Section I - Core United States as popularly defined
damein fisher
Banned
So there have been a few [1 and 2] threads similar to this which aimed to list all the routes of expansion for the United States, but one of these is over a decade old and the other is six years old. So I'm going to attempt to list all the routes taken, given up, debated, and proposed I can find. From the reasonable and realistic, to the ridiculous.
Now, let's start with all the territories the United States did expand into.
Core USA (1784): This includes the thirteen colonies, and all land east of the Mississippi minus Florida [which at the time included the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama] and Vermont. At this time, the US has many small to medium sized disputes with British North America.
Vermont Republic (1791): A de facto republic for over a decade, Vermont attempted to join Lower Canada [Quebec]. When this failed, they eventually accepted annexation by the US as the first additional state within the union.
Louisiana Purchase (1803): Napoleon sell their holdings taken from Spain to the US for a ridiculously low price to fund his war. A section of Louisiana (The State) east of the Mississippi becomes debated between the US and Spanish Florida.
West Florida (1810): A fort in West Florida declares independence from Spain and is annexed by the US in the same year. Dispute continues.
Treaty of 1818 (1819): The US gives away lands north of the 49th parallel, but gains a large amount of land in the Red River Valley. This treaty also establishes Oregon County as an Anglo-American condominium.
Adams–Onís Treaty (1821): The Border with Spain is concretely defined with specific rivers and parallels rather than watersheds. Spain also cedes East and West Florida to the United States, ended all disputes.
Colonization of the Pepper Coast (1822-1847): From 1822 to its independence in 1847, the American Colonization Society (along with other smaller state societies) would establish a variety of colonies along the Pepper Coast. This was done with the desire to settle freed slaves back into Africa.
Indian Stream (1836): A small disputed chunk of land in New Hampshire north of the Connecticut Lakes declared independence from the US in 1832 as the Republic of Indian Stream. However, only a few years later they joined the US. While still disputed, I listed this for the same reason as West Florida; the US annexation and opposing recognition are different.
Webster–Ashburton Treaty (1842): An Anglo-American Treaty that resolved most of the territorial disputes between the UK and the US, including the above annexation.
Texas Annexation (1845): After multiple failed attempts, the US annexes the small republic of Texas, which claims a large chunk of northeast Mexico.
Oregon Treaty (1846): The US and UK end the Oregon County Condominium. The established 49th parallel border is used to split the continental territory. This wording was done to allow the UK to keep the entirety of Vancouver Island. The wording of the treaty creates a dispute over the San Juan Islands.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): The Mexican-American War ends with a US Victory and Mexico cedes the Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico Territories. They also cede the disputed lands with Texas east of the Rio Grande.
Gadsden Purchase (1854): A small area of land in Northern Sonora is purchased by the United States to better construct a railroad through New Mexico to California.
Guano Islands Act (1856-1884): A declaration by the US that allowed them to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits. The US only still owns ten of these islands, with two being administrated as part of Hawaii and American Samoa, but over a hundred islands were claimed over the years. Including the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands. See here for a list of the islands claimed with explanations for the withdrawal of their claim.
Alaska Purchase (1867): The Russian Empire, in an attempt to start a bidding war between the United States and British Empire, offers to sell Alaska to the United States. However, when the British don't make an offer, Russia sells the territory to the US. The southeastern border with British holdings remains disputed.
Pig War (1872): After a pig being shot in the disputed San Juan Islands sparks an international affair, the islands are awarded to the United States following a third-party arbitration.
Hawaii (1898): The Republic of Hawaii is annexed by the United States following the coup against the local monarchy. Interestingly, the act that annexed the republic actually just listed the islands annexed, which will be important later when we discuss strong alternate routes.
Treaty of Paris (1898): Following the Spanish American War, the Spanish cede Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. A dispute is started between the US and the Dutch over the southernmost islands of the Philippines.
Tripartite Convention (1898): The United States and Germany split the Samoan Islands, with Germany taking the western portion and the US taking the east.
Treaty of Washington (1901): A series of Islands in the Sulu Sea left out of the Treaty of Paris are purchased from Spain and admitted to the Philippines.
Alaska Border Dispute (1903): The dispute is resolved by arbitration with terms that generally favor the United States.
Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1904): The United States takes control over the Panama Canal Zone, an area of 5 miles from the canal itself. The cities of Colón and Panama City remained as exclaves of Panama. The territory would be expanded in 1915, 1918, 1919, 1924, 1931, and 1939
Treaty of the Danish West Indies (1917): Fears of German U-boats lead the United States purchasing the Danish Virgin Islands.
Island of Palmas Case: The dispute between the United States and the Netherlands is resolved in favor of the Dutch.
Trust Territory (1947): The United States is granted the former Japanese South Pacific Mandate as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (1950): The United States is granted the Ryukyu Islands, being granted "any and all powers of administration, legislation and jurisdiction over the territory."
Return of the Ryukyu Islands (1972): After a series of 1971 negotiations, Japan is given back the Ryukyu Islands.
The Panama Canal Treaty (1979): The United States returns the Panama Canal Zone to Panama.
