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Jessica Handley
Leaver
AP HuG- 3rd period
17 May 2016
Unit 4: Political Organization of Space
As our world becomes more interconnected, we become more and more
influenced by each other's political activities. As globalization grows, our territories are
becoming more uniform, and more alike, as we are beginning to discover the most
efficient ways to place our boundaries and territories. The United States is one such
territory that has been shaped by this drive for efficiency. The states within, like Missouri,
South Carolina, and Texas all depict the changes of drawing political boundaries
throughout history.
I have lived in three states throughout my lifetime, and each state has been
arranged in a different way from the other, as a result of the growth of the United States
as a whole. I was born in Missouri, a compact state, which is by far the easiest to travel
through on family road trips or for commuting into its cities. Travel is so efficient
because of Missouris political and territorial organization, as it is a compact state with
the capitol, Jefferson City, in the center. I remember traveling from St. Louis to Jefferson
city in only around two hours on highway 70 for multiple school field trips, and the
complete efficiency of it all was obvious. As the United States has grown, it is becoming
more aware of the fact that straight roads and centralized cities contribute to the
economic and political efficiency of each state. I then moved to South Carolina, a former
British colony, and experienced a completely new political and territorial organization. As

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South Carolina was one of the first states in America, its political leaders did not know
the most efficient shape to give it to promote efficiency. It is somewhat compact, and
contains the central capitol city of Colombia, but it is far less rectangular than Missouri.
The boundaries are jagged, and the counties are very nonuniform. But just like Missouri,
South Carolinas highway system, despite its curviness, points towards Colombia, as it is
the center of all politics and marketing. Upon moving to Texas, I recognized that it is
very similar in shape to South Carolina, but is far larger than either of the two previous
states that I had called home. Texas is far more irregular in territory than either South
Carolina or Missouri, and could be considered a prorupted state due to its northwestern
extension. The political boundaries of Texas are also a product of its history, as it was
formerly controlled by Mexicans and was an entire country for a time. Texas has
increased in efficiency since that time period, but its capitol in Austin is not centrally
located, which does not contribute very well to a uniform political organization.
Our world is becoming more uniform in its decisions towards drawing political
boundaries and organizing territories due to the increased efficiency of organizing a
territory in a particular fashion. Although the boundaries of Missouri, South Carolina, and
Texas have not changed in my lifetime, they do depict a continual globalization that has
grown in our country since its beginnings. As South Carolina was the first out of the three
to be created, it was not fashioned to our contemporary ideals of a compact state, but
contains a central capitol as a result of the global ideal that the main governing power of
a state is best located in the center of its territory. Texas is by far the least compact of the
three, which was influenced by the fact that it was once a large country affected by many
wars for independence and boundary changes. All of these changes have ultimately lead

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to the boundaries we see today. Missouris rectangular and compact shape is a result of
the later known ideal that a central capitol and uniform boundaries are necessary for
political success. The effects of the globalization of uniform territories are not only
depicted in the United States, but in many countries across Afro-Eurasia. Many countries
that were created in the later pre-modern and modern worlds contain this centrally
located capital city or even primate city to increase market and government efficiency,
and they are shaped deliberately for a uniform distance from this central location.
Our views on political boundaries have changed drastically throughout human
history. In the modern world, the idea of a compact and centralized state is most pleasing
to us as it promotes an efficiency like no other. As our world has become more
globalized, our territorial arrangements have changed. Many states throughout our world
today are interconnected in the belief that territorial arrangements can make or break a
state in regards to their ability to connect the capitol to the hinterland surrounding.