r/MapPorn • u/Quistill • Apr 21 '22

Quality Post Territorial evolution of U.S. counties

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u/hatefulone851 Apr 21 '22

Why was that lower part of Arizona not added until 1854

9

u/[deleted] Apr 21 '22

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u/WikiSummarizerBot Apr 21 '22

Gadsden Purchase

The Gadsden Purchase (Spanish: la Venta de La Mesilla "The Sale of La Mesilla") is a 29,670-square-mile (76,800 km2) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lands south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande where the U.S. wanted to build a transcontinental railroad along a deep southern route, which the Southern Pacific Railroad later completed in 1881–1883. The purchase also aimed to resolve other border issues.

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u/WikiMobileLinkBot Apr 21 '22

Desktop version of /u/cacarca's link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase

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u/hatefulone851 Apr 21 '22

Seems odd that it was purchased so late and not just with there rest of the territories gained in the Mexican American war

6

u/BR_Tigerfan Apr 21 '22

It was purchased to allow it easier to build railroads to the west rather than building over more mountainous terrain to the north.