1847 Mitchell / Young Map of the United States

This is the only known example of the 1847 edition of S. A. Mitchell and J. H. Young's important large-scale wall map of the United States. Issued at the end of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1847), the map reflects new territorial acquisitions from the Treaty of Guadeloupe-Hidalgo, including Texas, New Mexico, California, and what would become Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Points of interest include ambiguity over the Texas-New Mexico border and the 54°40' dispute over U.S. claims in modern-day British Columbia.

A Closer Look

The primary map's coverage extends from the Sabine River to the Atlantic, and from the Great Lakes to Florida. There are multiple insets, including the northern part of Maine, and the vicinity of Niagara Falls, Washington D.C. and Baltimore, and Charleston. However, two of the insets are particularly worthy of note. The largest is a reduced version of Mitchell's seminal work A New Map of Texas Oregon and California, notable for many reasons, including a prominent depiction of Texas representing the post-1846 borders. To the left of this extraordinary work is a large inset map of southern Florida from Lake George to Key West.

A New Map of Texas Oregon and California

The large inset of the American West is in fact Mitchell's seminal A New Map of Texas Oregon and California with the Regions adjoining, first published separately in 1846. Considered to be 'the quintessential trail map of the American West', its inclusion of this stunning wall map makes the piece even more extraordinary. The importance of this map in the history of the American westward expansion cannot be understated. When Brigham Young and the Mormons set out to settle Utah, he famously ordered 6 copies. In fact, one example in the collections of Brigham Young University bears a manuscript annotation identifying Mormon settlements in Utah, making it the first known map to do so. However, it was not only Mormon emigres who took advantage of Mitchell's work, it was simply the best map of the time for anyone planning the long trek westward and was consequently extremely popular. Mitchell's map offered the best published mapping of many of most important transcontinental routes, including the 'Oregon Trail' (up the Platte, across South Pass, and down the Snake to the Columbia), the Caravan Route to Santa Fe (from Jefferson City, roughly following the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers, the across modern day Kansas and Colorado to Santa Fe), and the Spanish Trail (from Santa Fe crossing the Rocky Mountains via Salina Canyon before following the Virgin and Mohave Rivers to Los Angeles). Also noted, though given less attention are several old trade routes extending from Louisiana through Texas and into Mexico.

Texas Borders

The borders of Texas were in dispute from the earliest days of the Texan Revolution. The Republic-claimed borders followed the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexican leader, Antonio López de Santa Anna. The treaties established an eastern boundary following the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain, which established the Sabine River as the eastern boundary of Spanish Texas and the western boundary of the Missouri Territory. The Republic's southern and western boundary with Mexico was more nuanced. Texas claimed the Rio Grande del Norte as its western and southernmost border, while Mexico argued for a boundary further east at the Nueces River. Still others pushed the border even more aggressively westward to include both the Rio Grande River and the entire Rio Grande Valley, including Santa Fe.

When Texas was annexed into the United States, the agreement followed the most aggressive boundary, thus absorbing Mexican-claimed territory, including Santa Fe. This escalated already existing tensions between the United States, the former Republic of Texas, and Mexico, ultimately triggering the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848).

After the war, the debate continued. Texas was dominated by American and European immigrants, who based their claims to New Mexico on old Spanish and Mexican land grants. Conversely, New Mexico - now a U.S. Territory - was primarily Hispanic with deep roots in the region and ties to Mexico. New Mexico Territory felt unrepresented by the Texas legislature and opposed all claims. The U.S. federal government was concerned about the dispute, as it raised issues of state versus territorial rights and the balance of power between slave and free states. Between these three groups, tensions were high, and there was the threat of another war. Nonetheless, the issues were worked out by the Compromise of 1850, setting the borders much as they are today.

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 Louis 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. This 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. England, on the other hand, argued for residual claims derived from the MacKenzie Expedition and its fur trading empires: The Northwest Company and the Hudson Bay Company. The Oregon Dispute, as it came to be known, became an ongoing geopolitical issue between the British Empire and the United States, especially after the War of 1812. Americans adopted the slogan '54-40 or Fight!' until the Oregon Question was finally resolved roughly along the current border by the 1846 Oregon Treaty.

Publication History and Census

Most examples of this map are copyrighted to 1833. It was most likely first released by S. A. Mitchel in 1834. It was subsequently regularly updated with editions in 1841 (Republic of Texas added), 1844 (w/ Republic of Texas), 1845 (with Texas' stovepipe configuration), 1846 (U.S. map replaced by Mitchell's pocket map of Texas, Oregon, and Upper California in which New Mexico is still part of Mexico), 1847 (as here, showing Texas-New Mexico border dispute), and 1849 (post Guadeloupe-Hidalgo borders). The map was engraved by J. H. Young, F. Dankworth, E. Yeager, and E. F. Woodward. The cartouche was engraved and designed by W. Mason. The 1847 edition is exceptionally rare. We do not see any other examples of the 1847 edition either in institutional collections or in market records.