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Library of Congress1861

Ordinance of Secession, 1861.

This document is a one-page handwritten copy of the Ordinance of Secession passed on January 10, 1861, by the members of the Florida Convention of the People (commonly referred to as the Secession Convention). Pursuant to an act of the Florida legislature approved on November 30, 1860, Governor Madison S. Perry issued a proclamation calling an election on Saturday, December 22, 1860, for delegates to a convention to address the issue of whether Florida had a right to withdraw from the Union. The Secession Convention met in Tallahassee on January 3, 1861, and passed, on January 10, the Ordinance of Secession. The ordinance declared Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation." On April 13, the convention ratified the constitution adopted by the Confederate States of America. The convention adjourned on April 27, 1861.

united states of america↗
Library of Congress1862

Emancipation Proclamation.

Initially, the Civil War between the North and the South was fought by the North to prevent the secession of the South and preserve the Union. Ending slavery was not a goal. That changed on September 22, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that slaves in those states or parts of states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be free. One hundred days later Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious areas "are, and henceforward shall be, free." Lincoln's bold step was a military measure by which he hoped to inspire the slaves in the Confederacy to support the Union cause. Because it was a military measure, the proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, and left slavery untouched in the border states. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery, it did fundamentally transform the character of the war. Henceforth, every advance of Federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and their own freedom.

united states of america↗
Library of Congress1889

The Man of Commerce.

"The Man of Commerce" is a detailed map that conflates human anatomy with the American transportation system. Published in 1889 by the Land & River Improvement Company of Superior, Wisconsin, the map promotes Superior as a transportation hub and shows the routes of 29 railroads across the United States. The outline map of North America is superimposed by a cutaway diagram of the human body. The map's metaphor makes West Superior "the center of cardiac or heart circulation." The railways become major arteries. New York is "the umbilicus through which this man of commerce was developed." The explanatory notes conclude: "It is an interesting fact that in no other portion of the known world can any such analogy be found between the natural and artificial channels of commerce and circulatory and digestive apparatus of man." Use of the human body as a cartographic metaphor dates back at least to the 16th century, to the anthropomorphic map of Europe as a queen in Sebastian Münster's Cosmography (1570). This map may be the earliest application of this metaphor to North America. The cartographer was A.F. McKay, who in 1889 briefly served as the editor of the Superior Sentinel newspaper. The map was engraved by Rand McNally. The American Geographical Society Library acquired the map in 2009, aided in part by the Map Society of Wisconsin. The only other known copy of this map is in a private collection.

railroads↗
Library of Congress1920

Railroad Map of British Honduras.

This map, produced in the 1920s by the Transportation Department of the United States Department of Commerce, shows the railroad network of British Honduras (present-day Belize). Under the Treaty of Versailles of 1783, the Spanish Empire granted Britain the right to harvest timber in the region between the Hondo and Belize Rivers. In 1862 the crown colony of British Honduras was established. Apart from British Guiana, it was the only British possession on the mainland of Latin America. The colony was important to Britain chiefly as a source of logwood and, later, mahogany. The railroads shown on the map are all quite small and were used primarily to transport lumber, sugar cane, and bananas to the coast. A proposed longer line from the port of Belize to Guatemala is indicated but was never built. The map also shows the colony's six administrative districts and the small number of towns and cities. British Honduras achieved full independence in 1981, becoming the country of Belize.

great britain↗
Library of Congress1861

Letter Written in Cipher on Mourning Paper by Rose Greenhow.

Rose O'Neal Greenhow was a spy for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. As a young woman in Washington, she befriended many influential politicians, including President James Buchanan and South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun, who played a role in shaping her dedication to the South. During the Civil War, Greenhow wrote ciphered (secret code) messages to the Confederates, providing information about Union military plans. Confederate President Jefferson Davis credited her with helping the South win the First Battle of Bull Run. Greenhow sent a message about Union troop movements in time for Brigadier Generals Pierre Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston to meet at Manassas, Virginia. A young woman working with Greenhow named Betty Duvall carried the message wrapped in a tiny black silk purse and hidden in a hair bun. Head of U.S. Intelligence Service Allan Pinkerton observed Rose Greenhow as part of his counterintelligence activities and found sufficient evidence to place her under house arrest. She later was transferred to prison and then deported to Richmond, Virginia. Shown here is one of her encoded letters.

espionage↗
Library of Congress1920

Railway Map of Jamaica.

This map, produced in the 1920s by the Transportation Department of the United States Department of Commerce, shows the railroads and rail stations of Jamaica, at that time a crown colony within the British Empire. Also shown are the island's main roads and its three counties--Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey--and their borders. The scale of the map is in statute miles (1 mile = 1.61 kilometers). The Western Jamaica Connecting Railway was built in 1845. Running from Kingston to Angels, a distance of some 23 kilometers, it was the first railroad constructed anywhere outside Europe or North America. The Jamaican railroad system was expanded throughout the 1900s, mainly for the purpose of bringing sugar and other products to the ports of Kingston, Port Antonio, and Montego Bay. Expansion of the railway in the late-19th century opened up the interior of the country to farming and the establishment of banana and citrus plantations. The map is held in the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS). After approximately 300 years of British rule, Jamaica gained its independence in 1962. It joined the OAS in 1969.

great britain↗
Library of Congress1915

Obshchai︠a︡ karta raĭonov zh.d. Irkutsk-Bodaĭbo i Tulun"-Ust'-Kut-Bodaĭbo

The map shows various administrative borders. It also marks land that was long settled by peasants, native lands and lands of those resettled. Cities, villages and railroad stations are indicated along with planned and existing railroad lines. Setka geograficheskikh koordinat. Original map at: Russian State Library Сетка географических координат.

russian federation↗
Library of Congress1922

Skhematicheskai︠a︡ karta russkogo Dal'nego Vostoka

This map shows various administrative borders. Also noted on the map are gold-producing regions, Cossack settlements, railroads, permafrost borders, isotherms, annual precipitation, cities and villages, and railroad stations. Prilozhenie k knige P.D. Lezhnina "Dal'niĭ Vostok. Bogatstva Priamur'i︠a︡ i Zabaĭkal'i︠a︡". Original map at: Russian State Library Приложение к книге П.Д. Лежнина "Дальний Восток. Богатства Приамурья и Забайкалья".

russian federation↗
Library of Congress1864

Anent the North American continent

Also available in digital form. LAC tnb 2021-04-08 update (1 card) Uncontrolled subject terms in the field 653 from booksellers' catalog. LAC tnb 2021-04-08 LAC tnb 2022-06-01 no edits (1 card)

britain and the world↗
Library of Congress1865

The "Times" on the American war: a historical study

Includes numerous extracts from the London Times. Also available in digital form. LAC tnb 2021-04-15 update (1 card) Uncontrolled subject terms in the field 653 from booksellers' catalog. LAC tnb 2021-04-15 LAC tnb 2022-05-07 update (1 card)

britain and the world↗