OUTLINE PROPOSALS - SECOND DRAFTS

A Four-Dimensional Interactive Atlas of American History

shows movement, development, and process across large areas and, most importantly, long chronological periods

focuses on the evolution of networks and processes that connect places, such as migration, rivers, railroads, telegraphs, highways, telephones, and internet

based on detailed textured landforms, revealing interaction of natural environment and human history

dynamically generated from the large amounts of existing historical data about counties, towns, cities, and states over the last four centuries, data that is now much underutilized because there is no useful way to see it

powered by extrapolatory and interpretive mechanisms operating from a sparse and inconsistent historical record, providing empirical approximations of places and processes for which we do not have precise data

offers simple tools to navigate across space and through time and more specialized tools to go more deeply

allows users of every level to visualize history in a new way, not only teaching what we already know but also posing new kinds of research questions for scholars

creates a medium in which researchers interact with each other around and through the content

images and documents keyed to place and time will be available to users

extensible in each dimension as new data becomes available