Gadsden Purchase
Mexico City (talks); land in southern Arizona and New Mexico
What happened
James Gadsden, the US minister to Mexico, and Mexico's president Antonio López de Santa Anna agreed the sale. The United States wanted a flatter route for a southern railway to the Pacific. Mexico agreed to sell about 76,800 square kilometres of land south of the Gila River for $10 million. The land is now southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the last major addition of land to the 48 neighbouring US states and set today's US–Mexico border. Mexican historians still view the sale negatively.
What came next
A railway, later called the Sunset Route, crossed the land by 1883. Arizona became a state in 1912.
Did you know?
The price was cut from $15 million to $10 million after the US Senate objected.
Timeline
- 25 September 1853Gadsden and Santa Anna meet in Mexico City.
- 30 December 1853The agreement is signed.
- 1883The Sunset Route railway is completed.
- 1912Arizona becomes a state.