British cartographer John Speed's (ca.1552-1629) map of New England and New York was based on map series by Dutch cartographers Jansson and Visscher. Rather than reading colonial maps as factual representations of land, we should examine them as political documents. Speed's map demonstrated the colonial transition of New Amsterdam to New York, emphasizing England's place as the dominate colonial power in the region.
Indigenous place and tribal names, albeit incorrectly spelled and placed, are inter-referenced with English or anglicized place names. By prioritizing European place names, the map attempts to erase Indigenous Homelands at a time when Native peoples were in firm control of their territories. This document makes the “new world” look uninhabited—instead of the reality of Indigenous authority and millennia of living in the region. The presence of animal illustrations like beaver, bear, fox, egret, ermine, elk, and otter demonstrate the importance of native natural resources to the European market, particularly the extractive fur trade.
This map first appeared in John Speed's 1676 world atlas "Prospect of the most famous parts of the world," sold by Thomas Basset and Richard Chitwell of London. Printing on the reverse indicates this particular map was removed from an atlas.
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
This writing, attributed to Daniel Davis (1762-1835) and printed by Thomas Wait of Portland, marked the first, large-scale written tract about the separation of Maine from Massachusetts. Davis’ lengthy proposition outlined the separation argument from both sides, however, he omitted mention of the Coasting Law (which rendered many coastal towns against separation.) The narrative is full of references to the glory of the Federal Constitution, signed just a few years prior. Davis' primary thesis was a defense of separation, and its benefits to Maine.
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Osgood Carleton's 1795 "map of the district of Maine drawn from the latest surveys and other best authorities." The scale is 1 inch to 20 miles. The map was drawn for James Sullivan's History of the District of Maine, published in Boston in 1795. Carleton was a well known cartographer.
New Map of English America, 1677
Item Contributed by
Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education
Original title (in French): "Carte nouvelle de l'Amérique angloise contenant tout ce que les Anglois possédent sur le continent de l'Amérique septentrionale savoir le Canada, la Nouvelle Ecosse ou Acadie, les treize provinces unies qui font: les quatres colonies de la Nouvelle Angleterre"
The title is translated as: "New Map of English America containing everything that the English possess in North America, Known as Canada, Nova Scotia or Acadia, the thirteen United Provinces which are: the four Colonies of New England ... written exactly after the latest geographical determinations made by Matthew Albert Lotter in Augsburg."
Tobias Conrad Lotter advertised the map in the journal Augspurgische Ordinari Postzeitung (Nr. 51, 28.02.1777) where he announced this "Neue Karte" (new map). In the advertisement the published date is stated as February 1777. The cost of the colored version was 24 Kreuzer.
This map appeared in Tobias Conrad Lotter's "Atlas Geographique." 1778.
Painting of the "Boxer" and "Enterprise," Monhegan, 1831
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
On September 5, 1813, the battle between the U.S. Brig Enterprise and the British Brig Boxer took place in the waters off Monhegan Island, Maine.
The Boxer's commander, Captain Samuel Blyth, 29 years of age, was killed in the opening exchange of cannon fire. On the Enterprise, Captain William Burrows, age 28, was mortally wounded a short time later.
Burrows would not consent to being carried below until the end of the engagement, after which he accepted the British surrender.
The painter, James Osborne (or Osborn) (ca. 1800-ca. 1840) opened a Portland studio about 1830. He produced watercolors of local family groups and historical scenes.
Artist Charles Frederick Kimball depicts the graves of Lieutenant William Burrows, captain of the USS Enterprise, and Captain Samuel Blyth, commander of the HMS Boxer.
Both were killed when their ships engaged in battle off the coast of Portland on Sept. 5, 1813.
After the battle, which the Enterprise won, an elaborate funeral was held in Portland for the two captains, and they were interred side by side in Eastern Cemetery. Two years later, a sailor from the Enterprise died from wounds received during the battle and was buried next to the captains. All three graves eventually received monuments.
Samuel Whiting of Bangor wrote to William King of Bath recommending militia action to oust the British from Castine.
