Annotated Bibliography-Jordan Lewis

Bremer, Jeff R. “ A Species of Town-Building Madness.” Kansas History 26.3:156-171.
EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.
An article that will be of great use to me in my research is one entitled “A Species of Town-Building Madness” by Jeff Bremer. Jeff Bremer is a doctoral student at the University of Kansas. He has his bachelor’s in political science and history. His article was published in Kansas History and its claim is about the fact that the development of towns is a lot of work effects that the Missouri Compromise had on the Platte Region of which Kansas is a part. In order to write the article, Bremer pulled information from documents about the Platte Region and the Missouri Compromise. In his article, he provides valuable information, such as the fact that Kansas was developed based off of the legislation of the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. His article includes the fact that the Missouri Compromise was the legislation with which the settlers of Missouri were able to buy the Platte Region from the Native Americans to whom it originally belonged. This is an important fact because Kansas was a part of this region. Missourians and other pro-slavery settlers made an attempt to swing the state of Kansas to a slave territory by populating the area heavily. The article also states that Kansas was developed over fierce ideological debate, and that the Kansas-Nebraska Act promoted migration because it stated that each state could choose whether or not it would be a slave territory. This is important to my research because it explains the intense town rivalry and the in pouring of pro-slavery settlers and abolitionists alike. This article is significant to my research because it gives context and background into the legislation that contributed to the development and population growth of Kansas.

Koch, Augustus. Bird’s Eye View of Topeka Kansas. 1880. Ramsey, Millet, and
Hudson, MI. Reps, John W. Cities of the American West: A History of
Frontier Urban Planning. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 453. Print.
Map of Topeka, Kansas in “Cities of the West”
There are two especially intriguing maps of the central plains in the book “Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning.” The first is a map of Topeka, Kansas drawn by A. Ruger in 1869 and the second is a map of Topeka, Kansas in 1880. The reason these maps are intriguing is because of the vast difference between them. Each map was created in order to showcase the landscape and land use of Topeka, Kansas. The main claim of the first map, created in 1869, leaves a lot of open space and keeps everything relatively natural and rugged. It also features the state capitol and the court house at the bottom of the map along with American flags. All these things work together to make the assertion that Topeka will be a place of governance and patriotism. It also makes the assertion that the land will be used for farming and that the land use will be conservative and less developed. The map created by Augustus Koch in 1880 makes a different assertion. It was drawn only eleven years after the first map was made but it suggests no conservative land use or boasts of governing bodies and patriotism by featuring government buildings and American flags. This map shows a very well developed Topeka, Kansas in which every bit of land has been streamlined and planned out. It features things such as barges in the river and trains. It has many houses, schools, public institutions suggesting that Topeka, Kansas is a modern city and worth investing in. These two maps are significant sources for my research, not only because they are vastly different from one another, but also because they make different assertions about the use of land in the developing west.

Reps, John W. Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning.
Princeton: Princeton University Press. Print.
The Central Plains: Towns of Kansas in “Cities of the West”
The book “Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning.” is an interesting secondary source. The specific chapter that is of particular interest to me is the chapter titled “The Central Plains: Towns of Kansas.” In it, John W. Reps, discusses the development of Kansas. The source’s main claim is that Kansas was a very urbanized state and that its urbanization was due in part to its struggle concerning the issue of slavery and how that struggled attracted a lot of people. It also contributed to the amount of rivalry between towns and to the development of town. In the chapter entitled “The Central Plains: Towns of Kansas” it explains that in one instance, a group of proslavery men bought a tract of land after territorial legislation was approved. Major evidence that supports this claim is the descriptions of how each town was established and the fact that the maps that were drawn showcase dense population of the land. In the chapter entitled “The Central Plains: Towns of Kansas” it explains that towns were densely populated due to the convenience of the river as well as the use of the transcontinental railroad. It also explains that a lot of towns sprang up from the speculation of pro-slavery men who knew the landscape of Kansas very well. The scholar, John W. Reps created this study using various maps and primary sources such as the first-hand account found on page 428. This scholarly source is significant for my study because it gives an account as to how the towns of Kansas were developed as well as the manner in which the land was used.
Ruger, Albert. Bird’s Eye View of the City of Topeka The Capitol of Kansas. 1869. Chicago Lithographing Co., Chicago. Reps, John W. Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning.Princeton: Princeton University Press. 452. Print.
Map of Topeka , Kansas in “Cities of the West”
There are two especially intriguing maps of the central plains in the book “Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning.” The first is a map of Topeka, Kansas drawn by A. Ruger in 1869 and the second is a map of Topeka, Kansas in 1880. The reason these maps are intriguing is because of the vast difference between them. Each map was created in order to showcase the landscape and land use of Topeka, Kansas. The main claim of the first map, created in 1869, leaves a lot of open space and keeps everything relatively natural and rugged. It also features the state capitol and the court house at the bottom of the map along with American flags. All these things work together to make the assertion that Topeka will be a place of governance and patriotism. It also makes the assertion that the land will be used for farming and that the land use will be conservative and less developed. The map created by Augustus Koch in 1880 makes a different assertion. It was drawn only eleven years after the first map was made but it suggests no conservative land use or boasts of governing bodies and patriotism by featuring government buildings and American flags. This map shows a very well developed Topeka, Kansas in which every bit of land has been streamlined and planned out. It features things such as barges in the river and trains. It has many houses, schools, public institutions suggesting that Topeka, Kansas is a modern city and worth investing in. These two maps are significant sources for my research, not only because they are vastly different from one another, but also because they make different assertions about the use of land in the developing west.




Schlesinger, Arthur Meier. A History of American Life: The Rise of the City. Ed.
Dixon Ryan Fox.Vol. X. New York: The MacMillian Company, 1933. Print.
An excellent resource for background about life in the West was a book in A History of American Life: The Rise of the City by Arthur Meier Schlesinger. This book was an excellent resource because it details various aspects of the development of cities. The chapter that was most intriguing and helpful to me was the chapter entitled The Great West. This chapter in particular detailed the rise of cities in the West including cities in states such as Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Kansas. The main claim of the chapter was simply to present a historical account and give background to the development of the West. It supports this claim by detailing the population growth of the West, the development of industries, as well as the change in land use and the fight over land. In looking at the end notes, I can see that Schlesinger used a lot of historical references in order to write this book. It looks as though he took all of the information from books on particular subjects and compiled that information in order to make a summary of the information. This source is specifically essential to me in my research because the chapter contains some information about Kansas. This information includes the fact settlers were spread widely across the state and that Kansas was one of the more heavily populated states. I expect to use this information for context and background when talking about the maps of Topeka, Kansas.

Stock Map Agency. World Trade Press, 2008. Web. 20 April 2010.
Stock Map Agency
In order to get a better understanding of the two cartographers who drew the bird’s eye view maps, I went to a map website called stockmapagency.com. This website is run by World Trade Press which is an organization that specializes in the selling and printing of world, country, and antique maps. It is a valuable source because it provides context on the history of maps as well as the cartographers that drew the maps that I am using as primary sources. It states that maps were used as early as the Babylonian times and in the 16th century were used for economic and political power. Maps were used to chart what lands belong to what country and in the days of the settlers, they were used as marketing tools and directions. The website also states that Albert Ruger and Augustus Koch were prolific and talented cartographers who were famous for their bird’s eye view maps. They both worked for the Union army as cartographers. This is valuable information because the ethos of these two cartographers will assist me in reading the maps and analyzing the arguments they make.