived from the MacKenzie Expedition and its fur trading empires: the Northwest Company and the Hudson Bay Company. According to treaties signed in the early 19th century, Americans and British had equal access to the rich lands of the Pacific Northwest. However, due to their control of John Jacob Astor's former trading post at Fort Astoria and an overwhelming presence in British Columbia, regional dominance generally fell to the British Hudson Bay Company - which often militantly opposed the presence of American fur traders and settlers. Nonetheless, American settlers did begin to penetrate the region in increasing numbers. Tensions resolved into the '54-40 or Fight' dispute in which American interests, championed by Senator Lewis Linn, advocated for a border at 54° 40' N, far north of its present location. The British, by contrast, argued for a more southerly border at the Columbia River. Diplomats on both sides fielded numerous proposals and counteroffers. The Oregon Dispute, as it came to be known, became an important geopolitical issue between the British Empire and the United States, especially after the War of 1812. Americans adopted the slogan '54-40 or Figh ' until the Oregon Question was finally resolved roughly along the current border by the 1846 Oregon Treaty.

The Aroostook War and the Webster-Ashburton Treaty

The Webster-Ashburton Treaty ended the nearly bloodless Aroostook War (Pork and Beans War), fixing the border between Maine and British Canada. The dispute over 13,000 square miles of land between modern-day Quebec and New Brunswick erupted over logging rights. This war between British colonies in Canada and American forces in Maine should more accurately be termed an international incident: there were no deaths or significant engagements, but two Canadian militiamen were injured, and several British were taken prisoner. The treaty, signed by U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British diplomat Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, in August 1842, gave the United States over half of the disputed territory.

Slavery in the United States

26 states are labeled using Roman numerals and correspond with an index in the lower left corner. In this index, states are divided into New England, Middle States, States of the South, States on the Ohio, and States West of the Mississippi. Five districts (4 named after Native American tribes) are listed along the bottom of the index and are identified. However, none have defined borders.

Intriguingly, in the sections 'States on the Ohio' and 'States West of the Mississippi,' slave states Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas are separated, underscoring the strangeness of slavery to Europeans. By the time this map was created, over 20 countries had signed treaties committing to abolishing the international slave trade. Britain abolished slavery in 1834, and France followed in 1848. In contrast, slavery in the United States was growing.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Carl Radefeld and published by Joseph Meyer in his signature publication, the Grosser Hand-Atlas. This map is well represented in institutional collections.