30 December - The Gadsden Purchase

 

The Gadsden Purchase, also known as the Treaty of La Mesilla, was an agreement between the United States and Mexico that took place on 30 December 1853. The purchase involved a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. The primary purpose of the Gadsden Purchase was to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad route.

The negotiators on behalf of the United States were James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico, and the Mexican government was represented by General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The United States paid Mexico $10 million for the land, which amounted to nearly 29,670 square miles (about 76,800 square kilometers).

The Gadsden Purchase resolved some border issues left unsettled by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War. The acquisition of this land was driven by the strategic interests of establishing a southern route for a transcontinental railroad, which was seen as crucial for economic and military reasons.

Ultimately, the Gadsden Purchase did not lead to the establishment of the envisioned southern transcontinental railroad. Instead, the main transcontinental route was built further north. The land acquired through the Gadsden Purchase did, however, become important for the development of the American Southwest and played a role in the history of the region.