The British occupied the coastal community during the War of 1812 and Whiting noted that sentiment of residents, who had hoped for financial advantage from the occupation, had shifted.
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Starting with George Washington, US presidents offered peace medals to Native leaders.
Like silver trade brooches before them, the medals were a symbol of commitment to furthering peace and diplomacy between the United States and sovereign Nations. Recipients often perforated the medals, and wore them around the neck.
The US Mint released bronze restrikes of the 1817 Monroe presidential peace medals, like this one, in 1840.
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William King (1768-1852) is best known as the father of Maine Statehood and the new state's first governor.
Born in Scarborough, this son of a merchant falsely accused of being a Loyalist, made his own way in the world becoming a shipbuilder and merchant in Bath before turning to populist politics.
In the Massachusetts Legislature he championed "The Betterment Act" (1808) which aided squatters and the "Toleration Act" which abolished town support of the standing order church.
William P. Preble to William King regarding Missouri Compromise, Portland, 1820
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
Although delighted by the arrival of statehood for Maine, William Pitt Preble expressed his disgust with the circumstances in which it was eventually achieved: "The chagrin manifested here is beyond anything I have ever seen... And as to those of our representatives who have done so much to embarrass and so little to aid us; may they not be forgotten."
Many people in Maine were unhappy with the Missouri Compromise which admitted Maine into the Union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. Preble's letter is addressed to William King, future first governor of Maine.
William Pitt Preble was born in York, Maine in 1783, where he started a law practice in 1809 after graduating from Harvard. He was appointed County Attorney for York in 1811, and the United States Attorney for Maine from 1814-1820. Preble was also a delegate at the Maine Constitutional Convention. In 1820, he became a justice of the Maine Supreme Court.
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George Thacher to William King regarding a vote for statehood, Saco, 1819
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
George Thacher served as a member of the Continental Congress, a US Congressman from 1789-1801, and in 1820 he became a Justice of the Maine State Supreme Court. He was also active in authoring Maine's state constitution.
This letter to William King from Thacher lists the results of the vote on separation in York County. Thacher predicted that based on York’s results the rest of Maine would also vote in favor of separation. William King (1768-1852) was a well-known supporter of Maine’s independence and would be its first governor from 1820-1821.
George Thacher was born in Yarmouth, MA in 1754 but died in Biddeford, ME in 1824.
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DUPLICATE Prentiss Mellen announces Maine statehood to William King, Washington, D.C., 1820
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
This short note is an announcement of Maine’s admission into the Union, sent from Washington, D.C. by Prentiss Mellen, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, to William King in Bath, ME. King was eventually appointed Maine's first governor.
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John Holmes (1773-1843), a prominent lawyer from Alfred, was active from 1815-1820 in efforts to separate Maine from Massachusetts.
A 1796 graduate of Brown University, he represented Alfred in the Maine State Constitutional Convention in 1819.
He served as a U.S. Senator for 11 years and was appointed by President Monroe to the commission that negotiated the border dispute between Maine and Canada.
Mark L. Hill to William King, Washington, D.C., February 4, 1820
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
Mark Langdon Hill (1772-1842) served as a Massachusetts State Representative from 1819-1821, and from 1821-1823 served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a strong supporter of the separation of Maine from Massachusetts. The letter is authored to William King (1768-1852) a supporter of separation, a Massachusetts senator and later Maine’s first governor.
In this letter, Hill described the situation in Congress regarding the issue of Maine separating from Massachusetts. At this point, the question of Maine’s statehood had been left open for nearly two months and tied to Missouri’s statehood. Ultimately, it was determined that Maine could enter the Union as a free state only if Missouri could enter as a slave state, an arrangement known as the Missouri Compromise.
Many Mainers were vehemently against their statehood enabling the spread of slavery. Here, Hill is beginning to waiver in favor of the Missouri Compromise and provides justifications for its inevitability to King. Hill also sees the building conflict of North vs. South as the issue of slavery and abolition become more controversial.
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The selectmen from the town of Baldwin, including Josiah Pierce, William Fitch, and Lot Davis, requested the constable John Burnell to notify the qualified Baldwin voters to meet at Richard Fitch’s house on 26 July 1819.
