Today in class we looked at a bunch of maps of the United
States and talked about what occurrences had triggered each one. We also tried to guess, based on our
understanding of the time, approximately what year each map was from. After finding that I myself as some of the
people around me were having some difficulty doing this, I thought it would be
useful to write a more formal blog about a few of the bigger events that
changed the shape of the United States.
On July 4th 1776, United States congress declared
the Declaration of Independence and independence from Britain. It was on this date that the United Colonies
of the British Empire became the United States of America. At this time in the late 18th
century, central North America was dominated by France, the west and south were
controlled by Spain, and in the east had just sprung forth a new country.
When in 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte decided that he needed cash
for his army, he sold the Louisiana territory to President Thomas
Jefferson. This sale, or rather steal
for the Americans, is one of the greatest land deals of all time. Jefferson was able to take advantage of
Napoleon’s desperate need for money and thus buy the expansive piece of land
for such a low price.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a Congressional effort
to abate the sectional and political rivalries that were brought about with
Missouri’s request to be admitted to the union as a state that permitted
slavery. At the time, the U.S. was composed
of 22 states, half of which were slave, and the other half of which were
free. In an effort to maintain equality
between slave and free states, the compromise prohibited slavery in the former
Louisiana territory north of the 36°30° line except for the area within
the proposed state of Missouri.
By 1946 there had arisen a great dispute between the United
States and Mexico regarding the boarder between the two countries. Mexico had never recognized Texas as a
separate territory while the United States wanted Texas to be a part of the
U.S. As a result of the war, the two
countries decided on the Rio Grande as the boundary between Texas and
Mexico. The United States also acquired
what would be known as California, Nevada, Utah, and part of Arizona.
In 1812 Arizona joined as the 48th state in the
union. Continental United states now
looked geographically and politically as it does now. With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii,
which would both join the union in 1959, the U.S.A. was in a sense, completed.
What do you guys think are some of the biggest land ordinances that are important to know for the AP test?
Sources: American Pageant textbook
http://www.history.com/topics/louisiana-purchase
Great post Sami. In my opinion, the Louisiana Purchase likely will be a very important land acquisition to remember for the AP test. It approximately doubled the size of the United States, and did so at an excellent price. I also think the Alaska purchase is very important because once again, the US gained a massive amount of territory and natural resources at a very low price.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/louisiana-purchase
http://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase
This is a really helpful post, thanks! Though there will most likely be less about these on the AP test, I think it would be a good idea to remember some of the smaller territorial U.S land acquisitions as well as the ones mentioned above. The link has an informative list of all the other territories that the U.S. has at some point had ownership or jurisdiction over, such as the Philippines, the Panama Canal area, and many other small islands.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/history/a_expansion.html
(scroll down, it's towards the end)
No the SQUATTER VISITING RECESSIVE RH+ GENE EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S. does not have any jurisdiction over these STOLEN Indigenous Black People of Many Clans STOLEN LANDS...This is a fraudulent, and Owed Restitution,Ongoing Crime..
DeleteThanks for the informative post! I think you've covered many of the major gains in U.S. territory very well; I'd like to add some insight about the map after the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise and opened new territories to popular sovereignty. I found this super cool interactive map that shows the U.S. after the Missouri Compromise http://teachingamericanhistory.org/static/neh/interactives/sectionalism/lesson3/
ReplyDeleteNone of these STOLEN lands belonged to france to sell this is an ongoing fraudulent crime!!
ReplyDelete