Mappenstance.

Space. The amount of space left available in the United States is always diminishing. This was especially true in the later part of the twentieth century. After the 1990’s, there was an immense influx of immigrants because of the Cold War as people wanted to start anew. People migrated to new places and constructed new communities to support the mass of people migrating. Although it may not have seemed like an important problem at the time, you can see that now the influx of people has presented a challenge relating to the space available in certain parts of the United States. This being said, certain places were severely affected. This map shows this extreme dichotomy.

The Population Density Map of US 1990 is a visual representation of the uneven distribution of the population within America. It uses a quasi-3-D topographical technique that depicts the population densities. This map was a front to a much bigger problem happening at the time. Just before 1990, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 drastically increased the number of immigrants allowed into the United States, resulting in 32.7 million immigrants travelling to America between 1990 and 2000. Although the Immigration Act of 1990 established a new “cap” on the level of immigrants, the number of admissions was still increasing because the fine print of the act could be distorted and manipulated.

The population problem didn’t start here though. In the 1920’s, the national-origins quota system allowed for each nationality to have a quota of immigrants based on the nations’ representation already in country. Having heard of the land of opportunity, most immigrants to the major cities that they heard the most about, which is exemplified by New York City, and most of the East Coast. Because of this, in June of 1963, John F. Kennedy started a reform for this process of immigration, stating the quota system was “intolerable.” Although Kennedy’s assassination prevented him from carrying out the reform, Congress took up his cause and implemented the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. This worsened the problem by allowing the reuniting of families from foreign countries, and even allowing skilled labor forces into the United States. This caused an even greater migration of immigrants into the United States; looking at the map, this explains why populations were increasing in the middle of America as there was more space. Now, this was only legal immigration — illegal immigration was a whole other situation. What the map doesn’t show is that number of illegal immigrants grew from 540,000 to 2.5 million in the years between 1969 and 1990; this increased at a greater rate from 1990 to 2016 with almost 11.3 million illegal immigrants being in country today. Even in supposed statistical based cartography, there is still room for error, and even bias, as some individuals would not have been accounted for — purposefully or not. For example, there is no information regarding if the populations in the map contain the number of illegal immigrants. Biased or not, the overwhelming wave of people flooding into the United States will eventually cause problems.

As the map is based off of varying data, it is very unique; it is different to other kinds of cartography in the sense that it actually does grow. In the words of Denis Wood, “maps themselves don’t grow (or develop),” however the processes behind cartography do.[i] Thus, since this map represents increasing data, it grows in itself. If you look closely at the map, in the small print, the small print accentuates the difference in size of populations in certain areas compared to others. There are also figures that show how population density varies in different parts of the United States.

As population increases exponentially, maps are needed to see how the world is changing. This map does exactly that! Maps are tools, and the more you know about them, the more you can utilize them to do whatever you need. Information is needed on the map before you can truly understand what is trying to be portrayed. For this map, it is rather statistical, however the statistical data for immigration is left out in whole. This map could be completely different if the number of immigrants were incorporated into the map, or maybe they are, and are just not mentioned. With more background knowledge behind a map, the more powerful a map can be in the right hands.

[i] Wood, Denis, and John Fels. The Power of maps. London: Routledge, 1993.

Soviet San Francisco

This Soviet rendition of San Francisco, published in 1980, paints a picture of the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, presenting a side of history often ignored by Americans. It was created by the Soviet government depicting the San Francisco Bay Area. Looking at the United States, a place so familiar to us, through the eyes of a non-American is so rare to those who have lived in the nation all their life. It is especially uncommon to look from the perspective of an enemy, such as that as the Soviet Union. San Francisco is almost undecipherable at a first glance. Without English guiding directing our attention to San Francisco, Alcatraz, The Golden Gate Bridge, San Jose, or any other part of this metropolitan area, one must evaluate the values of the author and translate them into a more familiar language.

Intentions of this map can only be assumed without the author revealing why he was commissioned to draft this piece. The 1980’s saw an end to the détente the two nations enjoyed throughout the 1970’s, reinstating hostilities after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The unjustified invasion was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union, helping to lead to its collapse in 1991. However, before they dissolved the socialist republic, they enjoyed a decade of volatility and aggression with the United States. The US elected a severely anti-Soviet president, Ronald Reagan, which prompted Soviet retaliation in the form of increased preparation for offensive and defensive measures. The Soviet Union could never conduct a full-scale invasion of the United States along the eastern coast because they would have to traverse Western Europe first to move supplies and troops. This would lead them instead to Alaska and the west coast as a means of ground invasion. Taking key cities along the west-coast (Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, and of course San Francisco) would be essential to securing a center of operations to move eastwards against the remaining defensive units. The Bay Area has been key to the United States technological innovations since the 1970’s and is a major port for international trade so cutting this region off would hinder US economic growth. These factors brought the Soviets attention to the Bay Area and prompted the need for a detailed recreation of this region.

