The Gadsden Purchase was the acquisition by the United States from Mexico of a strip of land in what is now southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It was negotiated by James Gadsden, the American minister to Mexico, and the Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who needed money for his government. The main purpose was to secure a flat route for a southern transcontinental railroad, as the terrain was more favourable than the one allowed by the border set after the Mexican-American War. The United States paid ten million dollars, after the Senate reduced the original area and price. The purchase settled border disputes and completed the boundaries of the contiguous United States.
Before and after
- from 2 December 1852 to 4 September 1870Second French Empire
- 15 December 1852Birth of Antoine Henri Becquerel
- 19 December 1852Birth of Albert Abraham Michelson
- 19th centuryPublication of The Three Little Pigs
- 1853Gadsden Purchase
- 28 January 1853Birth of José Martí
- 30 March 1853Birth of Vincent van Gogh
- 5 July 1853Birth of Cecil John Rhodes
- 8 July 1853Commodore Perry's black ships arrive in Japan
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 24 June 1812 to 14 December 1812French invasion of Russia
- from 1821 to 1829Greek War of Independence
- from 24 April 1846 to 2 February 1848Mexican-American War
- from 18 August 1866 to 10 May 1871Unification of Germany
- from 24 April 1877 to 3 March 1878Tenth Russo-Turkish War
- 27 August 1896Anglo-Zanzibar War
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.