Marshall Islands and Micronesia (1986): The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands is dissolved. The Marshall Islands District and the districts of Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Yap become independent as the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia respectively.
Palau (1994): The Palau District is granted independence as the Republic of Palau.
I'll add to this thread some time with the other historic expansion not listed [occupations, puppet states, protectorates, etc] and after that we'll start going into alternate possibilities.
Now, let's start with all the territories the United States did expand into.
Core USA (1784): This includes the thirteen colonies, and all land east of the Mississippi minus Florida [which at the time included the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama] and Vermont. At this time, the US has many small to medium sized disputes with British North America.
Vermont Republic (1791): A de facto republic for over a decade, Vermont attempted to join Lower Canada [Quebec]. When this failed, they eventually accepted annexation by the US as the first additional state within the union.
Louisiana Purchase (1803): Napoleon sell their holdings taken from Spain to the US for a ridiculously low price to fund his war. A section of Louisiana (The State) east of the Mississippi becomes debated between the US and Spanish Florida.
West Florida (1810): A fort in West Florida declares independence from Spain and is annexed by the US in the same year. Dispute continues.
Treaty of 1818 (1819): The US gives away lands north of the 49th parallel, but gains a large amount of land in the Red River Valley. This treaty also establishes Oregon County as an Anglo-American condominium.
Adams–Onís Treaty (1821): The Border with Spain is concretely defined with specific rivers and parallels rather than watersheds. Spain also cedes East and West Florida to the United States, ended all disputes.
Colonization of the Pepper Coast (1822-1847): From 1822 to its independence in 1847, the American Colonization Society (along with other smaller state societies) would establish a variety of colonies along the Pepper Coast. This was done with the desire to settle freed slaves back into Africa.
Indian Stream (1836): A small disputed chunk of land in New Hampshire north of the Connecticut Lakes declared independence from the US in 1832 as the Republic of Indian Stream. However, only a few years later they joined the US. While still disputed, I listed this for the same reason as West Florida; the US annexation and opposing recognition are different.
Webster–Ashburton Treaty (1842): An Anglo-American Treaty that resolved most of the territorial disputes between the UK and the US, including the above annexation.
Texas Annexation (1845): After multiple failed attempts, the US annexes the small republic of Texas, which claims a large chunk of northeast Mexico.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): The Mexican-American War ends with a US Victory and Mexico cedes the Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico Territories. They also cede the disputed lands with Texas east of the Rio Grande.
Gadsden Purchase (1854): A small area of land in Northern Sonora is purchased by the United States to better construct a railroad through New Mexico to California.
Guano Islands Act (1856-1884): A declaration by the US that allowed them to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits. The US only still owns ten of these islands, with two being administrated as part of Hawaii and American Samoa, but over a hundred islands were claimed over the years. Including the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands. See here for a list of the islands claimed with explanations for the withdrawal of their claim.
Alaska Purchase (1867): The Russian Empire, in an attempt to start a bidding war between the United States and British Empire, offers to sell Alaska to the United States. However, when the British don't make an offer, Russia sells the territory to the US. The southeastern border with British holdings remains disputed.
Pig War (1872): After a pig being shot in the disputed San Juan Islands sparks an international affair, the islands are awarded to the United States following a third-party arbitration.
Hawaii (1898): The Republic of Hawaii is annexed by the United States following the coup against the local monarchy. Interestingly, the act that annexed the republic actually just listed the islands annexed, which will be important later when we discuss strong alternate routes.
Treaty of Paris (1898): Following the Spanish American War, the Spanish cede Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. A dispute is started between the US and the Dutch over the southernmost islands of the Philippines.
Tripartite Convention (1898): The United States and Germany split the Samoan Islands, with Germany taking the western portion and the US taking the east.
Treaty of Washington (1901): A series of Islands in the Sulu Sea left out of the Treaty of Paris are purchased from Spain and admitted to the Philippines.
Alaska Border Dispute (1903): The dispute is resolved by arbitration with terms that generally favor the United States.
Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1904): The United States takes control over the Panama Canal Zone, an area of 5 miles from the canal itself. The cities of Colón and Panama City remained as exclaves of Panama. The territory would be expanded in 1915, 1918, 1919, 1924, 1931, and 1939
Treaty of the Danish West Indies (1917): Fears of German U-boats lead the United States purchasing the Danish Virgin Islands.
Island of Palmas Case: The dispute between the United States and the Netherlands is resolved in favor of the Dutch.
Trust Territory (1947): The United States is granted the former Japanese South Pacific Mandate as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (1950): The United States is granted the Ryukyu Islands, being granted "any and all powers of administration, legislation and jurisdiction over the territory."
Return of the Ryukyu Islands (1972): After a series of 1971 negotiations, Japan is given back the Ryukyu Islands.
The Panama Canal Treaty (1979): The United States returns the Panama Canal Zone to Panama.
Marshall Islands and Micronesia (1986): The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands is dissolved. The Marshall Islands District and the districts of Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Yap become independent as the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia respectively.
Palau (1994): The Palau District is granted independence as the Republic of Palau.
I'll add to this thread some time with the other historic expansion not listed [occupations, puppet states, protectorates, etc] and after that we'll start going into alternate possibilities.
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