{"id":2142466,"date":"2024-01-07T05:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-07T10:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mind-the-map\/"},"modified":"2024-01-07T05:34:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-07T10:34:56","slug":"mind-the-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mind-the-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch out for the map"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmind-the-map%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2142466&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Exploring the Geographical Imagination of America&#8217;s Founders<\/h2>\n<p>When John Locke wrote\u2062 that &#8220;in \u2064the beginning,\u2064 all the\u2064 world\u200b was America,&#8221; he did not mean that Pangea was besotted with Bass Pro Shops and \u200dMcDonald\u2019s\u2014although that would have been pretty cool.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the latter, and more\u200d famous, of the <i>Two Treatises on Government<\/i>, Locke points to the &#8220;vacant places&#8221; and &#8220;uncultivated waste&#8221; of America to help his 17th-century\u2063 British readers envision the state of nature \u2063into which he imagines men were originally\u200d born. And while\u200d a 21st-century Englishman may use such language to\u2062 smear\u200b the United \u200dStates\u2064 as a backwards \u2064backwoods, Locke meant it in a positive way.\u200c To him, America was a land of limitless potential where men could attain the kind \u2062of freedom not found in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>It should come as\u200d no surprise that America\u2019s Founders, influenced as they were by Locke\u2019s philosophy, shared his geographical sense as well. In <i>Mental Maps\u2063 of the Founders: How Geographic Imagination Guided America\u2019s Revolutionary Leaders, <\/i>Michael \u2063Barone shows how six Founders\u200c in particular thought about the land on which they worked to build a nation.<\/p>\n<p>Barone, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-impeaching-incitement-to-canceling-conservatism\/\" title=\"From Impeaching Incitement to Canceling Conservatism\">senior political analyst<\/a> at \u200dthe <i>Washington Examiner <\/i>and resident fellow \u2063emeritus at \u2062the American Enterprise Institute, approaches these\u200b &#8220;mental maps&#8221; as he would \u2064any \u2064other subject, detailing the \u2062history and politics of the era in a series of readable essays. At times this leaves the reader wanting more, as the &#8220;geographic \u2064imagination&#8221; of \u2062the American Founders is precisely the kind of expansive, theoretical subject that calls\u2062 for an intellectual deep dive. But, on the whole, <i>Mental Maps of the Founders<\/i> offers valuable \u200binsight into the practical wisdom of the men who\u200b made\u200b America.<\/p>\n<h3>Unveiling the Founders&#8217; \u2064Geographical \u200bOrientation<\/h3>\n<p>Barone defines \u2064the Founders\u2019 &#8220;mental maps&#8221; \u200das &#8220;their geographical orientation, the maps in their minds.&#8221; It\u2019s a subtle\u2062 distinction, and one that Barone does not seem to make intentionally, but one that nevertheless\u200c extends throughout the book. The former category \u2062includes, for instance, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison\u2019s prescient understanding that the political character of the new republic\u200c would be defined by the manner in which the American West \u2064was populated and governed.<\/p>\n<p>The latter includes more general notions, like the fact that Alexander Hamilton\u2019s &#8220;mental map was a globe crisscrossed by the invisible\u200b lines of trade routes.&#8221; This is undoubtedly true, but breaks no new ground in our understanding of America\u2019s first trade hawk. Barone makes similar points throughout the book, shoehorning well-trod stories about the Founding Era\u2014the debate over the national\u2063 bank, the rise of\u200b political parties\u2014into his cartographic schema.<\/p>\n<p>It is, if nothing else, an interesting way to consider one of the most-written-about \u200dperiods in American history. But\u200d Barone\u2019s decision to\u2062 divide the book into essays on individual Founders\u2014the three aforementioned, as well as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Albert Gallatin\u2014leaves\u200b the history of the \u2062era muddled and \u200drepetitive. Readers coming to <i>Mental Maps <\/i>with little to no knowledge of the \u2063Founding may\u200d leave \u2063feeling like they\u2019ve \u200cread about \u2063the Louisiana Purchase four separate times, but \u2064don\u2019t really understand what happened at all.