United States territorial acquisition
This is a simplified list of United States territorial acquisitions, beginning with American independence. Note that this list primarily concerns land acquired from other nation-states; the numerous territorial acquisitions from American Indians are not listed here. This list excludes U.S. protectorates (like Nicaragua from 1912-33) & territories like Liberia from 1822-47.
The 1783 Treaty of Paris with Great Britain defined
the original borders of the United States. Due to ambiguities in the treaty, the
ownership of Machias Seal Island & North Rock remain disputed between the
U.S. & Canada; other original territorial ambiguities (including the Northeastern
Boundary Dispute & the disputed Indian Stream territory) were resolved by
the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
The Louisiana Purchase, completed 1803,
was negotiated by Robert Livingston during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson;
the territory was acquired from France for 15 million dollars. A small portion
of this land was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1818 in exchange for the Red River
Basin. More of this land was ceded to Spain in 1819 with the Florida Purchase,
but was later reacquired through Texas annexation & Mexican Cession.
West
Florida was declared by President James Madison to be a U.S. possession in 1810.
Tristan da Cunha was the first, albeit short-lived U.S. overseas possession.
This remote South Atlantic island was first claimed in 1810 by Jonathan Lambert
from Salem, Massachusetts, who died in a boating accident in 1812. During the
War of 1812, the U.S. used it as a naval & piracy base against British shipping.
The island was abandoned after the war & annexed within months by the British,
along with Ascension Island, in order to prevent the French from establishing
bases from which to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte from Saint Helena.
Red River
Basin, acquired in 1818 by treaty from the United Kingdom, namely the Anglo-American
Convention of 1818.
The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 with Spain resulted
in Spain's cession of East Florida & the Sabine Free State & Spain's surrender
of any claims to the Oregon Country. Article III of the treaty, when properly
surveyed, resulted in the acquisition of a small part of central Colorado.
Texas
Annexation of 1845: In 1836 the Republic of Texas voted to be annexed by the United
States. Despite the fact that Mexican leader Antonio López de Santa Anna
warned that this would be "equivalent to a declaration of war against the
Mexican Republic," President John Tyler signed a treaty of annexation with
Texas in April 1844. After James Polk, a strong supporter of territorial expansion,
won the presidency, but before he took office, Congress approved the annexation
of Texas on February 28, 1845. On December 29, 1845, Texas became the 28th state.
Oregon Country, the area of North America west of the Rockies to the Pacific,
was jointly controlled by the U.S. & the United Kingdom following the Anglo-American
Convention of 1818 until 1846 when the Oregon Treaty divided the territory at
the 49th parallel (see Oregon boundary dispute). The San Juan Islands were claimed
& jointly occupied by the U.S. & the U.K. from 1846-1872 due to ambiguities
in the treaty (see Northwestern Boundary Dispute). Arbitration led to the sole
US possession of the San Juan Islands since 1872.
Mexican Cession lands were
a product of the Mexican-American War & the subsequent Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, signed February 2, 1848. In this treaty, Mexico gave the U.S. parts of
what is Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico & Wyoming, & the whole of
California, Nevada & Utah & recognized the Rio Grande as Texas' Southern
border. The United States paid Mexico $15 million. In addition, the United States
agreed to pay claims made by American citizens against Mexico, which amounted
to more than $3 million.
Gadsden Purchase of 1853, United States purchased
a strip of land along the U.S.-Mexico border for $10 million, now in New Mexico
& Arizona. This territory was later used for the southern transcontinental
railroad.
The Guano Islands Act of 1856 provided for U.S. claims to unoccupied
islands. Baker Island, Howland Island, & Navassa Island were annexed in under
its provisions in 1857. Today ownership of Navassa is disputed between the U.S.
& Haiti. Johnston Atoll was claimed by the U.S. & Hawaii in 1858; the
U.S. claim became undisputed in 1898 after the annexation of Hawaii. Midway Atoll
was discovered & claimed in 1859 & formally annexed 1867. Kingman Reef
was annexed in 1922.
Alaska Purchase from Russia in 1867.
National
Atlas map (circa 2005) depicting territorial acquisitions & dates of statehood.Chamizal
from Mexico from 1852-1873 due to course change of the Rio Grande River. The territory
was mostly retroceded to Mexico by treaty in 1963.
Hawaii, annexed 1898 upon
the request of a government made up primarily of American & European businessmen
who had overthrown the Kingdom of Hawaii. With Hawaii came the Palmyra Atoll which
had been annexed by the U.S. in 1859 but later abandoned, then later claimed by
Hawaii.
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, & Cuba, ceded by Spain after
the Spanish-American War in 1898, & for which the United States compensated
Spain an additional $20 million under the terms of Article 3 of the Treaty of
Paris. All four of these areas were under United States Military Government (USMG)
for extended periods. Cuba became an independent nation in 1902, & the Philippines
became an independent nation in 1946.
