The Gadsden Purchase was a 45,535 square mile region of land in what is now southern Arizona and New Mexico, bought by the US from Mexico for $6 million in 1853. The purchase was made to resolve disputes over a proposed southern transcontinental railroad route and included permission for the US to build a canal across the Tehuantapec Isthmus, which was never created. The land remains part of the American border.
The Gadsden Purchase, known as Venta de La Mesilla in Mexico, is a region of land within what is now the southern portion of the states of Arizona and New Mexico. The land subject to this purchase includes land west of the Rio Grande and south of the Gila River. The United States bought this land, which is 45,535 square miles (76,770 square kilometers), in 1853 from Mexico. Although the initial purchase was signed in Mexico in 1853, another purchase was signed the following year by President Franklin Pierce. The Gadsden purchase was also ratified by the US Senate at the time.
The Mexican-American War ended in 1848. However, disputes along the US-Mexico border continued after the war. The land that was eventually included in the Gadsden purchase had been used in a proposal for a southern transcontinental railroad route. At the time, however, the area where the tracks were to be laid still belonged to Mexico.
To iron out problems with the railroad, President Pierce sent James Gadsden to Mexico to negotiate the purchase of the land in question, hence the name “Gadsden Purchase.” James Gadsden was the United States minister to Mexico. In addition to holding this position, he had a personal interest in the development of the transcontinental railroad. On December 30, 1853, Gadsden reached an agreement with Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the Mexican president.
However, the price of the land was to create problems. When Gadsden negotiated the price of the land with Mexican government officials, the price was set at ten million US dollars (USD). However, when the Gadsden purchase documents were returned to Washington, the US Congress refused to pay more than $7 million. When this allotted sum arrived in Mexico City, it was one million short. Ultimately, Mexico received only $6 million for the land listed in the Gadsden purchase.
The final treaty issued regarding the Gadsden purchase included permission for the United States to build a canal across the Tehuantapec Isthmus. This isthmus represents the shortest stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. This transoceanic channel was never created. The land purchased for the United States in the Gadsden Purchase is still part of the American border, as it has not expanded or retreated since then.
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