School geography books such as this one illustrate how Europeans and Euro-Americans in the 19th century felt it was important to classify and form hierarchies of all phenomena. This book taught geography through a system of “comparison and classification” of both landscapes and cultures. Each country and race of people described is ranked according to its “Degrees of Civilization,” much as the major rivers and mountains are classified in terms of their comparative size.
Woodbridge, William Channing. Universal Geography, Ancient and Modern: Comparison and Classification. Oliver D. Cooke and Sons, 1827. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l99-116/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.