North America Sheet V The North West and Michigan Territories

Shifting demographics in the North West Territory.

This wonderfully detailed map of Lake Michigan and adjacent parts of the Northwest Territory, Illinois, and Michigan Territory was published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) in 1833. The process by which local indigenous populations were removed, either through force or coercion, is emphasized throughout.

Labeled Indian Boundaries, numerous villages (marked with a small teepee), and broad swathes of territory attributed to a particular tribe contrast sharply with the surveyed townships and frontier fortifications of the white man. Chicago, incorporated as a town the same year of publication, is shown on the shores of an elongated Lake Michigan, next to Fort Dearborn and the portage that would propel it to America’s Second City in the coming decades. A large Green Bay township is one of the few established settlements in what would eventually become Wisconsin, along with an early reference to the eventual Iowa Territory.

Founded in 1827 by Lord Russel and Henry Brougham, the S.D.U.K. was formed to help the working man educate himself. With the concept that ‘Knowledge is Power’ behind it, the organization issued scientific works, an encyclopedia, an atlas, and other educational materials in relatively inexpensive formats. For instance, the atlas was originally published in parts – approximately two maps each month – with prices around a shilling for black and white copies.

S.D.U.K. maps were neatly engraved on steel and often updated with the latest available geographic information, allowing for the working class to stay up to date on international affairs. As such, they also provide some of the most detailed snapshots from areas across the globe during the mid-19th century.