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US Territorial Expansion: 200 years mapped with d3/HTML5
- wallawe 14y agoThanks for this, extremely cool. I feel like I just relearned a lot of things I had forgotten/skipped out on in grade school.
- coderdude 14y agoApril of 1803 was a big month for the US. From Wikipedia: > The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America in 1803 of 828,000 square miles for a total sum of 15 million dollars (less than 3 cents per acre) for the Louisiana territory ($233 million in 2011 dollars, less than 42 cents per acre). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase
- a-priori 14y agoLouisiana was purchased from France during the Napoleonic Wars. Napolean used the money to fund an army that he amassed on the north coast of France for a planned invasion of England. But he never launched the invasion, and the money was wasted. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_planned_invasion_of_the_United_Kingdom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_planned_invasion_o...
- philwelch 14y agoIt should be pointed out that the loss of Haiti to a slave revolt led Napoleon to believe that the Western Hemisphere was a bad investment. That was the other major impetus.
- flexie 14y agoWell done!
- mindstab 14y ago:/ One of Britain/the UK might be more interesting. Also, where's Alaska?
- YoukaiCountry 14y agoIn the lower left.
- cvrajeesh 14y agoUI looks great, except the default scroll-bar on the "Highlight Changes" section.
- iscis 14y agoJuly of 1868 is a little jacked up, shows up more than once.
- tokenadult 14y agoMore than one event happened in July 1868. For onlookers who would like a wall map that shows many of these territorial changes, the United States Geological Survey map UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PUBLIC LAND SURVEYS, https://store.usgs.gov/yimages/PDF/101208.pdf https://store.usgs.gov/yimages/PDF/101208.pdf http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/catalog/query/(xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&layout=6_1_61_48&uiarea=2&ctype=areaDetails&carea=%24ROOT)/.do?lastVisited=areaDetails&query=public+land+surveys http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/catalog/query/(xcm=r3standard... may be of interest. The usability of the federal government online map store leaves a LOT to be desired, but I have successfully ordered a copy of this map just a few months ago, and it looks gorgeous on a sufficiently large wall. (I first saw this in person at a map store in DC, back in the 1980s, and my previous copy of the map was tattered, so I ordered a fresh copy this year.)
- jbattle 14y agoWould be interesting to see a view including territories and possessions
- arscan 14y agoVery cool. Personally I find animated maps to be the easiest way to digest this kind of data (like the animation of nuclear testing[1] or walmart proliferation[2]). Looks like it would only take a few lines of javascript to accomplish this kind of "flipbook" animation. Just a thought -- great job regardless. [1] http://www.ctbto.org/specials/1945-1998-by-isao-hashimoto/ http://www.ctbto.org/specials/1945-1998-by-isao-hashimoto/ [2] http://blog.kiwitobes.com/?p=51 http://blog.kiwitobes.com/?p=51
- joejohnson 14y agoWow, I was not aware the French tested nuclear weapons in Africa.
- corford 14y agoFrom the first link, it was fascinating watching the rapidly increasing number of tests through the sixties to the late eighties and then the sudden drop to almost nothing shortly after 1990. Really highlights how abrupt the end to the cold war was (and how scary it must have been for those in the know while it was going on!).
- _delirium 14y agoHere's an animated-gif version of the American territorial changes map, found on Reddit: http://i.imgur.com/5wZX0.gif http://i.imgur.com/5wZX0.gif It's just the maps in the Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_Un...) turned into a flipbook animation, as you suggest.
- eric-hu 14y agoThis will give you a basic animation. Click on the first frame to expand that map, then enter this into your browser Javascript console to make it animate: a = function(){$('#next').click();b()}; b = function(){setTimeout(a,500);}; b() Or as a one liner: a = function(){$('#next').click();b()};b = function(){setTimeout(a,500);};b()
- drewda 14y agoIt really depends. Experiments comparing the effects of animated maps and "small multiples" are mixed: "We found that map readers answer more quickly and identify more patterns correctly when using animated maps than when using static small-multiple maps. We also found that pace and cluster coherence interact so that different paces are more effective for identifying certain types of clusters (none vs. subtle vs. strong)."[1] "In cases where animated graphics seem superior to static ones, scrutiny reveals lack of equivalence between animated and static graphics in content or procedures; the animated graphics convey more information or involve interactivity. Animations of events may be ineffective because animations violate the second principle of good graphics, the Apprehension Principle, according to which graphics should be accurately perceived and appropriately conceived. Animations are often too complex or too fast to be accurately perceived." [2] [1] http://www.geogra.uah.es/patxi/griffin06_mapas_animados.pdf http://www.geogra.uah.es/patxi/griffin06_mapas_animados.pdf [2] http://web.cs.dal.ca/~sbrooks/csci4166-6406/seminars/readings/Tversky_AnimationFacilitate_IJHCS02.pdf http://web.cs.dal.ca/~sbrooks/csci4166-6406/seminars/reading...
