This is a simplified list of United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language territorial acquisitions, beginning with American independence The American Revolutionary War or American War of Independence began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers. Note that this list primarily concerns land acquired from other nation-states The nation-state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity. The term "nation-state" implies that the two geographically coincide, and; the numerous territorial acquisitions from American Indians Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. The terminology used to are not listed here. This list excludes U.S. protectorates A protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of their relationship. However, it retains sufficient (like Nicaragua Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean from 1912-33) and territories like Liberia Liberia /laɪˈbɪəriə/ , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers 111,369 square kilometres (43,000 sq mi) from 1822-47.

• The 1783 Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris, signed on 3 September 1783, ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on 14 January 1784 and by the King of Great Britain on 9 April 1784 , formally ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America, which had rebelled against British rule. The other combatant with Great Britain defined the original borders of the United States. Due to ambiguities in the treaty, the ownership of Machias Seal Island Machias Seal Island is an island located in the Gulf of Maine, approximately 16 km southeast from Cutler, Maine and approximately 19 km (11.8 mi) southwest of Southwest Head, New Brunswick on Grand Manan Island. Machias Seal Island is located at 44°30′10″N 67°06′10″W / 44.50278°N 67.10278°W and measures approximately 8 ha (19.8 and North Rock North Rock is an offshore rock with geographical coordinates of 44°32′17″N 67°05′17″W / 44.53795°N 67.08805°W, located to the east of the North American continent near the boundary between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy remain disputed between the U.S. and Canada; other original territorial ambiguities (including the Northeastern Boundary Dispute and the disputed Indian Stream territory The Republic of Indian Stream was a small, unrecognized, constitutional republic in North America, along the section of the US-Canada border that divides the Canadian province of Quebec from the US state of New Hampshire. It existed from July 9, 1832 to 1835. Described as "Indian Stream Territory, so-called" by the United States census-) were resolved by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies, particularly a dispute over the location of the Maine–New Brunswick border. It also established the details of the border between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, in 1842.
• The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of 828,800 square miles (2,147,000 km2) of the French territory Louisiana in 1803. The U.S. paid 60 million francs ($11,250,000) plus cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs ($3,750,000), a total cost of 15 million dollars for the Louisiana territory, completed 1803, was negotiated by Robert Livingston Robert R. Livingston was the eldest son of Judge Robert Livingston and Margaret Beekman Livingston. He had nine brothers and sisters, all of whom wed and made their homes on the Hudson River near the family seat at Clermont Manor. Livingston attended King's College, the predecessor to today's Columbia University during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and—for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States—one of the most influential Founding Fathers. Jefferson envisioned America as the force behind a great "Empire of Liberty&; the territory was acquired from France for $15,000,000. 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 and Mexican Cession.
• West Florida West Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Parts of the territory were held at various times by France, Spain, Britain, and the United States . Eventually, the United States assumed control over the entire region, which now forms parts of the was declared by President James Madison James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817) and is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The "Father of the Constitution," he was the principal author of the document. In 1788, he wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, to be a U.S. possession in 1810.
• Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, and also the name of the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2,816 kilometres (1,750 mi) from the nearest land, South Africa, and 3,360 kilometres (2,090 mi) from South America. It is part of the British 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 Salem, Massachusetts is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County. Home to Salem State College, the Salem Willows Park and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem is a residential and tourist area which includes the neighborhoods of Salem Neck,, who died in a boating accident in 1812. During the War of 1812 The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America, the U.S. used it as a naval and piracy base against British shipping. The island was abandoned after the war and annexed within months by the British, along with Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometres from the coast of Africa, and 2,250 kilometres (1,398 mi) from the coast of South America which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It is politically organized and governed as part of the British, in order to prevent the French from establishing bases from which to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte , was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century from Saint Helena Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and.
• Red River Basin The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg. Paleogeographic Lake Agassiz laid down the Red River Valley, acquired in 1818 by treaty from the United Kingdom, namely the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between the United States and.
• The Adams-Onís Treaty The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, settled a border dispute in North America between the United States and Spain. The treaty was the result of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Spain regarding territorial rights at a time of weakened Spanish power in the New World. In addition to ceding of 1819 with Spain resulted in Spain's cession of East Florida East Florida was originally a part of Spanish Florida. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris , which ended the Seven Years' War, Spain ceded all of its territory east and southeast of the Mississippi River to the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Sabine Free State The Sabine Free State, also known as the Neutral Ground, Neutral Strip, Neutral Territory, and No Man's Land of Louisiana was a disputed area between Spanish Texas and the United States' newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Spain and the United States agreed to leave the Sabine Free State temporarily outside the jurisdiction of either country. The and Spain's surrender of any claims to the Oregon Country Oregon Country or Oregon was a predominantly American term referring to a region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from the Columbia River frequented by ships from all nations engaged. Article III of the treaty, when properly surveyed, resulted in the acquisition of a small part of central Colorado Colorado ( /kɒləˈrædoʊ/ or /kɒləˈrɑːdoʊ/ (help·info)) is a state of the United States of America that is located mostly in the Rocky Mountain Range of North America. Colorado can also be considered to be part of the Western States or the Southwestern States of the United States. In infrequent instances eastern Colorado is considered to.^[1]
