The United States and Great Britain established in 1818 joint claim over the Oregon Territory - the region north of Spanish controlled Upper California up to the southern boundary of Russia's Alaska Territory at North latitude 54°40'. By the late 1830's this arrangement was beginning to fall apart. In the 1840's the expansionist Democrats, including their 1844 presidential candidate, James Polk, claimed the entire region for the United States. Their expansionist desires were expressed by Polk's famous campaign slogan, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" The slogan also became a rally cry for Americans desiring to settle the territory. Following Polk's election, the dispute was resolved by the 1846 Treaty of Oregon, which struck a compromise that fixed the U.S./Canadian boundary at 49º North.

This great school atlas map has early territorial borders in the West and features the Independent Republic of Texas with Austin shown as the capital. The Oregon Territory covers the northwest and extends well into Canada. The huge Indian Territory lies north of Texas and extends to the Missouri Territory, which in turn goes to the Canadian border. Iowa Territory is in a rare configuration, stretching from the state of Missouri to Canada and bounded east and west by the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Stretching from the panhandle of Texas up through Indian Territory is the huge Great American Desert. The population is annotated for the states and Texas. The large inset at lower left is a detailed "Map of Mexico and Guatemala" and also shows the Republic of Texas, and details the Spanish holdings in North America.

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Condition: B+

Original color with very light soiling and professionally repaired centerfold separations confined to the top and bottom blank margins. Very nearly an "A" example.