Wake Island, annexed in 1899 (the claim
is currently disputed by the Marshall Islands.)
American Samoa, occupied in
1899, made a formal territory in 1929.
Tutuila Island & Aunuu Island ceded
by their chiefs in 1900, then added to American Samoa.
Manua, annexed in 1904,
then added to American Samoa.
Swains Island, annexed in 1925 (occupied since
1856), then added to American Samoa (The claim is currently disputed by Tokelau,
a colonial territory of New Zealand).
United States Virgin Islands, bought
from the Danish Crown for $25 million on January 17, 1917 during World War I.
Virgin Islands inhabitants became American citizens in 1927.
Jarvis Island,
reclaimed in 1935, previously annexed in 1858, but abandoned in 1879.
Marshall
Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands & Palau,
occupied by the United States during World War II, formalised under the UN trusteeship
system in 1947. Micronesia & the Marshall Islands both achieved independence
in 1986 & Palau in 1994, via Compacts of Free Association.
The Boundary
Treaty of 1970 transferred 2702.9 acres of Mexican territory to the U.S.. In exchange,
the U.S. ceded 2087.87 acres to Mexico, including the town of Rio Rico, Texas.
Here are some more sites, there are books &
articles on the subjects in many internet places, or internet book shops, bookstores,
at the bottom, are lists of which were the worst regimes of the past few centuries.
Links to our 100s of websites, http://www.info-facts.com/
The Story of Vinland, the Viking colonies in North America
A Site which is a article on the idea of US manifest destiny
US Senate majorities of 1789-2007
The French Revolution, why it was good. http://www.info-facts.com/French%20Revolution.htm
The most evil regimes of the 19thC http://www.info-facts.com/The%2010%20most%20evil%20regiomes%20of%20the%2019th%20centrury.htm
1640S Britain site http://www.info-facts.com/Cromwell.htm
Worst regimes of the 18thC http://www.info-facts.com/worst18thcregimes.htm
A site on the El Nino famines of the late 19thc http://www.info-facts.com/El%20Nino%20famines.htm
The Highland Clearances http://www.info-facts.com/Highland%20Clearances.htm
The Belgian King's Congo of the 1880s-1910s, oppression that killed 10s of millions, http://www.info-facts.com/Belgian%20Congo.htm
Nicest regimes ever site http://www.info-facts.com/Nicest%20Regimes%20ever.htm
Our index site http://www.info-facts.com.
The Best achieving regiemes ever http://www.info-facts.com/Besregimesachivers.htm
Worst regimes of the 17thC http://www.info-facts.com/Worst17thCregimes.htm
A site saying which were the 10 largest empires ever http://www.info-facts.com/worldlargestempiresever.htm
What would happen in a war between these sides http://www.info-facts.com/whatwouldhappeninawar.htm
Most evil regimes ever http://www.info-facts.com/Most%20evil%20regimes%20ever.htm
Royalty free music http://www.info-facts.com/Royalty%20free%20music%20site.htm
The worst 1990s regimes http://www.info-facts.com/Worst%201990s%20regimes.htm
The Worst 16thC regimes http://www.info-facts.com/worst16thcregimes.htm
The Worst 15th C regimes http://www.info-facts.com/worst15thcregimes.htm
The Worst regimes of the 2000s http://www.info-facts.com//Worst2000ssregimes.htm
A site saying what are the top 10 English speaking countries in the world, in terms of population.
http://www.info-facts.com//top10englishspeakingcountriesinpopulation.htm
My pro-democracy site http://www.info-facts.com/democracysite.htm
Our report on the history of racism, in US mainstream media, from the 1900s to 2006, & wonderings of what conclusions we can have, A short report.
A site saying what are the 10 largest Celtic cities on Earth. http://www.info-facts.com/top10citiesincelticland.htm
A site on giant sloths & animals that were alive during the stone age, that are not now, linked to one about terror birds
http://www.info-facts.com/giantsloths.htm
Utah - a Description and history
A site redording the statisticts of world war two http://www.info-facts.com/holocauststats.htm
Hotel in 20 Hotel in 21 Hotel in 22 Hotel in 8 Hotel in 10
Hotel in 18 Hotel in 14 Hotel in 17 Hotel in 23 Hotel in 24 Hotel in 25 Hotel in 26 Hotel in 15
Holiday to 3 - More places to go on Holiday to
A site on the time traveling revolitionary http://www.info-facts.com/timetravel.htm
The world's most powerful countries top 10 http://www.info-facts.com/worldsmostpowerfulcountries.htm
Worst regiems of the 20thC essay http://www.info-facts.com/Worstregimesofthe20thcenturyessay.htm
Worst regimes the stats & how I calculated all these posistions, http://www.info-facts.com/Worstregimesofthe20thcenturystats.htm
A index site of all our history sites http://www.info-facts.com/historyindex.htm