Kenneth C. Martis
Encyclopedia
Kenneth C. Martis is an American political geographer notable for his mapping and documentation of the electoral history of the United States. He is a professor in the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University.
, and joined the faculty of West Virginia University.
, was designated a Selected Reference Book by the journal College and Research Libraries and won the American Historical Association's Waldo G. Leland Prize for the best reference book in all fields of history for the period 1981-1986. The Atlas was the first book in American history to map every congressional district for every election and catalog all state redistricting laws. Based on the archival work for this book, Martis and Ruth A. Rowles were awarded the 1984 Organization of American Historian's Charles Thomson Prize for their article "Mapping Congress: Developing a Geographic Understanding of American Political History."
The illustration is an example of the congressional district base maps found in the reference book The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts: 1789-1983. There are ninety-seven national scale district maps, one for each of the first ninety-seven congresses. The Thirty-seventh Congress was primarily elected in 1860 and is the first Congress to convene during the Civil War. The striped areas indicate districts in the eleven seceded states which did not send representatives to the United States Congress. The House certified and seated several “Unionist” members from three seceded states, including five from Virginia, three from western Tennessee and two from southern Louisiana (elected after the New Orleans area was occupied). On the page opposite of each map is an alphabetical list of all who served in the House of Representatives with their proper state and congressional district number/designation (note the two members from Minnesota and three from California are not elected from districts but on a General Ticket, that is, statewide). Insert maps are used to illustrate very small urban districts. Information is found at the bottom of each map giving the session dates, total number of representatives, Speaker, newly admitted states, and map notes indicating vacancies throughout the Congress and any significant state or national boundary changes.
In 1989 the second book in his series of congressional atlases was published, The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress: 1789-1989
. The atlas was the first in American history to map all congressional elections for every state and district and identify the political party affiliation of every person elected to Congress from 1788. The Library Journal designated the political party atlas as one of the Best Reference Books of 1989 and College and Research Libraries named it a Selected Reference Book of 1989-90. The Library of Congress selected the political cartography from this work as the centerpiece of its main exhibition on "Tides of Party Politics: Two Centuries of Congressional Elections" celebrating of the 1989 bicentennial of the United States Congress. The data developed for this work is now considered the standard source of political party affiliation of members of Congress by the official Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
In 1993 his third book on Congress, co-authored by Dr. Gregory Elmes, The Historical Atlas of State Power in Congress: 1790-1990 was published. This work maps and analyzes every apportionment change for every state for all of United States history. This work won the 1993 Washington Book Publishers award for best book design.
In 1994 The Historical Atlas of the Congresses of the Confederate States of America: 1861-1865 was published. This book is the first nonmilitary nonbattlefield atlas of the American Civil War. The American Library Association, Choice Magazine, designated this work an Outstanding Academic Book of 1994. In 2002 the Atlas of American Politics: 1960-2000, was published, which Martis co-authored with J. Clark Archer, Stephen J. Lavin, and Fred M. Shelley. This atlas won the American Library Association Outstanding Academic Book Award of 2003. In 2006 he co-authored the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: 1788-2004 with the same collaborators; it was the first county four-color atlas of all American presidential elections. In 2006 the Atlas was awarded the Library Journal Best Reference Book prize and the Association of American Publishers Outstanding Single Volume Reference Book in the Humanities & Social Sciences recognition.
In 2001 he was interviewed for the distinguished "Geographers on Film" series that highlights the career and work of notable American geographers. Kenneth C. Martis is a Professor of Geography at West Virginia University and is the first awardee of that institution's highest academic honor, Benedum Distinguished Scholar. He was awarded the 2007 West Virginia Professor of the Year Award by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Washington, DC.
For his work on the historical geography of Congress he has received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Association of American Geographers, Everett McKinley Dirksen Congressional Leadership Research Center, Huntington Library, and the Newberry Library.
Early Life and Education
Martis was born in Toledo, Ohio on December 5, 1945. His four grandparents and father were immigrants from Slovakia. Martis obtained a B.Ed. degree from Toledo University in 1968 and a M.A. in geography from San Diego State University in 1970. In 1975 he received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of Michigan, studying under political geographer George KishGeorge Kish
Professor George Kish , was an internationally recognized authority known for work in geography and the history of cartography. His professional papers are held at the Bentley Historical Library in Ann Arbor....
, and joined the faculty of West Virginia University.
Contributions to Political Geography
Martis is the author and co-author of six award winning books on the United States Congress and American politics. The first book in his series of historical congressional atlases, The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts: 1789-1983The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts: 1789-1983
-Background:Representation in the United States Congress is geographically based. The Founders explicitly designed the House of Representatives to be an institution that reflects local and regional concerns...
, was designated a Selected Reference Book by the journal College and Research Libraries and won the American Historical Association's Waldo G. Leland Prize for the best reference book in all fields of history for the period 1981-1986. The Atlas was the first book in American history to map every congressional district for every election and catalog all state redistricting laws. Based on the archival work for this book, Martis and Ruth A. Rowles were awarded the 1984 Organization of American Historian's Charles Thomson Prize for their article "Mapping Congress: Developing a Geographic Understanding of American Political History."
