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© 1999, 2000, 2001 for NEGenWeb Project, T&C Miller
NEGenWeb Project
Resource Center OLLibraryTABLE OF BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED STATES
(The student of American history should bear in mind that the political boundaries of the United States have been determined to a very large degree by the natural boundaries of (1) coast lines; (2) rivers and lakes; (3) watersheds; (4) mountain ranges.)
I. (1783) By the final treaty of peace of 1783 the boundary of the American Republic (see "Map of U. S. in 1783") was fixed, in general terms, as follows: The line separating the United States from the British possessions began at the Bay of Fundy and ran to "the northwest angle of Nova Scotia," thence "to the Highlands," and thence "along the said Highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean." Thence the line ran westerly along the 45th parallel, the middle of the St. Lawrence, and the middle of the Great Lakes to the Lake of the Woods. On the west the line separating the United States from the Spanish province of Louisiana was drawn from the Lake of the Woods to the head waters of the Mississippi and thence down the middle of that river to the 31st parallel, or the frontier of the Spanish province of West Florida. On the south the line extended due east from the Mississippi along the 31st parallel to the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, and thence to the sea, as shown on the map. (See "U. S. Statutes at Large," VII, 80; Macdonald's "Select Documents of U. S. History"; Winsor's "America," VII; Gannett's "Boundaries of the U. S."; Hinsdale's "Bounding the Original U. S." in Mag. of Western History, II, 401; Hart's "Epoch Maps of American History.")
Much of the region through which the northern boundary ran was an unexplored wilderness and the line was largely pure guesswork. This was the case west of Lake Superior, and notably so in the northeast, between what is now the state of Maine and the British possessions. The result was that for nearly sixty years this northeast line was a subject of angry dispute, and the controversy was not finally settled until the negotiation of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. (See Winsor's "America," VII, 493; and Benton's "Thirty Years in the U. S. Senate," II, 421.)
II. (1795) Spain refused to recognize the southern boundary of the United States as determined by the treaty of peace of 1783 (See above, No. I.) She claimed that her province of West Florida extended 110 miles north of the 31st parallel, and that the true boundary line, separating her possessions in that quarter from the United States, extended due east from the Mississippi from the mouth of the Yazoo to the Chattahoochee River in Georgia.
In 1795 Spain relinquished her claim to the disputed territory, and, furthermore, granted to the United States the free navigation of the lowerxxxviii
BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED STATES xxxvix
Mississippi, besides conceding the temporary right of deposit (or storage for merchandise) at the port of New Orleans. (See "U. S. Statutes at Large," VIII, and Winsor and Hinsdale, as above.)
III. (1803) In 1803 the United States purchased the province of Louisiana, which Spain had re-ceded to France. That immense territory extended from the mouth of the Mississippi northward to its source, and had the Rocky Mountains as its natural boundary on the west. We bought the country without receiving any definite limits, and hence further negotiations became necessary with respect to boundary lines. (See below.)
IV. (1818) In consequence of the above purchase of Louisiana a treaty made by us with Great Britain in 1818 extended the northern line of the United States from the Lake of the Woods (see above, No. I) westward along the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains. The same treaty provided that the country west of the Rocky Mountains, north of the 42d parallel (or the recognized Spanish frontier), and known as the Oregon country, should be held jointly by the United States and Great Britain.
V. (1819-1825) In 1819 Spain sold Florida to us, and in the treaty defined the unsettled western boundary of Louisiana (see above, Nos. III and IV) by an irregular line which began at the Gulf of Mexico and approximately followed the watershed south and west of the tributaries of the Mississippi to the 42d parallel. At the same time Spain agreed to renounce all claims to the Oregon country. This was to us a most important concession. Six years later (1825) a treaty made with Russia fixed the northern limit of the Oregon country (before unsettled) at 54o 40', or what is now the southern boundary of Alaska.
VI. (1842) In 1842 the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (see Index under "Treaty") settled the long dispute over the northeastern boundary (see above, No. I) and reaffirmed the line of 1818 to the Rocky Mountains. (See above, No. IV.)
VII. (1845) In 1845 we annexed Texas; the boundary question was settled by the Mexican War.
VIII. (1846) In 1846 a treaty made by us with Great Britain divided the Oregon country between the two nations by extending the boundary line of the 49th parallel (see above, No. IV) from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. (See, in general, the "Map of Acquisitions of Territory.")
IX. (1848-1867) All subsequent United States boundary lines on the continent (see map cited above) were determined by Mexican cessions in 1848, the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, and the Alaska Purchase in 1867
X. (1898-1917) The islands recently acquired by the United States present no difficulties respecting boundaries.
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LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES AT EACH CENSUS
YEAR POPULATION POPULATION LIVING IN CITIES INHABITANTS OF CITIES1 IN EACH 100 OF THE TOTAL POPULATION 1790 3,929,214 131,472 3.35 1800 5,308,483 210,873 3.97 1810 7,239,881 356,920 4.93 1820 9,633,822 475,135 4.93 1830 12,866,020 1,864,509 6.72 1840 17,069,453 1,453,994 8.52 1850 23,191,876 2,897,586 12.49 1860 31,443,321 5,072,256 16.13 1870 38,358,371 8,071,875 20.93 1880 50,155,783 14,772,438 29.45 1890 62,622,250 22,720,223 36.28 1900 76,304,799 30,797,185 40.36 1910 101,100,000 42,623,383 46.342 1920 117,857,509 54,318,032 51.382 1 Places having a population of 8000 and over have usually been classed as cities, but ,the census returns since 1890 include places of more than 2500 inhabitants as cities.
2 This percentage is based on the continental population of the United States, namely, in 1910, 91,972,266, and in 1920, 105,708,771.POPULATION OF THE FREE AND THE SLAVE STATES, 1790-1860
YEAR FREE STATES SLAVE STATES (including Negroes) 1790 1,968,455 1,961,372 18oo 2,684,616 2,621,316 1810 3,758,910 3,480,902 1820 5,152,372 4,485,819 1830 7,006,399 5,848,312 1840 9,733,922 7,334,433 1850 13,599,488 9,663,997 1860 19,128,418 12,315,372
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REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS FROM 1790 TO 1913
SENATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES YEAR Free States Slave States Free States Slave States RATIO OF REPRESEN-TATION1 1790 14 12 35 30 30,000 1793 16 14 57 48 33,000 1796 16 16 57 49 33,000 1803 18 16 76 65 33,000 1813 18 18 103 78 35,000 1816 20 18 103 78 35,000 1821 24 24 105 81 35,000 1823 24 24 123 90 40,000 1833 24 24 141 99 47,700 1837 26 26 142 100 47,700 1843 26 26 135 88 70,680 1848 30 30 140 91 70,680 1853 32 30 144 90 93,423 1860 36 30 147 90 93,423 1863 72 243 127,381 1873 76 293 131,425 1883 76 325 151,911 1893 89 356 173,901 1903 90 386 193,175 1913 96 435 212,407 1 The number of representatives is fixed by Congress every ten years (Constitution, Art. I, sect. 2). It was fixed for 1913 at one representative for every 212,407 persons. To find the electoral vote, add together the number of senators and representatives; e.g. the electoral vote in 1790 was 91.
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