Gadsden Purchase

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

In US history, the purchase of approximately 77,700 sq km/30,000 sq mi in what is now New Mexico and Arizona by the USA in 1853. The land was bought from Mexico for $10 million in a treaty, negotiated by James Gadsden (1788–1858) of South Carolina, to construct a transcontinental railway route, the Southern Pacific, completed in the 1880s.

Red stands for hardiness and valour. White signifies purity and innocence. Blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice. The latest star, representing Hawaii, was added in 1960. Effective date: 4 July 1960. >>