The next great step in the development of the territory of the United States was the favorable settlement of the pending question be tween the United States and Great Britain re garding the control of the Oregon Territory. This territory had been claimed by Spain, Great Britain and the United States on grounds of exploration, and been jointly occupied by Great Britain and the United States after 1818, pend ing a settlement of their respective claims. Meantime the treaty of the United States with Spain, made in the purchase of Florida, had resulted in the abandonment by Spain of her Oregon claim and the fixing of the boundary line between the Oregon country and Spanish territory, which then included all of what is now known as California, New Mexico and Utah. This strengthened the claim of the United States to the Oregon country, and by 1846 the demand of the people of the United States for a settlement of the boundary line became so great that there was serious talk of war with Great Britain to determine the question. Finally, in the year 1846, a proposi tion was made by the British government fixing the boundary line on the 49th parallel and the Straits of Fuca. This was accepted and the Oregon country south of that line became an undisputed part of the territory of the United States. See NORTH WEST BOUNDARY.
The next addition to the national territory was what is known as the Mexican cession. A quarrel had arisen between Mexico and the United States, shortly after the annexation of Texas, regarding the boundary line between that area and Mexico, the Mexican government holding that the Nueces River was the southern boundary line of Texas, while the United States held that the Rio Grande was the boundary. The result was the war with Mexico, in which the United States was successful in every en gagement, and it was followed by the cession by Mexico of the great area which includes the present States of California; Utah, part of Colo rado, a small part of Wyoming and the Terri tory of Arizona and a part of New Mexico. The eastern part of New Mexico was jointly claimed by Texas and by the United States as a part of the Mexican cession, and this claim and the control of about 125,000 square miles of Texas was settled by payment to Texas by the United States of $10,000,000. The area thus purchased from Texas now forms part of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming. The sum paid to Mexico for the magnificent area which was ceded to the United States at the close of the war was $15,000,000 in cash and a settlement of claims of citizens of the United States to the extent of $3,200,000 The last addition to the contiguous territory of the United States was what is known as the Gadsden Purchase (q.v.). It is a comparatively small and unimportant strip of territory lying between the Mexican cession and Mexico, south of what is now New Mexico and Arizona. It was claimed by both Mexico and the United States, and the dispute was settled by a pay ment of $10,000,000 by the United States for the territory. The purchase was negotiated by the
United States Minister to Texas at that time, James Gadsden, hence the title, "Gadsden Pur chase." The transfer occurred in 1853.
The first addition of non-contiguous terri tory occurred in 1867 by the purchase of Alaska (q.v.). The territory had been acquired by Russia, by discovery in 1741 and settlement in 1784, and a considerable industry in furs and shipbuilding developed. After the discovery of gold in California the Russians in Alaska traded with the people of California, especially prior to the development of transportation systems be tween California and the eastern coast, and in this manner the people of San Francisco be came aware of the value of the fur business, and probably of the existence of the precious metals. The California members of Congress urged its purchase; bills to that effect were in troduced in Congress, negotiations were opened with Russia through its Minister in Washington, and after considerable delay the agreement was made and the purchase consummated in 1867, the purchase price being $7,200,000. The Rus sian government was Moved to this sale of its territory in part by its disputes with Great Britain regarding boundary lines between Alaska and British North America, and chiefly by the great distance at which the territory lay from its possessions in Europe and Asia. Alaska has proved a very important contributor to the requirements of the United States, in furs salmon and other fish, copper and gold.
the Territory of Hawaii (q.v.) was the first island territory annexed by the United States. Negotiations for the annexation of these islands began in 1854, when a treaty of annexation was framed under President Pierce's administration, but the sudden death of the king of the islands before its completion terminated the negotia tion. In 1876 a reciprocity treaty was made with the islands by which the products of the islands were admitted free of duty into the United States and those of the United States admitted free into the islands, and this de veloped commercial and other relations of the two communities very greatly. In 1893 a revo lution occurred in the islands and application was made to the United States for annexation and a treaty framed and laid before Congress. It had not been acted on, however, at the close of the term of President Harrison and his suc cessor, President Cleveland, withdrew it. On the inauguration of President McKinley the ap plication for annexation was renewed, and after some delay Congress passed a joint resolution annexing the islands, and they were subse quently given a Territorial form of government and made a customs district of the United States, so that all merchandise passes between them and the United States free of duty, just as it does between the various States of the Union. The trade between the Hawaiian Is lands and continental United States aggregated (1919) $136,591,198, the merchandise sent from the islands being chiefly sugar.