The voters were tasked with deciding the question of whether the district of Maine should separate from Massachusetts and become and independent state.
Seventy-nine votes were cast, fifty-three voted in favor of separation and twenty-six voted against separation.
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William Preble's controversial interpretation of a vote on separation from Massachusetts, 1816
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
In September 1816, Maine towns voted on whether to separate from Massachusetts. Massachusetts regulators who set up the election required a 5 to 4 majority for separation to pass.
Since the separationists did not achieve majority, William Preble used complex and controversial logic to argue in favor of separation. This document shows Preble's reasoning for victory, which led to a major controversy at the Brunswick Convention later that month.
Shown here are the records from the counties of Cumberland, Hancock, Kennebeck, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Somerset, Washington and York. Preble used the "aggregate majority" from each county instead of the total numbers of votes in his calculation.
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Thomas Jefferson wrote this letter to William King, who became Maine's first governor in 1820, responding to the copy of the Maine State Constitution, dated November 17, 1819.
Jefferson commended King, but also reminded him about the importance of political representation and democracy, noting that under Maine’s constitution, the rights of individuals were usurped by corporate towns, saying,
"Equal representation is so fundamental a principle in a true republic that no prejudices can justify its violation because the prejudice themselves cannot be justified. The claims of the corporate towns in this case, like those of the barons in England have forced the body of the nation to accept a government by capitulation, these equal rights of the people at large are forced to yield to the privileges of a few."
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Senator Holmes justifying vote for the Missouri Compromise, 1820
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
John Holmes (1773-1843) was a state senator of Massachusetts who became a resident of Maine upon statehood and was in favor of Maine becoming independent from Massachusetts. He wrote this letter to his constituents in Maine, which was printed and distributed nationally. Holmes sent it to leading men across the country including to Thomas Jefferson who later sent Holmes a response.
Holmes justified his actions in voting for the Missouri Compromise, which stipulated that Maine could become a free state of the Union if Missouri could become a slave state.
Many people in Maine, while in favor of becoming a state, did not like their statehood being tied to Missouri's, and Holmes used this letter to explain his reasoning for voting for the compromise. After Maine became a state, Holmes was elected as one of its senators in 1820.
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Title page of Uncle Tom's Cabin (Boston: John P. Jewett & Co., 1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe (illus. Hammatt Billings)
The Constitution of the State of Maine and that of the United States, Portland, 1825
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
The Maine State Constitution took effect on March 15, 1820. Consisting of ten articles, the framers based it on the constitutions of several states.
The first three articles address individual rights, voter eligibility, and limitations on government, while four, five, and six deal with the three branches of government. Six through nine cover topics such as the state militia, education, and terms of the office. Article 10 incorporates into the constitution most of the 1819 Act Relating to the Separation of the District of Maine from Massachusetts and provides a timeline for starting the new government.
While the constitution provided strong protections for religious freedom, extended voting rights to Black men, and had no property requirement to vote, it disenfranchised women, the poor, and "Indians not taxed," recognizing Tribal sovereignty but also tying representation to taxation.
Todd and Smith, Printers to the State, printed this copy. Located in Portland, the state capitol in 1825, Seba Smith and Thomas Todd also published the Eastern Argus newspaper during the period. Smith was also a humorist and later responsible for creating the fictional character Major Jack Downing.
Not amended until 1835, this 1825 version contains all of the constitution’s original text. The Maine Constitution prohibits altering the Articles of Separation without the consent of Massachusetts. For this reason, and to avoid changing the Maine Constitution, Maine legislators instead suggested redacting sections of the document. Since 1876, Sections 1, 2, and 5 of Article X of the Maine Constitution ceased to be printed, but retain their legal validity. The redacted sections include Maine's obligation to uphold and defend treaties made between Massachusetts and the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Nations.
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William King, president of the convention that drew up a Constitution and proposed statehood for Maine, signed a proclamation announcing that Congress admitted Maine to the Union on March 3, 1820, and that the Constitution, previously adopted by the residents, was in effect as of March 15, 1820.
The proclamation was dated March 16.
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