• Webster-Ashburton Treaty The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies, particularly a dispute over the location of the Maine–New Brunswick border. It also established the details of the border between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, of 1842 which finalized the border between United States and Canada (a British colony at the time).
• Texas Annexation The Texas Annexation of 1845 was the voluntary annexation of the Republic of Texas to the United States of America, becoming the twenty-eighth state. Texas claimed but never controlled parts of present-day Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, which became parts of other territories of the United States in the Compromise of 1850 of 1845: In 1836 the Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas was an independent state in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846 voted to be annexed by the United States. Despite the fact that Mexico still claimed Texas and Mexican leader Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, was a Mexican political leader, general and President who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government. He first fought against the independence from Spain, and then supported it. He rose to the warned that this would be "equivalent to a declaration of war against the Mexican Republic," President John Tyler John Tyler, Jr. was the tenth President of the United States (1841–1845) and the first to succeed to the office following the death of a predecessor signed a treaty of annexation with Texas in April 1844. After James Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the United States (1845–1849). Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented the state of Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as Speaker of the House (1835–1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839–1841) before becoming, 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. Texas had claimed New Mexico east of the Rio Grande The Rio Grande is a river that forms part of the border between the United States and Mexico. At 1,885 miles (3,034 km) long, it is the fourth-longest river system in the United States. It serves as a natural boundary along the border between the American state of Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas as but had only made one unsuccessful attempt to occupy it; New Mexico was only captured by the U.S. Army in August 1846 and then administered separately from Texas. Resistance ended with the Siege of Pueblo de Taos The Siege of Pueblo de Taos was the final battle during the main phase of the Taos Revolt, an insurrection against the United States during the Mexican-American War. It was also the final major engagement between U.S. forces and insurgent forces in New Mexico during the war. This siege should not be confused with the Siege of Puebla from September on February 5, 1847. Mexico acknowledged the loss of Texas and New Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States (U.S.) to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico, that ended the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). From the standpoint of the U.S., the treaty provided for the Mexican Cession of 1.36 million km² (525,000 square miles) to the United States, signed February 2, 1848.
• Oregon Country Oregon Country or Oregon was a predominantly American term referring to a region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from the Columbia River frequented by ships from all nations engaged, the area of North America west of the Rockies to the Pacific, was jointly controlled by the U.S. and the United Kingdom following the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between the United States and until June 15, 1846 when the Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty, is a treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by both Britain and the divided the territory at the 49th parallel The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean (see Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute, or the Oregon Question, arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. Both the United Kingdom and the United States (USA) had territorial and commercial aspirations in the region as well as residual claims from treaties with). The San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are a part of the San Juan Archipelago in the northwest corner of the continental United States. The archipelago is split into two groups of islands based on national sovereignty. San Juan Islands are part of the U.S. state of Washington, while the Gulf Islands are part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. There are were claimed and jointly occupied by the U.S. and the U.K. from 1846-1872 due to ambiguities in the treaty (see Northwestern Boundary Dispute Through Haro Strait, favored by the US Through Rosario Strait, favored by Britain Through San Juan Channel, compromise proposal The curved lines are as shown on maps of the time. The modern boundary is made of straight line segments and roughly follows the blue line). Arbitration led to the sole US possession of the San Juan Islands since 1872.
• Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in 1848, excluding the areas east of the Rio Grande, which had been claimed by the Republic of Texas, though the Texas Annexation resolution two years earlier had not specified Texas's lands were captured in the Mexican-American War The Mexican–American War was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory in spite of the 1836 Texas Revolution in 1846, resistance ending with the Treaty of Cahuenga The Treaty of Cahuenga. usually called the "Capitulation of Cahuenga," ended the fighting of the Mexican-American War in California in 1847. It was not a formal treaty between nations but an informal agreement between rival military forces in which the Californios gave up. The treaty was drafted in English and Spanish by José Antonio on January 13, 1847, and acknowledged by Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States (U.S.) to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico, that ended the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). From the standpoint of the U.S., the treaty provided for the Mexican Cession of 1.36 million km² (525,000 square miles) to the United States, where Mexico agreed to the present Mexico – United States border except for the later Gadsden Purchase. The United States paid $15 million and 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 and Arizona. This territory was intended for a southern transcontinental railroad.
• The Guano Islands Act of 1856 provided for U.S. claims to unoccupied islands. Baker Island, Howland Island, and Navassa Island were annexed in under its provisions in 1857. Today ownership of Navassa is disputed between the U.S. and Haiti. Johnston Atoll was claimed by the U.S. and Hawaiʻi in 1858; the U.S. claim became undisputed in 1898 after the annexation of Hawaiʻi. Midway Atoll was discovered and claimed in 1859 and formally annexed 1867. Kingman Reef was annexed in 1922.
• Alaska Purchase from the Russian Empire for $7,200,000 in 1867.

