US has expanded through past land purchases
By: Victor Hagan
USA today
..... President-elect Donald Trump floated the idea on Sunday [12/22/2024] that the U.S. should buy the Arctic island of Greenland because of its strategic importance to the U.S. and NATO.
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"For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,: Trump wrote on Truth Social.
..... While Greenland is not for sale, the U.S. has purchased land and territories from other countries in the past.
* Louisiana Purchase: The Louisiana Purchase has been described as the greatest real estate deal in history, according to the National Archives. in 1803, the United States paid France$15 million for the Louisiana Territory, approximately 728,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi river
* Florida: In 1819, Spain gave East Florida to the U.S. Although they received no compensation, according to the State Department, the U.S. agreed to assume liability for $5 million in damage done by American citizen who rebelled against Spain.
* Texas: During his tenure, President James Polk oversaw the most significant territorial expansion of the United States following the Louisiana Purchase. After Texas' successful war of Independence against Mexico in 1836, Polk annexed Texas in 1845, and by 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico, which led to the Treaty of Guadalupa Hindalgo.
* The Gadsden Purchase: The U.S. made the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, gaining nearly 30,0000 square miles of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in a treaty signed by the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, James Gadsden.
* Alaska: The U.S. purchase the territory of Alaska from Russia in 1867. The 586,412-square-mile region was brought for $12 per square mile, less than 2 cents an acre, for a total of $7.2 million. Alaska didn't gain statehood until 1959.
* Spanish-American War Purchase: The U.S. acquired Guam and Puerto Rico during the Spanish-Amiercan War in 1898, i which the victory forced Spain to give up control of these territories through the Treaty of Paris; this treaty also granted the U.S. control of the Philippines, but the nation later gained full independence in 1946.
* Hawaii: The Spanish-Ameircan War increases the strategic value of Hawaii as a base for military operations in the Philippines, which led to its annexation in 1898. Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900. It became the 5oth state in 1959.
* American Samoa: The matai (local chiefs) of Tutuila, the largest island in American Samoa, gave the island to the United States in 1900, Manu'a followed in 1904 and Swain Island joined the territory in 1925 by an act of the Congress.
* Virgin Islands: The U.S. made several attempts to expand its influence into the Caribbean and asked Denmark Indies, according to the State Department. The Danes sold the islands to the U.S. for $25 million in 1917. After the transfer, the U.S. government changed the name of the territory to the Virgin Islands of the United States.
..... Contributing: Reuters.