America vs. Christophica.

• Position: Geography

"United States of Christophica" doesn't conjure images of amber waves of grain. But the U.S.C. could exist today if a German mapmaker had named the New World after Christopher Columbus instead of rival Amerigo Vespucci.

The U.S. Library of Congress recently acquired from a German prince the first map with the "America" label, created in 1507. Experts say it was Columbus's own stubborn fault that the mapmaker favored Vespucci, an Italian who sailed to what is...