Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.
~John F. Kennedy
online
resources
Especially for Teachers...
Atlantic World: The Dutch in America, The - (International) Learn about Dutch involvement in the exploration and settlement of North America. This collection includes a variety of maps This collection includes a variety of maps.
Atlas sive Cosmographicae - (Rare Books) Browse the pages of Mercator's 1595 atlas which includes 107 colored maps.
Battle of the Bulge: Interactive Essay, The - (Special Presentation) This unique presentation uses U.S. Army situation maps to illustrate this famous WWII battle. Your students will enjoy the interactivity and the historical expertise shared by Library of Congress curators.
Country Profiles - (International) Link to information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security.
Country Studies - (International) Click on a continent to locate online versions of country handbooks published as part of the Country Study/Area Handbook series.
Exploring the Early Americas: The Jay I. Kislak Collection - (Exhibition) This exhibition examines indigenous cultures, the drama of the encounters between Native Americans and Europeans, and the changes caused by the meeting of the two worlds. Rare maps are featured throughout the exhibition.
France in America - (International) This collaborative digital library explores the history of the French presence in North America from the first decades of the 16th century to the end of the 19th century.
Search this collection using the term "maps".
Guide to Washington, D.C., A - (Library of Congress Bibliography) This guide consists of materials relating to the history of Washington, D.C. from the Library of Congress sites and other related web sites. Maps are featured in this section.
Historial Paralelas: Parallel Histories - (International) Examine the history of Spanish expansion into North America in this international multimedia portal. Search this collection using the term "maps."
History of Mapping the Civil War - (Special Presentation) This article was reproduced from the book - Civil War Maps: An Annotated List of Maps and Atlases in the Library of Congress - compiled by Richard W. Stephens.
Immigration - (Feature) Observe the building of a nation. Click the globe for each ethnic group for a map of migration across the United States.
Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894 - (Special Presentation) Locate maps and tables by date, tribe and state/territory in this Century of Lawmaking presentation of United States Serial Set, Number 4015.
Language of the Land: Journeys Into Literary America - (Exhibition) This exhibition offers an excursion into American literature through literary maps, photographs and quotations from works by American authors.
Los Angeles Mapped - (Exhibition) Examine maps as a guide to Los Angeles history.
Mapping the National Parks - (Special Presentation) View the special presentations on Acadia, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone National Parks.
Mapping the West - (Exhibition) This animated presentation shows the routes of various expeditions from Lewis and Clark to the 1850s railroad surveys.
Maps in Our Lives - (Exhibition) The maps in this exhibition explore surveying, cartography, geodesy, and geographic information systems.
Meeting of the Frontiers - (International) This collaborative collection explores the comparative history of Russian expansion, American expansion westward, and the meeting of the Russian-America frontier in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. A variety of maps are highlighted throughout the site.
Places in the News - (Special Presentation) Link to maps related to current events. Explore the Archives for previous maps.
Portals to the World - (International) Use these online resources to locate information about world nations.
Rivers, Edens, Empires - (Exhibition) This online exhibition and virtual tour feature Lewis and Clark maps and other resources documenting westward exploration.
Waldseemuller 1507 Map of the World - (Special Presentation) This was the first map to depict a separate Western Hemisphere, with the Pacific as a separate ocean. It was the first known document to name America.
Zoom Into Maps - (Learning Page Activity) Using historic maps from the Library of Congress, help students understand what maps can tell us.
Use these lesson plans (created
by educators for educators) to explore various maps and their uses
with your students in your classroom:
Mapping My Spot in History - (Grades 6-8) Students create the history of their town to share with future generations. Students place themselves on the map in a literal as well as figurative sense, by producing portions of an updated version of an early twentieth century panoramic map from the American Memory collections.
Sea Changes: A Study of a New England Industry - (Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12,) Students study photographs, maps and interviews with two New England fishermen of the early 20th century, construct "found poetry", and research in Thomas to understand legislation restricting the fishing industry. Activity two features map analysis skills.
Drake’s West Indian Voyage 1588-1589 - (Grades 6-8,) Students investigate maps depicting a voyage by Sir Francis Drake involving attacks on Spanish settlements around the Atlantic. Students look closely at the details and draw conclusions about individual events as well as the entire voyage.
Waldseemuller’s Map: World 1507 - (Grades 6-8,) Students investigate this historic map by looking closely at the details of each section of the map and then draw conclusions on the revelation of this new and unusual world to the people of 1507.
Twain's Hannibal - (Grades 9-12) Using both primary source documents and print materials, students analyze life around Hannibal, Missouri, during the latter half of the 19th century to determine what effects this location had on the writings of Mark Twain. In Lesson One: Analysis of Primary Resources, students analyze panoramic maps. Lesson Two: Searching the American Memory Collection directs students to maps of Hannibal, MO for analysis.
Artifact Road Show - (Grades 3-5) Students act as historians, analyzing different artifacts. The lesson for Grade 4 – Linking Rare Finds examines the Nashua River. The lesson for Grade 6 – Turning Points is a lesson entirely based around students becoming cartographers and analyzing maps.
Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal - (Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8) Students trace Marco Paul’s 1840s journey through the Erie Canal. In the Chapter 1: Planning lesson, students trace the route and modes of transportation taken by Marco and Forester from New York City to Schenectady.
All History is Local - (Grades 9-12) Creating an archive of primary source materials constitutes the principal activity of a year-long American Studies class focusing on historiography and the use of primary sources. Maps are one of many types of primary sources used to explore local history.
Around the World in 1896 - (Grades 6-9) Students role-play the experiences of members of the World's Transportation Commission on their travels in 1896. Their itineraries are plotted and followed on world map, based on locales to visit and methods of transportation available at the time.
Explorations - (Grades 8-12) Students are introduced to historical perspectives of nature and the environment. In The Photographer, the Artist, and Yellowstone Park step 5, students use a special presentation from the Mapping the National Parks collection to research the creation Yellowstone National Park.
Is there
a title (or two) that you always read to (or with) your students
when teaching about United States maps? Are there invaluable reference
books that you use when working with this theme? Staff from The
Library of Congress have generously donated favorite titles
for the maps theme. We hope you will contribute
your favorite titles to our growing bibliography!
Civil War Maps - (Summary and Teaching Resources) This collection of more than 2,300 items provides students an opportunity to study the Civil War era through cartographic data.
France in America - (Summary and Teaching Resources) This collaborative digital library explores the history of the French presence in North America from the first decades of the 16th century to the end of the 19th century.
Hotchkiss Map Collection - (Summary Only) View maps made by Major Jedediah Hotchkiss (1828-1899), a topographic engineer in the Confederate Army. The collection also includes post-war maps about railroads, minerals and mining, geology and history.
Rochambeau Map Collection - (Summary Only) The maps in this collection cover much of eastern North America, and date from 1717 to 1795.