The illustration is an example of the congressional district base maps found in the reference book The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts: 1789-1983. There are ninety-seven national scale district maps, one for each of the first ninety-seven congresses. The Thirty-seventh Congress was primarily elected in 1860 and is the first Congress to convene during the Civil War. The striped areas indicate districts in the eleven seceded states which did not send representatives to the United States Congress. The House certified and seated several “Unionist” members from three seceded states, including five from Virginia, three from western Tennessee and two from southern Louisiana (elected after the New Orleans area was occupied). On the page opposite of each map is an alphabetical list of all who served in the House of Representatives with their proper state and congressional district number/designation (note the two members from Minnesota and three from California are not elected from districts but on a General Ticket, that is, statewide). Insert maps are used to illustrate very small urban districts. Information is found at the bottom of each map giving the session dates, total number of representatives, Speaker, newly admitted states, and map notes indicating vacancies throughout the Congress and any significant state or national boundary changes.
In 1989 the second book in his series of congressional atlases was published, The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress: 1789-1989
The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress: 1789-1989
-Background:Representation in the United States Congress is geographically based. Moreover, the Founders explicitly designed the House of Representatives to be an institution that reflects local and regional concerns...
. The atlas was the first in American history to map all congressional elections for every state and district and identify the political party affiliation of every person elected to Congress from 1788. The Library Journal designated the political party atlas as one of the Best Reference Books of 1989 and College and Research Libraries named it a Selected Reference Book of 1989-90. The Library of Congress selected the political cartography from this work as the centerpiece of its main exhibition on "Tides of Party Politics: Two Centuries of Congressional Elections" celebrating of the 1989 bicentennial of the United States Congress. The data developed for this work is now considered the standard source of political party affiliation of members of Congress by the official Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
In 1993 his third book on Congress, co-authored by Dr. Gregory Elmes, The Historical Atlas of State Power in Congress: 1790-1990 was published. This work maps and analyzes every apportionment change for every state for all of United States history. This work won the 1993 Washington Book Publishers award for best book design.
In 1994 The Historical Atlas of the Congresses of the Confederate States of America: 1861-1865 was published. This book is the first nonmilitary nonbattlefield atlas of the American Civil War. The American Library Association, Choice Magazine, designated this work an Outstanding Academic Book of 1994. In 2002 the Atlas of American Politics: 1960-2000, was published, which Martis co-authored with J. Clark Archer, Stephen J. Lavin, and Fred M. Shelley. This atlas won the American Library Association Outstanding Academic Book Award of 2003. In 2006 he co-authored the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: 1788-2004 with the same collaborators; it was the first county four-color atlas of all American presidential elections. In 2006 the Atlas was awarded the Library Journal Best Reference Book prize and the Association of American Publishers Outstanding Single Volume Reference Book in the Humanities & Social Sciences recognition.
In 2001 he was interviewed for the distinguished "Geographers on Film" series that highlights the career and work of notable American geographers. Kenneth C. Martis is a Professor of Geography at West Virginia University and is the first awardee of that institution's highest academic honor, Benedum Distinguished Scholar. He was awarded the 2007 West Virginia Professor of the Year Award by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Washington, DC.
For his work on the historical geography of Congress he has received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Association of American Geographers, Everett McKinley Dirksen Congressional Leadership Research Center, Huntington Library, and the Newberry Library.
Selected Works
- Historical Atlas of U. S. Presidential Elections: 1788-2004. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2006. (with J. Clark Archer, Stephen J. Lavin, Fred M. Shelley).
- Atlas of American Politics: 1960-2000. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2002. (with J. Clark Archer, Stephen J. Lavin, Fred M. Shelley)
- The Historical Atlas of the Congresses of the Confederate States of America: 1861-1865. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. (with Gyula Pauer - Cartographer and R. Reed Durbin - Research Assistant).
- The Historical Atlas of State Power in Congress: 1790-1990. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1993. (with Gregory Elmes).
- The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress: 1789-1989. New York: Macmillan, 1989. (with Ruth A. Rowles and Gyula Pauer – Cartographers).
- The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts: 1789-1983. New York: The Free Press, 1982. (with Ruth A. Rowles - Cartographer).
- "Geographical Patterns of Reapportionment, 1790-2000." Guide to U.S. Elections. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2005. 863-864.
- Database of Historical Congressional Statistics. Blacksburg, Virginia: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Political Science, 2001. (with Elaine K. Swift, et. al.).
- “The Original Gerrymander.” Political Geography. Vol. 27, No. 4. November 2008, 833-839. See the Wikipedia article, “Gerrymandering – Origin of the Term,” to which Martis added research findings in 2010.
- "Sectionalism and the United States Congress." Political Geography Quarterly. Vol. 7, No. 2, April 1988, 99-109.
- "Mapping Congress: Developing a Geographic Understanding of American Political History." Prologue - Journal of the National Archives. Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring 1984, 4-21. (with Ruth A. Rowles).
- "The History of Natural Resources Roll-Call Voting in the United States House of Representatives: An Analysis of the Spatial Aspects of Legislative Voting Behavior." Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Geography, The University of Michigan, 1976.
- "Tides of Party Politics: Two Centuries of Congressional Elections 1789-1989," Museum exhibition, February–August, 1989, Library of Congress, Madison Building, Washington, DC (with John R. Sellers and Ingrid M. Maar).
- “Electoral Map.” Mark MonmonierMark MonmonierMark Stephen Monmonier is a Distinguished Professor of Geography at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He specializes in toponymy, geography, and geographic information systems. His popular written works show a combination of serious study and a sense of humor. Most of his work is...
, ed. The History of Cartography, Volume Six: Cartography in the Twentieth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, forthcoming.
External links
- http://www.geo.wvu.edu/~martis/
- http://oz.plymouth.edu/~gof/home.html
- http://update.veryspatial.com/2006/11/a-veryspatial-podcast-episode-68/
- http://www.historians.org/prizes/AWARDED/LelandWinner.htm