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HIST3140: History of New Jersey: Geographical Resources, Maps and Atlases

Resources for research in the history of New Jersey.

Geographical Resources

Atlas of African-American History / James Ciment, and Facts on File, Inc. - New York: Facts on File, 2001. - Includes bibliographical references and index. - Call Number: REF E185.C55

Atlas of American History / by Gary B. Nash and Carter Smith. - New York: Facts on File, 2007. - Includes bibliographical references (p. 319-320) and index. - Call Number: REF E179.5 .N37
"Some 200 full-color maps and numerous photographs and charts reveal the history of America in ten parts: "Three Worlds Meet, Beginnings to 1607," "Colonization and Settlement, 1492-1760," "Revolution and New Nation, 1761-1812," "Expansion and Reform, 1790-1855," "Civil War and Reconstruction, 1856-1869," "The Development of the Industrial United States, 1870-1899," "The Emergence of Modern America, 1900-1928," "The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945," "Postwar United States, 1946-1968," and "The Contemporary United States, 1969-Present." The thesis of the atlas is that maps are an indispensable part of the study of American history. Some of these maps and charts are unusual, e.g., "Flight Paths of Hijacked Airlines on September 11, 2001." Drawn in a clear, simple style and combined with narrative, they illustrate social, political, historical, economic, and cultural data." [Choice]

National Historical Geographic Information System / Created and maintained by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota.
The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides, free of charge, aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2000.

Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Paterson, 1887-1923
The Sanborn Map Company is the oldest mapping company in the United States. Founded in 1866, the company created detailed building maps of cities and towns all across the country, primarily for use by insurance companies. These maps also have been used extensively by local government agencies for over a century in conducting their daily operations efficiently. Approximately 12,000 American cities and towns are chronicled in the company's collection of over one million maps. This page contains a selection of the maps covering Paterson, N.J. (including North Paterson and West Paterson Borough), from 1887 to 1923. By examining the first or index sheet of a series, the user can identify the number of the sheet that covers a particular street or site in Paterson. Maps from several other New Jersey cities have also been digitized - see this Excel spreadsheet for details.

Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008 / Created and maintained by Andrew J. Torget at the University of Richmond and others at the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond
"Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008, examines presidential elections in the United States, taking nearly full advantage of the strengths of the digital medium. Using a variety of cinematic and interactive maps, Voting America attempts to uncover trends in voting and politics with visualizations of election data. While including the state level results, Voting America looks beyond the Electoral College, even arguing that a state view can give a misleading impression of only red states and blue states. However, this project does not simply provide scripted analysis. Interactive features allow and encourage further exploration of the election data."

Subject Guide

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Richard Kearney
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Contact:
Electronic Resources Librarian
Reference and Information Services Office, Room 107g
David and Lorraine Cheng Library
William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, NJ 07470
973-720-2165
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