The idea of “imagined geography” ties back into everything the Soviets did with the Bay Area in this map. Instead of projecting their domestic borders to present a mighty Soviet Union and describe their national pride in terms of geographic extensiveness, they mapped a part of another sovereign nation in their image. This map does not consume the city under the Iron Curtain, but rather implies the power, intentions, and capabilities of a nefarious Soviet Union. It tells the United States and its military if they wanted to, they could. This would quickly be disregarded by intelligence agencies in the United States as likely or even possible but would fester in the minds of America’s policy makers and the citizens. They would ask themselves “could they?” This was the very goal of the map, to impose onto the Bay Area Soviet values to construct a tool that could be used for an invasion, but more effectively and immediately be used for indoctrination and propaganda.

This detailed rendition of the Bay Area reveals Soviet values regarding the United States. The map presents the entrances and exits to this sprawling city, citing every harbor, airport, and freeway. This is what is important to the Soviets at a time like this, understanding the layout and having a guide to assist in quickly maneuvering the city. This would be as practical as it is fear inducing for Californians. Additionally, the map is overlaid with a very accurate topographical map showing the changes in elevation and navigable portions of the inner bay. The Soviets were devoted to developing a detailed map of the region for two reasons, neither of which would please American officials.

Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 contradicts traditional western cartography in its depiction of World War I. World War I began because of a system of entangling alliances. After the political assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian political terror group, the Black Hand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia one month later. This had a tremendous trickle-down effect. Austria-Hungary was a member of the Triple Alliance which included Germany and Italy. On the other hand, Russia backed Serbia in war because of their common Slavic heritage. The larger issue was Russia was a member of the Triple Entente with France and the United Kingdom. When Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia one month later, a majority of Europe went to war. Following the outbreak of war, Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 served as a piece of German political propaganda that utilized caricatures to mock cultural stereotypes of their adversaries.

The overwhelming feature of Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 is the use of caricatures. Before the 20th century, caricatures were predominately used to satirize a subject, often politics or cartoons. Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 takes a different approach. Caricatures are utilized as political propaganda. Caricatures are a hallmark of political propaganda and reduce geographic areas to stereotypical characteristics based on ethnic or national identities. Reducing nations to human faces is anthropomorphism. On one hand caricatures simplify global war, but instead distort and exaggerate ethnic composition. An example in Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 is Russia’s caricature. Russia is characterized as monstrous figure with a bottle of vodka and bear. This illustration is validated by Russia being stereotyped as a society of heavy drinkers and the bear as a symbol of their empire.

Each nation is depicted with a distinct caricature that resembles their country. In comparison, the Central Powers are portrayed more favorably than the Allied nations. Considering the map is from the German perspective and current political conflict, the author intentionally drew Germany and Austria-Hungary with no derogatory stereotypes. Instead stereotypes were to applied to every other nation. For example, the United Kingdom is harshly criticized. A portion of the caricature illustrates a man standing on a pile of money while being punched by a fist of water. Embedded in this caricature is a series of codes. The piles of money the caricature is standing on is a representation of the wealth England has accumulated from being an Imperial power. However, England is punched in the face by its global colonies for dragging them into a European conflict. Both the pile of money and water fist can be viewed as signifiers. A signifier is a symbol that stands for a signified, a deeper meaning. Therefore, the pile of money symbolizes wealth and the water fist portrays angry colonial holdings which are the signified explanations of the symbols. From a propaganda perspective, the author is able to criticize the shortcomings of each country.

Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 is an unorthodox cartographic depiction of World War I. Standards for western cartography traditionally emphasize geographic accuracy and detail. Although, accuracy is a cartographic choice. Instead of replicating geographic terrain, the author chose to socially construct reality. He implemented his own agenda into his work. The map has a distinct red coloration. Dull and opaque shades of red are used for most of the major Allied Forces and Ottoman Empire. In comparison, the Austria-Hungary Empire is depicted in a brighter red. The author utilizes different shades of red to highlight German attitudes towards nations. Dull and opaque coloration for enemies and weak allies while a brighter red for a favorable ally. Another unique attribute is a legend situated at the bottom of the map. The legend provides the significance behind each nations caricature. At the time of publication, the legend would have been a expendable feature of the map. Any individual in Europe would have been able to view the map and understand the cultural stereotypes each caricature portrays. Viewing from a modern context, the legend is more relevant. The legend delivers a story narrative. It allows viewers to understand the cultural stereotypes that persisted throughout Europe in the early 20th century.

Overall, Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 takes an alternative approach to illustrating the start of World War I. Caricatures are the overwhelming feature of the map and illustrate cultural stereotypes of each nation. Code is embedded throughout the map and serves as signifiers that represent a deeper meaning, the signified. Various shades of colors are used to reflect positively or negatively on countries. A legend is positioned at the bottom of the map and provides context to the caricatures. With an unorthodox approach and appealing attributes, Humoristische Karte von Europa im Jahre 1914 is a relevant map that should continue to attract modern audiences.