• 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.
• Hawaiʻi, annexed 1898 upon the request of a government made up primarily of American and European businessmen who had overthrown the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. With Hawaiʻi came the Palmyra Atoll which had been annexed by the U.S. in 1859 but later abandoned, then later claimed by Hawaiʻi.
• Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines (for which the United States compensated Spain $20 million), ceded by Spain after the Spanish-American War in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over Cuba, but did not cede it to the United States. All four of these areas were under United States Military Government (USMG) for extended periods. Cuba became an independent nation in 1902, and 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 and 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.
• The United States administered the Ryukyu Islands and southern Korea from the Japanese empire after World War II in 1945. The Ryukyu Islands were returned to Japan in 1972, while South Korea has become independent.
• In 1946, the United States offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100,000,000, but Denmark did not agree to sell.^[2]
• Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands and Palau, occupied by the United States during World War II, formalised under the UN trusteeship system in 1947. Micronesia and the Marshall Islands both achieved independence in 1986 and Palau in 1994, via Compacts of Free Association.
• The Boundary Treaty of 1970 transferred 2,702.9 acres (10.938 km²) of Mexican territory to the U.S.. In exchange, the U.S. ceded 2,087.87 acres (8.4493 km²) to Mexico, including the little town of Rio Rico, Texas.

See also

• Horace Greeley
• Historic regions of the United States
• Insular area
• Manifest Destiny
• Political divisions of the United States
• Regions of the United States
• Territorial evolution of the United States
• United States territory
• U.S. colonization outside North America

References

1. ^ "Treaty Text from the Avalon Project". http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/spain/sp1819.htm. Retrieved November 7 2006.
2. ^ "Deepfreeze Defense," Time Magazine, Jan. 27, 1947; John Jay Miller, "Let's Buy Greenland -- A Complete Missile-Defense Plan," National Review, May 7, 2001.

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