When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

Welcome to Mid-Afternoon Map, our exclusive members-only newsletter that provides a cartographic perspective on current events, geopolitics, and history from the Caucasus to the Carolinas. Subscribers can look forward to interesting takes on good maps and bad maps, beautiful maps and ugly ones — and bizarre maps whenever possible.Eagles are not very expressive animals. It’s a problem, I assume, for cartoonists forced to use them to convey the many complex moods of the American people. In the image below, Puck Magazine’s Fourth of July cover from 1904, the American eagle surveys his global possessions with a firm eye and a resolute beak. Having just given himself the Panama Canal Zone for his 128th birthday, he has every reason to feel good. Yet as he spreads his wing across the Pacific to the newly acquired Philippines, the caption introduces a note of ambivalence: “Gee, but this is an awful stretch!” It appears that somewhere beneath the eagle’s furrowed, feathery brow lie the seeds of a far-from-finished debate about America’s role in the world.Joseph Ferdinand Keppler, Puck Magazine, June 29, 1904.A quick survey of recent op-eds reveals that the globe-bestriding eagle remains a vibrant and versatile symbol. Most often, it serves as a straightforward and celebratory graphic accompanying pieces that champion American power. If you’re calling for a more robust American presence in the Middle East or arguing that America should wield its might for good, you can’t go wrong with an eagle roosting on the relevant geography. This, of course, is how the symbol has worked for most of U.S. history, as shown most elegantly by the Marine Corps and Georgetown University.Illustration on the 1870 commencement invitation, Booth Family Center for Special Collections, Georgetown University.Illustration of 1936 Eagle, Globe and Anchor design, Marine Corps Trademark and Licensing Program.But inevitably, one man’s