<\/p>\n<p>Barone is at his best when actually discussing the Founders\u2019 fascination with geography \u2063as both an intellectual pursuit and political quantity. \u200dThe book\u2019s strongest chapters are those \u200ddedicated\u2062 to the\u200b three Virginians, who, more than Barone\u2019s other subjects, actually gave a lot of thought to maps, land, and geography.<\/p>\n<p>Washington began \u200dhis career as a surveyor and understood that &#8220;East-West\u200d political divisions&#8221; were as much of a threat as the \u2063split between the North and the South. Jefferson, whose father drew the 18th-century\u2019s standard\u2063 map of the American colonies, found\u2064 both scientific and philosophical inspiration in\u2063 geography, as evidenced by his <i>Notes on the State of Virginia. <\/i>Madison was the\u2062 most well-traveled of the Founders, and Barone shows how he drew on his knowledge of the country at the Constitutional Convention and while writing the Federalist Papers.<\/p>\n<p>If anything, Barone could afford to spend more time exploring the fascinating \u200cand\u200b sometimes strange role that geography played in the American Founding. <i>Mental Maps <\/i>glosses over American attempts to confederate with, and later annex, parts of Canada, as well as \u2062the controversy surrounding Texas and \u200cFlorida, which joined the union later than surrounding states.<\/p>\n<p>And while Barone repeatedly alludes to his\u2063 subjects\u2019 ability to envision a country beyond the borders \u200cof the original Thirteen Colonies, he fails to fully explain just how radical &#8220;manifest destiny&#8221; would have seemed \u2063at the time. Thomas Jefferson imagining America expanding to include Louisiana may seem logical in retrospect, but likely seemed as\u2062 outlandish\u200b to 18th-century Americans as a plan to colonize the moon would seem to contemporary audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Barone does a fine job showing how territorial\u2062 concerns\u2014and territorial ambitions\u2014shaped \u2064our country. Readers will no doubt be shocked to learn that securing fishing rights along the Canadian border was a major concern in the early\u200d republic, or that Madison was so worried about threats posed by the expanse of New York\u2019s coast\u2063 that he \u200dwrote about it in <i>Federalist<\/i> 41, a full 10 papers before his famous discussion of checks and balances.<\/p>\n<p>Taken \u2063together, these anecdotes \u200care an important reminder of the oft-neglected practical dimension of America\u2019s creation. Since the 1913\u200b publication of Charles Beard\u2019s <i>An Economic \u200dInterpretation\u2062 of\u2064 the Constitution of \u2063the United States, <\/i>which argued \u200cthat the framers of the Constitution built the country to benefit wealthy landowners like themselves, those seeking \u200bto defend \u200bthe Founders have largely limited themselves \u2063to discussions of first\u200c principles, lest they give fodder to materialist critics like Beard.<\/p>\n<p>But of course, the American Founding\u200b was as much about \u2063things like land and taxes as it was about self-evident truths. It is precisely our forgetting of that reality that has allowed\u200b critics like <i>Compact <\/i>columnist Michael Lind to <a href=\"https:\/\/compactmag.com\/article\/forget-the-founding-fathers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>dismiss<\/span><\/a>  the &#8220;cult of the American founding,&#8221; and claim that our \u2062national progenitors have no wisdom left to offer us.<\/p>\n<p>By showing that the Founders were worried\u2063 about porous borders and scheming foreign powers\u2014and indeed, that they shaped not just our national identity\u200c but our physical nation in response to these concerns\u2014Michael Barone highlights the enduring relevance of the American Founding, and reminds us that it is impossible for us to understand our country as it is without considering the men who first mapped it out in their minds.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mental Maps of the Founders: How Geographic\u2063 Imagination\u200b Guided\u200d America&#8217;s Revolutionary Leaders<\/em><br \/>  by Michael Barone<br \/> Encounter \u2062Books, 234 pp., $29.99<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How did Alexander Hamilton&#8217;s mental map, centered on trade\u2062 and commerce, shape \u2063his policies and advocacy for a \u200cstrong \u2064central government<\/h2>\n<p><span>  R \u2064nation&#8217;s early leaders. He highlights the importance of geography\u200d in their thinking \u200cand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/one-year-later-how-the-death-of-george-floyd-changed-5-american-institutions\/\" title=\"One Year Later: How The Death Of George Floyd Changed 5 American Institutions\u00a0\">decision-making processes<\/a>, \u200dand how their mental maps influenced \u200btheir political and philosophical views. Barone argues that \u2064understanding the geographical imagination of\u200b America&#8217;s\u200b Founders can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spy-chief-commits-to-sharing-classified-assessment-on-wuhan-lab-leak-with-congress\/\" title=\"Spy chief commits to sharing classified assessment on Wuhan lab leak with Congress\">provide valuable insight<\/a> into the formation and development of \u200dthe United States as a nation.