- _delirium 14y agoIt's in the About/Credits (which I initially missed), but fwiw, the source of all the text and dates here is the following Wikipedia article (which in turn cites "proper" sources, if you're curious about details): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_Un...
- shawndumas 14y agoThis I did not Know: "In July 1777 delegates from 28 towns met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York. They also abolished slavery within their boundaries." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Republic
- jackfoxy 14y agoFirst state to outlaw slavery...sorta. Massachusetts de facto outlawed slavery by a court decision in 1781 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Massachusetts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Massachus... , before peace was settled with the British in the Revolutionary War, and it was one of the original 13 states. Vermont was the first state to join the union after the original 13. In 1777 the British controlled Manhattan and Long Island, with the Americans controlling the upper Hudson, and it stayed that way for the rest of the war. So politically New York must have been in turmoil, easing the way for Vermont's secession.
- jlgreco 14y agoDoes anybody know what the deal is with that top sliver of Texas?
- boredguy8 14y agoTexas wanted to be admitted to the union as a slave state. But the Missouri Compromise established the 36°30' parallel as the northern limit of slavery for new states. So Texas gave up its claim and the territory became "No Man's Land".
- rmc 14y agoFun fact, there's a patch of 20,000 km² of desert between Egypt and Sudan that neither country claims. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halaib_Triangle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halaib_Triangle ). It's essentially no-man's land, but for countries.
- grecy 14y agoThe purchase of Alaska in 1867 shows the panhandle as immediately being part of Alaska. This does not take into account the Alaska boundary dispute[1] which, although officially resolved in 1903, is still disputed by many Canadians. (Note: I live about an hour away from the "disputed" border) [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_boundary_dispute http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_boundary_dispute
- jt2190 14y ago> This does not take into account the Alaska boundary > dispute... which, although officially resolved in > 1903, is still disputed by many Canadians. Which "many Canadians" dispute this, exactly? The article you linked to doesn't even mention an ongoing dispute.
- grecy 14y agoThe many who live near the disputed border, like myself.
- akavi 14y agoNow that's holding a grudge. Irredentism is a peculiar human drive that I've never fully understood.
- grecy 14y ago> Now that's holding a grudge. I'm going to guess you've never been to the area I'm talking about. If you saw how beautiful it is, you'd understand. I spent two years driving from Alsaka to Argentina, so I've seen a lot of the Americas. I choose to live here (right near the border) because I honestly think it's the most amazing please I saw in all of the Americas.
- philwelch 14y agoSure, but it was legally settled a century ago. That's like people from Texas being angry that they're no longer an independent country.
- zoidb 14y agoGuam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Phillipines (after the spanish american war), Virgin Islands..
- adaml_623 14y agoIt'd be interesting to include the various military bases that America has around the place. Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia.
- caf 14y agoThe US doesn't have military bases in Australia. The closest things would be Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap and Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt. There's now 2500 US Marines on permanent rotation in Darwin but they are stationed at Robertson Barracks.
- hammock 14y agoI would like to see this with the faded background being black, or alternatively the entire continent of North America, as opposed to an outline of the US today. Sort of gives it away and distracts from viewing and appreciating the expansion.
