Atlas of Westward Expansion

Covers land purchases

The excellent clarity of the maps in this volume is supplemented by well-written historical text, resulting in an outstanding effort to condense some 150 years of diplomatic, military, racial, and social events into a clear picture of the expansion of our country from the Alleghenies to the Pacific. Told with lucidity, the story is brought forward to the beginning of the twentieth century, the Indian Territory and Oklahoma land openings being the highlight of its first decade.

In addition to nearly 100 part-page and full-page maps throughout, there are several contemporary photographs, such as one of Kit Carson and an 1860 photo of men working in the Comstock Mine. There are also original pen-and-ink drawings of objects that formed a part of everyday life for both Indian and whites, such as a Blackfoot bow and arrow, a gentleman's beaver hat, and a gold-digger's shovel. Side boxes contain interesting information, not necessarily connected with the adjoining text. One box is about the famous Army Camel Brigade, begun by Jefferson Davis, while another covers the misfortunes of the Donner party.

Supplementing the text are two appendixes, a three-page bibliography, and an index of names and subjects. Appendix A is a listing of the states as they entered the Union, either as states or territories. Appendix B is a year-by-year summary of the principal events from 1750 to 1917 that affected westward expansion. There are some minor inaccuracies in this chronology. It was not in 1825, but 1826, that Jedediah Smith made his remarkable journey from northern Utah to California, the first American to enter it overland from the states. And it was in 1827, not 1826^-37, that he made his second trip--1837 is obviously a typographical error.

Much of the historical narrative in this volume may also be found in standard texts, but seldom has there been, in our stories of "how the West was won," so happy a combination of fine maps with such clear, easy-to-read text. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.