TERRITORIAL EXPANSION, 1783-1853
TREATY OF PARIS - 1783
1. Recognized American independence
2. Gave U.S. all British lands South of Canada and East of the Mississippi River
3. Florida became the property of Spain
4. Imprecise boundaries, north and south
PINCKNEY TREATY - 1795/6. Spain conceded trans-Appalachia north of
the 31st parallel to the U.S.
TREATY OF GREENVILLE - 1795. 12 Indian Tribes granted most of
Northwest Territory to U.S. (NOTE: Europeans had given up
claims to this area in the treaty of Paris of 1783.
LOUISIANA PURCHASE - 1803. See "American Foreign Policy, 1795-1815."
WEST FLORIDA - See "American Foreign Policy, 1795-1815."
CONVENTION OF 1818
1. Boundary between U.S. and Canada (then under Britain) drawn at 49th parallel between Lake of the Woods and the Rockies. Established Northern boundary of Louisiana Territory.
2. 10-year joint occupation of the Oregon territory.
ADAMS-ONIS TREATY - 1819
1. Spain renounced all claims to West Florida
2. Spain ceded East Florida to the U.S.
3. U.S. renounced claims to Texas
4. U.S. assumed claims of Americans against Spain to maximum of five million dollars.
5. Settled Western boundary of Louisiana territory.
6. In effect, Spain surrendered her claim to Oregon to the U.S.
TEXAS
1. American settlers infiltrated into Texas
2. Revolution in 1836
3. Texas petitioned for annexation to the U.S. in 1837.
Refused.
4. Treaty of Annexation signed in 1844, but was rejected by
the U.S. Senate.
5. Annexation by joint resolution, 1845
WEBSTER-ASHBURTON TREATY - 1842
1. Boundary dispute led to undeclared war among lumberjacks and militiamen on both sides of the Maine-Canada border.
2. Treaty drew definite lines constituting the present boundary
a. U.S. got about 7/12 of disputed territory in Maine.
b. Boundary around New York re-drawn to allow U.S. to keep a fort which had been built mistakenly on the wrong side of the border.
c. U.S. gained a piece of land between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, which later proved to be fantastically rich in iron.
BUCHANAN-PACKENHAM TREATY - 1846
1. Settled Anglo-American boundary in Oregon
2. Extended 49th parallel line to Pacific
THE MEXICAN CESSION - (TREATY OF GAUDALUPE HIDALGO) - 1848
1. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, part of Colorado, and all claims to Texas were surrendered by Mexico to the U.S.
2. U.S. paid $15 million and assumed claims of its citizens against the Mexican government.
THE GADSDEN PURCHASE - 1853. Land south of Gila River (present-day
southern Arizona and New Mexico) sold to U.S. by Mexico for
$10 million.