Mathew Carey, Missouri Territory Formerly Louisiana (1814)

This map, published by Mathew Carey in 1814 as part of a commercial atlas, was one of the first to include information from Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s famous transcontinental expedition. Drawn by Samuel Lewis, the map depicts the Missouri Territory formerly known as the Louisiana Territory. The Missouri Territory was comprised of the remaining lands after Louisiana became a state in 1812. The map shows both a “Probable North Boundary” and a “Probable Southern Boundary” of the Missouri Territory, highlighting the border disputes that occurred between the United States, Spain, and Great Britain. The map was significant because it was the first comprehensive and accurate map of the west published commercially.