United States territorial acquisitions
Overview
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
territorial acquisitions, beginning with American independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Note that this list primarily concerns land acquired from other nation-state
Nation-state
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...
s; the numerous territorial acquisitions from American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
are not listed here.
- The 1783 Treaty of ParisTreaty of Paris (1783)The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
with Great Britain defined the original borders of the United States. Due to ambiguities in the treaty, the ownership of Machias Seal IslandMachias Seal IslandMachias Seal Island is an island located in the Gulf of Maine, approximately southeast from Cutler, Maine, and approximately southwest of Southwest Head, New Brunswick on Grand Manan Island. Machias Seal Island is located at and measures approximately in area. It is a neighbour to North Rock....
and North RockNorth RockNorth Rock is an offshore rock with geographical coordinates of , located to the east of the North American continent near the boundary between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy....
remains disputed between the U.S.
