This map illustrates the expansion of the United States from the Treaty of Paris (1783) to the mid-19th century, a period in which the young republic transformed from thirteen coastal states into a nation spanning the breadth of North America. In just a few decades, the country more than quadrupled its territory, pushing its western frontier from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
The process began with the Treaty of Paris (September 3, 1783), which ended the American Revolutionary War and secured recognition of U.S. independence along with land stretching to the Mississippi. A major turning point came with the Louisiana Purchase (1803), when President Thomas Jefferson (president: 1801–1809) acquired 828,000 square miles (about 2.1 million km²) from Napoleonic France, doubling the country’s size. Further expansion followed: Florida was ceded by Spain in 1819, the annexation of Texas occurred in 1845, the Oregon Treaty with Britain in 1846 secured the Pacific Northwest, and the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) added vast southwestern territories through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. By mid-century, the United States had extended from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific coast, establishing itself as a transcontinental republic.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2023, January 16). Map of the USA Expansion after the Treaty of Paris in 1783. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16880/map-of-the-usa-expansion-after-the-treaty-of-paris/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the USA Expansion after the Treaty of Paris in 1783." World History Encyclopedia, January 16, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16880/map-of-the-usa-expansion-after-the-treaty-of-paris/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the USA Expansion after the Treaty of Paris in 1783." World History Encyclopedia, 16 Jan 2023, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16880/map-of-the-usa-expansion-after-the-treaty-of-paris/.
