As I write in chapter 5 of Mapping the Nation, the map enabled viewers to think about political patterns in new and suggestive ways. One reviewer in 1883 wrote that the map raised questions about why some counties were Democratic while their neighbors were Republican. A map allowed one to correlate, in a systematic fashion, the possible geographical influences at work, including topography, climate, or historic patterns of settlement. Perhaps some counties drew particular industries that spawned protective tariffs, while others had historic traditions of abolition. All of these influences could shape the spatial pattern of party identity.
All of these possibilities could be uniquely seen, and explored, through maps of data. Only a cartographic approach could help to explain why Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee had so many Republican counties, or why so many white Arkansans voted for Garfield in the 1880 election.
An amazing find that showcases some electoral trends that we still see today, the quality of the map is better than many we see today.
http://www.mappingthenation.com/blog/the-nations-first-electoral-map/