- obituary_latte 14y agoIn the blown up view of a map, the tooltip goes underneath the year if the two meet. Chrome Version 22.0.1229.94 OSX http://i.imgur.com/nk0F9.png http://i.imgur.com/nk0F9.png
- hkmurakami 14y agoI'm personally really curious about the "other territories" that US has control over (overseas) as a result of wars and other political events. Examples [1]: * The Line Islands (? – 1979): Disputed claim with United Kingdom, all U.S. claims were ceded to Kiribati upon its independence in 1979. * The Panama Canal Zone (1903–1979): sovereignty was returned to Panama under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1978; the U.S. retained a military base there and actual control of the Canal until December 31, 1999. * The Corn Islands (1914–1971): leased for 99 years under the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty, but these were returned to Nicaragua upon the abrogation of the treaty in 1970. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_the_United_States#Classification_of_former_U.S._territories_and_administered_areas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_the_United_State...
- asmithmd1 14y agoDo you mean like Germany (52,000 troops), Japan (35,000 troops), and Korea (28,000 troops)
- aurelianito 14y agoIn my opinion Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq should also be considered.
- philwelch 14y agoOf those three countries, only one has US troops currently stationed there.
- philwelch 14y agoI think that's a little insulting to the Germans, Japanese, and Koreans, all of whom live in democracies which could kick out the Americans if they really wanted.
- rmc 14y agoSimilar, but for Europe (which has had much more border changes): * Maps every 100 years (0 → 2000) http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/index.html http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/index.html * http://historicalatlas.com/ http://historicalatlas.com/ Software and videos of border changes
- mimiflynn 14y agoIts beautiful! Great work, but I have one issue: "Mexico" in references to "New Mexico" is linked to "Mexico" as in "Old Mexico".
- mihaifm 14y agoAny idea how the maps themselves were created? Were they edited using some SVG editor like Inkscape ?
- poezn 14y agoThe maps were originally created as GIS Shapefiles and then exported as GeoJSON. D3 provides handy functions (d3.geo) to project GeoJSON files to reasonable looking maps. You can find all original assets (Creative Commons licensed) here: http://poezn.github.com/us-history-maps/ http://poezn.github.com/us-history-maps/
- badusername 14y agoThe legend should probably be open by default. It is kinda annoying to keep referring to it, and it hides away in two seconds :) I also agree that this kind of visualization is better served with having an animation, and an ability to select specific points in the timeline. I like the small multiples visualization, but the individual map view could be better. I'd also like to add that having the year show up on hover only is another pain-point. It should be rendered below each map as well.
- goodcanadian 14y agoAs a Canadian, I am a bit offended by the handling of the Oregon territory/Columbia District. It is marked as unclaimed when in fact, it was claimed by the British. Then, it is marked as US territory when it was, at best, disputed. I suppose the Treaty of 1818 made it "shared" territory (and to be fair, the explanatory text explains this), but I still find it misleading to label it as US territory. Finally, the territory was split with the Oregon Treaty to form the current border.
- pyre 14y agoThe animated GIF mentioned above probably is more correct: http://i.imgur.com/5wZX0.gif http://i.imgur.com/5wZX0.gif
- grannyg00se 14y agoHow is being Canadian of any particular relevance if the dispute was between the British and the US?
- eropple 14y agoPresumably because it would have been part of the British holding of Canada.
- jasonkolb 14y agoI thought this was going to be much more interesting and include the US occupation of foreign countries via military bases.
- billiam 14y agoTexas and Georgia were still not back in the Union in 1870?
- fourstar 14y agoI was at your talk @ Rocketspace. Thanks for sharing your stuff! For more cool D3 stuff from (the guy who wrote d3) check out his site: http://bost.ocks.org/mike/ http://bost.ocks.org/mike/
- shn 14y agoInteresting. I've been through first 10-15 maps, no mention of American Indians. Did I miss something. It mentions about other nations (British, Spanish, Russian) but no mention of Indian Nations.
- philwelch 14y agoThe Indian nations did resist white settlement, but their numbers were depleted, mostly by smallpox, to such an extent that they had no real chance of changing anything. You might notice the "Indian territory"--now Oklahoma. Many eastern Indians were relocated there.
- rmc 14y agoAh they don't count. Y'see they weren't white…
- LaRakel 14y agohtml5? how irrelevant. The only thing html5 about this is the doctype, a header and a footer tag. The maps are svg not canvas.
- cathustler 14y agoI just showed this to my U.S. History teacher and he loved it.
- batgaijin 14y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War Hey, we owned the whole Philippines for a while.