How the United States Got Its Shape (1783–1867), Border by Border

In 1783 the United States ended at the Mississippi. By 1853 it reached the Pacific. The Treaty of Paris, the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, the 49th parallel, Florida, Texas, Oregon, the war with Mexico, the Gold Rush and the Gadsden Purchase, then Alaska and Hawaii: how every border was drawn, and what it cost the Native nations and Mexico. Borders are approximate, reconstructed from modern state boundaries (Natural Earth, public domain). Casualty figures are estimates from the cited sources. Painting: John Gast, American Progress (1872), public domain. Narration, music and animation made with AI-assisted tools and fact-checked. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territo... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisia... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden... (full list in the pinned comment) Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:22 Part I · 1783: A Country to the Mississippi 0:50 Part II · 1803–1818: The Louisiana Purchase 2:51 Part III · 1819–1839: Florida and Removal 4:12 Part IV · 1836–1848: Texas, Oregon and Mexico 6:39 Part V · 1853–1898: The Last Pieces #history #ushistory #maps #borders #geography