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The spatial mapping of American political evolution that Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal have accomplished over the past decade and more is of enormous significance to the subfield of American Political Development (APD). But the mathematical complexity of the procedure which Poole and Rosenthal devised for classification of congressional roll call has hindered APD (and undoubtedly other) scholars from fully appreciating the full significance of what Poole and Rosenthal have accomplished. No straightforward explanation that is at once accessible, intuitive, and fairly rigorous is currently available. This paper seeks to fill that gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]