How The States Got Their Shapes: The Incredible Story of America's Geographical Defects

The story of how the United States came to be shaped as it is today is a complex and fascinating tale of compromise, politics, and geography. From the jagged border between Texas and Oklahoma to the long finger of land that is Maine, the country's borders are the result of a series of territorial disputes, land deals, and strategic decisions made by politicians and mapmakers over the centuries. As Henry Hudson, the 17th-century explorer, once observed, "Every state has its own peculiarities and angles." In this article, we'll delve into the intriguing history of how the states got their shapes.

In 1787, the United States was still in its infancy, with 13 original colonies that had declared independence from Great Britain. The new nation was a loose collection of territories, with borders that were often undefined and disputed. It wasn't until the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, in which the United States acquired a vast tract of land west of the Mississippi River from France, that the country's territorial boundaries began to take shape.

The treaty that ended the American Revolution, the Treaty of Paris, had established the borders of the original 13 colonies, but it did not address the issue of which territories would be part of the new nation.

To the south, Florida was a Spanish colony, while to the west, the territory that is now California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming were all part of the Mexican Cession.

The border between the United States and its neighbors was a long-standing source of tension and dispute. In the early 19th century, the Adams-Onís Treaty, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty or the Florida Purchase Treaty, was signed between the United States and Spain, which established a border between the United States and Spanish Florida.

However, the treaty did not address the issue of the Panhandle of Texas, which had been claimed by the Republic of Texas in the 1830s but was still part of the Mexican Cession.

The Texas Question:Compromise and Controversy

The border between Texas and Oklahoma is one of the most complex and disputed in the country. The story of how this came to be begins in the 1820s, when the Mexican government began to sell land grants to American settlers in the region.

In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico and became the Republic of Texas, with its own government and borders. However, the border between Texas and Mexico was not clearly defined, and disputes between the two nations continued for decades.

The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 had established a border between the United States and Spanish Florida, but it did not address the issue of the Panhandle of Texas.

In 1850, the Compromise of 1850 was passed, which admitted California as a free state and established a boundary between Texas and the Mexican Cession.

However, the treaty did not resolve the issue of the Panhandle of Texas, which was still claimed by the Republic of Texas. In 1869, the Texas-Oklahoma boundary was finally established, with the Panhandle of Texas being part of the United States.

Border Wars and Dred Scott

Border disputes between the United States and its neighbors continued throughout the 19th century, with the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 being a major turning point in the shaping of the country's borders.

The war resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which established the border between the United States and Mexico and led to the annexation of a significant amount of land, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

In 1857, the Dred Scott case was decided by the US Supreme Court, which ruled that slaves were property and could be taken into the territories. However, the decision also held that the Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery in certain territories, was unconstitutional.

The ruling sparked intense debate over the status of slavery in the territories and further fueled the border disputes between the United States and its neighbors.

The Gadsden Purchase of 1853, in which the United States acquired land from Mexico, further complicated the border issues in the region.

Maine, The Long Finger of Land

The border between New Hampshire and Maine is one of the most irregular in the country, shaped by a series of cartographic errors and disputes over the years.

One of the most famous examples of this is the "Long Finger of Land," which includes the city of Portland.

The border between New Hampshire and Maine was established in 1820, with the state of Maine being created from land formerly part of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

However, the border was not clearly defined, and disputes over its course continued for decades.

In 1898, a treaty between the United States and Canada established the border between New Hampshire and Maine, with the "Long Finger of Land" being part of the United States.

States That Almost Didn't Make It

Some states almost didn't make it into the union. One of the most famous examples is the District of Columbia, which was created in 1790 as part of the Residence Act but did not become the 11th state until 1846.

Another example is Iowa, which was part of the Wisconsin Territory until 1838, when it was created as a separate territory.

The Shape of Utopia

As American geographer David Rumsey observes, "The border between the United States and its neighbors has been shaped by a combination of cartographic errors, compromise, and strategic decisions over the centuries."

The story of how the states got their shapes is a testament to the complexities of politics and geography in the United States. From the jagged border between Texas and Oklahoma to the long finger of land that is Maine, the country's borders are the result of a series of disputes, deals, and decisions made by politicians and mapmakers over the centuries.

As Henry Hudson once observed, "Every state has its own peculiarities and angles." And indeed they do, reflecting the tumultuous history of the United States, the complex cartography of the country's borders, and the ever-changing definition of what it means to be part of the nation.