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History of Territorial Expansion
"The Most Important Map in American History"
Boundary Problems
Chronological List of United States Expansion

The seven States claiming these areas responded favorably to this action and during the period from 1781 to 1802 ceded the lands to the Federal Government. These lands, which became the nucleus of the public domain, included the area that is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, Alabama, and Mississippi. The United States continued to hold title to the unappropriated lands and to administer the laws relating to them.

The remainder of the original territory; embracing what is now included in the States of Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, and Vermont, was claimed by various States as being within their original limits. Kentucky was part of Virginia and Tennessee a part of North Carolina. Maine was a part of Massachusetts until it entered the Union in 1820. Vermont was the subject of conflicting claims of the States bordering upon it. The parent States all relinquished their claims and consented to the admission of the new States. West Virginia was separated from Virginia in 1863 and became a State by act of Congress. All these new States retained title to the vacant unappropriated lands within their limits.

The third signing of the Louisiana Treaty, which occurred in New Orleans.
Source:EverGreene Painting Studios Additions to the original territory—the acquisitions of Louisiana from France in 1803 and of Florida from Spain in 1819, the Texas annexation in 1845, the establishment of American title to Oregon Territory in 1846, the Mexican cession of 1848, the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico in 1853, the purchase of Alaska, and the annexation of Hawaii—brought the aggregate area of the United States within its present boundaries to 3,718,694 square miles. All the vast area west of the Mississippi except the State of Texas became a part of the public domain, the United States retaining the ownership of the public lands. Congress made an exception for Texas, consenting to its admission into the Union with the provision that Texas should hold title to all vacant unappropriated lands within its limits.

The Thirteen Original States organized the Federal Union under the name of "The United States of America" by ratifying the Articles of Confederation and, subsequently, the Constitution. The boundaries of these States were not defined in the Acts of ratification, but in general the States maintained their claim to their colonial boundaries that had been established by royal decree or by agreement. Some overlapping territorial claims were not finally settled until many years later by decision of our highest court.

The other States were admitted into the Union by acts of Congress, usually upon petition of the citizens residing in the territories in question. The boundaries of these States were defined in the enabling acts. However for some States, notably Missouri and Texas, the boundaries were changed by subsequent legislation.

The boundaries of the United States and of the several States were determined as a result of treaties, purchases, colonial charters, and Acts of Congress. The actual location of the boundary on the ground has frequently been a difficult problem because of lack of knowledge of the physical features of the topography by those who defined the course of the boundary, lack of clarity in the description, and errors in surveying the prescribed lines.

Planetable surveying by USGS topographers.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey These difficulties are understandable. The need for a determination of jurisdiction arises early in the settlement of a new country, frequently before much exploration has been done. Old maps show many mistakes easily recognizable from our knowledge of geography today. Often the remarkable thing about these maps is how accurate they are. The mapmaker knows that much data and many position determinations enter into making an accurate map. The historian has given us a picture of the vast regions unexplored in the 18th century, the lack of roads, the hostile Indians, and the small population for so large an area. It is little wonder, then, that the treaty makers found it difficult to define the limits of national sovereignty and that it is even more difficult to mark them on the ground.

Inexact wording has frequently made ambiguous the intent of the signers of the document fixing a boundary. Disputes over the meaning of treaties have led to long negotiation and sometimes to war. Court records are full of suits brought to settle ownership of property. The same type of disagreements arise over limits of political divisions: nations, states, and even counties. Unfortunately, in the case of nations, there usually exist no courts that can make a decision and enforce it. Bitter quarrels have arisen over boundaries and some surprising claims have been advanced, such as the cry of "Fifty-four forty or fight." Yet almost always cooler judgment has prevailed and the matter was settled fairly. The surrender to the Federal Government of land in the Northwest Territory claimed by some of the Thirteen Original States illustrates the concessions that were made which permitted the orderly development of the new nation.

Electronic distance measurement in a dry lake bed in Death Valley, California.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey It is legally well established that a boundary or property line once marked on the ground and accepted by the interested parties becomes the true line, whether or not it follows the written description. The surveyor who reruns the line must find where it is rather than move it to conform to the wording of the original document. Conflicting boundary claims and lack of knowledge as to the exact location of the boundary have presented problems to the courts and to the surveyor through the years. Disagreements between adjoining States, or between States and the Federal Government, that cannot be settled by negotiations are brought to the Supreme Court for decision.

Adapted from an article by Franklin K. Van Zandt
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 909, Boundaries of the United States and the Several States, pages 1-2, 1976.