<\/p>\n<p>One of the key points \u200cBarone makes is that the Founders saw America as a land of limitless potential and freedom. They believed that by expanding westward and populating the empty spaces, they could create a new society founded on the \u2064principles of individual liberty and \u2064self-governance. This vision of America as a blank canvas for\u200c their ideas\u200c and aspirations\u200b influenced the \u2062Founders&#8217; actions and \u2064policies.<\/p>\n<p>Barone also delves into the specific geographic orientations \u200dof individual Founders. Thomas Jefferson and James\u200c Madison, for example, recognized that \u200cthe settlement and governance of the American \u2063West would shape the future political\u2064 character of the nation. They understood the importance of ensuring that \u200dthe principles and values of the \u200cnew republic extended to the western territories.<\/p>\n<p>Another interesting insight\u2063 Barone provides is \u200bAlexander \u200dHamilton&#8217;s mental map, which he describes as a globe crisscrossed\u2063 by\u200b trade routes. \u200cHamilton&#8217;s understanding of the \u2062importance of\u2063 commerce and trade in building a strong and prosperous nation shaped his policies and\u2064 advocacy for a strong central government.<\/p>\n<p>While\u200b Barone&#8217;s focus on\u2062 individual Founders&#8217; mental maps provides fascinating insights, it also\u200b leaves the\u2062 reader wanting more. The book&#8217;s organization into separate essays on each Founder can make the history of the era feel repetitive, and readers\u200c with little prior knowledge\u2062 may\u200d find it challenging\u2064 to piece together a cohesive understanding \u200bof\u2064 the Founding period.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this limitation, Barone succeeds in highlighting the significance of geography \u200cin the Founders&#8217; thinking. He shows how their geographical imagination shaped their decisions \u2063on issues such as territorial expansion, the formation of the national \u200bbank, and the\u200c rise of political parties. Understanding the\u2064 Founders&#8217; mental maps provides an additional layer of comprehension to\u200d the history and development of\u200d the United States.<\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2063 are areas where Barone could \u2062have\u200b delved deeper. He briefly mentions the attempts to confederate with parts of Canada and annex Texas and Florida, but these topics are not explored in detail. Additionally, he touches on the \u200dradical nature \u200bof manifest destiny but fails to \u200dfully explain how revolutionary and\u2062 audacious \u200cthese ideas were at the time.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, Barone&#8217;s book, <i>Mental \u2062Maps of \u200dthe Founders<\/i>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-brian-mast-discusses-terrorist-attacks-against-israel\/\" title=\"Rep. Brian Mast talks about terrorist attacks on Israel.\">offers valuable\u2063 insights<\/a> into the geographical imagination of America&#8217;s Founders. By\u200c exploring their mental \u200bmaps, \u200bBarone sheds light on how their ideas and aspirations were shaped \u200bby the unique\u200b geography of\u200d America. While\u2063 the organization of the book may inadvertently \u2063lead to repetition and hinder a thorough understanding of the era, Barone&#8217;s analysis provides a fascinating glimpse into the minds of the \u2063men who laid the foundation for the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Locke&#8217;s statement, &#8220;in the beginning, all the world was America,&#8221; doesn&#8217;t imply Pangea had modern establishments. In his renowned work, Two Treatises on Government, Locke highlights the &#8220;vacant places&#8221; and &#8220;uncultivated waste&#8221; to emphasize the potential for development and colonization<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":317,"featured_media":2142467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2142466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2142466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2142467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2142466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2142466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2142466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}