How the U.S. Grew to Its Present Size: The Historical Geography of U.S.

Territorial Acquisition
Declared itself a separate country in 1776 (4th of July!), U.S. officially became Independent from Great Britain with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. It then expanded westward, enlarging its borders several times. The original 13 states grew into 50 states. General pattern was territorial expansion, carving of the newly acquired land into organized territories, modification of their borders, and eventual statehood. *PowerPoint shows timeline and appropriate maps for each event 1. Original 13 colonies of Great Britain became the first 13 states (1783) GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, PA, DE, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH Several were originally much larger than they would one day be, as some of their territory was eventually carved out to be made into new states: GA (portions of AL and MS), NC (TN), VA (KY and WV), MA (portion of ME). Portions of VT were claimed by NY and NH, but VT was a de facto independent country (Republic of VT). Admitted as 14th state in 1791. 2. Expansion over Appalachia with ceded British territory (1789) Region north and west of Appalachian mountains (Ohio River), south of Great Lakes, and east of the Mississippi River. Called the Northwest Territory. British got it from French; U.S. got it from British. First organized territory of the United States. US Constitution: Congress has the power to admit new states to the Union. New states are admitted by the precedents and procedures established by the Northwest Ordinance (1789). One of the most important pieces of legislation passed by the early Continental Congress other than the Declaration of Independence. Besides creating the Northwest Territory as the first organized territory, the Northwest Ordinance established the precedent by which the United States would expand westward across North America by admitting new states, rather than by expanding existing states. The most significant part of the legislation was its mandate for the creation of new states from the region, once a population of 60,000 had been achieved within a particular territory. The first state created from the territory was Ohio, 1803. 3. Louisiana Purchase (April 30, 1803) From France, who had gotten it from Spain. Defined as watershed of Mississippi River west of the river, and included some southern Canada later ceded to British Canada. Purchased while Jefferson was President, for $15 million, equal to ~$215 million today. 4. Red River cession from Britain (1818) Established 49th parallel north west of the Lake of the Woods as the border with British-held lands, transferring the Red River Basin to the US, consisting of northwestern MN, northeastern ND, northeastern tip SD. Transferred some land north of MT to Canada.

5. Florida Purchase from Spain (1819) Treaty established the entirety of the border between the United States and New Spain. Under the terms, all of Spanish FL was sold to the United States. The treaty transferred the rest of presentday ID and OR to Oregon Country; moved portions of present-day CO, OK, and WY, and all of NM and TX, to New Spain. 6. Texas annexation (1845) Remember the Alamo! Republic of Texas gained independence from Mexico (1836). Included portions of present-day CO, KS, OK, NM, and WY. Annexed by US on March 1, 1845, but Republic of Texas did not agree to join the union for several months. 7. Treaty of Oregon (1846) As part of Red River cession in 1818, U.S. + U.K. (British Canada) established joint claim over Oregon Territory, region west of Rockies between 42 North + 5440' North (southern boundary of Russia's Alaska territory). Eventually, western boundary between U.S. and British Canada established at 49 with Treaty of Oregon in 1846. More of the story in Lecture on North Pacific Coast. 8. California and the Southwest cession from Mexico (1848) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending Mexican-American War, granted large area of land to the U.S. from Mexico. All of present-day CA, NV, UT, most of AZ, and portions of CO, NM, WY. US paid $15 million (equivalent to ~$370 million today) and ensured safety of pre-existing property rights of Mexican citizens in the transferred territories, the latter of which the United States failed to honor in a significant number of cases. 9. Gadsden Purchase (1853) Rest of AZ, NM, from Mexico for $10 million (~$260 million today). Named for James Gadsden, then American ambassador to Mexico. Part of negotiations to finalize border issues unresolved from the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, and it was intended to allow for the construction of a transcontinental railroad along a very southern route. 10. Alaska Purchase (1867) Russia sold it to us. Became 49th state 1959. More of the story in Lecture on North Pacific Coast. 11. Annexation of Republic of Hawaii (1898) Annexed by U.S. in 1898. It too had been an independent country, first a kingdom and then a republic for 4 years. Became 50th state in 1959. More of the story in Lecture on The Hawaiian Islands.

States 1-13 (south to north order) GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, PA, DE, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH VT as 14th state 1791 KY as 15th state 1792 TN as 16th state 1796 OH as 17th state 1803 LA as 18th state 1812 IN as 19th state 1816 MS as 20th state 1817 IL as 21st state 1818 AL as 22nd state 1819 ME as 23rd state 1820 MO as 24th state 1821 AR as 25th state 1836 MI as 26th state 1837 FL as 27th state 1845 TX as 28th state 1845. IA as 29th state 1846 WI as 30th state 1848 CA as 31st state 1850 MN as 32nd state 1858 OR as 33rd state 1859 KA as 34th state 1861 WV as 35th state 1863 NV as 36th state 1864 NE as 37th state 1867 CO as 38th state 1876 ND and SD as 39th and 40th states 1889 MT as 41st state 1889 WA as 42nd state 1889 ID as 43rd state 1890 WY as 44th state 1890 UT as 45th state 1896 OK as 46th state 1907 NM as 47th state 1912 AZ as 48th state 1912 AK as 49th state 1959 HA as 50th state 1959