Object

Leo's Historical Map of Pre-U.S. Territories

Bartlet summons Leo's wall map from his former house into the Oval Office fray—parchment expanse charting 13 ragged colonies, vast French Louisiana, sprawling Mexico, zero U.S. states marring colonial borders. Fingers stab air as he wields it against C.J.'s scandal warnings, voice thundering analogies while Charlie absorbs the barb, antique lines fueling Bartlet's defiant spin on historical truth over Philistine outrage.

1 appearances

Purpose

Analogical prop contrasting modern expectations with period cartography

Significance

Ignites Bartlet's intellectual broadside, mirroring the 1709 Holy Land map's controversy and exposing his unyielding principle amid political tempests, levity piercing scandal's gloom

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S3E10 · H. Con-172

Bartlet Defends Historic Map Against C.J.'s Backlash Warning

Bartlet vividly invokes Leo's historical map of pre-U.S. territories—depicting 13 colonies, French Louisiana, and Mexico without any states—as a powerful analogy to defend the 1709 map's accuracy, underscoring that historical documents reflect their era's reality, not modern anachronisms, to counter C.J.'s political caution and affirm truth over expediency.

Before: Displayed in Leo McGarry's former residence

After: Still displayed in Leo McGarry's former residence, unchanged but narratively weaponized in debate

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