Land Acquisitions Flashcards
Louisiana Purchase
Purchased by the U.S. from France in 1803. Some 800,000 square miles in area.
Florida
In 1810, American settlers in the western part of Florida rebelled against Spanish rule and declared their independence as the Republic of West Florida. This area was substantially annexed by the U.S.. After long negotiations, Spain agreed in 1819 to cede Florida to the U.S. through the Adams-Onis Treaty. A state constitution was drafted in 1838, and Florida was admitted to the Union on March 3rd, 1845.
Texas
In 1836, Texas became a separate Republic after the rebellion from Mexico. The U.S. Senate rejected a treaty to annex Texas in 1844, but it reversed that decision the following year, and Texas joined the Union on December 29, 1845.
Mexican War/ Gadsden Purchase
The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo ended the Mexican War and ceded California, New Mexico, and Utah territories to the U.S. in exchange for $15 million. The Gadsden Purchase was made in 1853 to obtain Mexican land for a route for the transcontinental railroad.
Alaska
Russia sold its colony to U.S. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, on March 11th, 1867. Russian Ambassador Baron Eduard Stoeckl drew up the Treaty of Cession and sent it to the government for ratification. The agreed price was $7.2 million.
Puerto Rico
As a result of the Spanish-American War (1898), Puerto Rico was ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris. In 1900, Congress established a civil government on the island. Citizenship was granted to Puerto Ricans in 1917, and the U.S. instituted measures designed to solve various economic and social problems in the overpopulated area.
Guam
In 1898, by the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the island was ceded by Spain to the U.S.
Philippines
By the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Spain ceded the entire archipelago to the U.S. in return for $20 million. In December of that year the U.S. proclaimed the establishment of military rule
Hawaii
President McKinley signed a resolution on July 7, 1898, and the formal transfer of Hawaiian sovereignty to the U.S. took place in Honolulu on August 12th, 1898. In 1900, Hawaii became a U.S. territory, making its citizens U.S. citizens. Hawaii was proclaimed the 50th state on August 21, 1959.
Panama Canal Zone
1904-1979. Territory in Central Panama governed by the U.S. for the operation of the Panama Canal. The Canal Zone was created under the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. It was signed in 1903 by the newly independent nation of Panama and the U.S. The treaty gave the U.S. the right to build and operate the Panama Canal, to control the Canal Zone as if it were U.S. Territory, and to annex more land if necessary for canal operations and defense.
Virgin Islands
During the Civil War (1861-65) the Union began to negotiate with Denmark for the purchase of the Virgin Islands in order to establish naval bases in the Caribbean. Nothing came of the negotiations until WWI. In 1917, the U.S. bought the Virgin Islands for $25 million and built a naval base in order to protect the Panama Canal and pr vent Germany’s seizure of the islands.
