# How Come America Stopped Trying to Acquire More Land after Alaska and Hawaii? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420 "2001-08-21T21:06:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/1 "2001-08-21T21:06:59Z")
I have been wondering that. I mean why don’t we buy half of Mexico or something? Or heck just invade Canada and take it.(this was a Canandian Bacon joke) Anyway how come we decided to stop with 50 states even number or something? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/2 "2001-08-21T21:15:42Z")
Well, I don’t actually know when the US aquired Alaska and Hawaii, but I do know that in 1776-1777 the US repeatedly tried to invade Canada and we, um, squashed them like grapes. Perhaps US politicians have thought better of that plan of attack since then. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/3 "2001-08-21T21:17:27Z")
Could it be because Mexico isn’t “for sale”? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/4 "2001-08-21T21:18:37Z")
Yeah, why didn’t we take over other places? Like Guam? Or Puerto Rico? Oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/5 "2001-08-21T21:29:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alice\_in\_wonderland \* > \*\*Well, I don’t actually know when the US aquired Alaska and Hawaii, but I do know that in 1776-1777 the US repeatedly tried to invade Canada and we, um, squashed them like grapes. > > Perhaps US politicians have thought better of that plan of attack since then. \*\* Well, no, because we tried to invade you again in 1812-1814 and got squashed like grapes. However, we did burn Toronto (which back then was York). Of course, then British troops burnt Washington… ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/6 "2001-08-21T21:33:35Z")
My parents remember when the US was considering making the Phillipines a state. When they were kids, Alaska and Hawaii weren’t even states. They were exotic outposts, the same way we think about Guam. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/7 "2001-08-21T21:36:02Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* \*\* > [@](#): > > However, we did burn Toronto (which back then was York). \*\* Actually, I think Toronto could use a good burning _ **NOW** _. With all the smog, they probably wouldn’t even notice a difference… Al. (Thats just a little joke, BTW.) ---
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/8 "2001-08-21T21:43:38Z")
I never knew we invaded Canada and LOST??? What a trip. Learn something new everyday. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/9 "2001-08-21T21:55:29Z")
Depending on how you look at it, America came in either very early or very late in the colonial-imperial-land-grab game. One might be able to argue that the Monroe Doctrine allowed the United States to influence affairs in the Americas in a way that proved to be nearly as beneficial as direct control. America didn’t really need colonies when they had an entire continent of vassal states working for 'em. (That’s more of a debate than anything, but I offer it as one possible point of view.) Other forms of expansionism manifested after the Monroe Doctrine (which wasn’t taken very seriously anyway until America started showing up with a decent Navy in the late 1800s). After all, the conquest of America was not yet complete. Florida, the Mexican War, the Gadsen Purchase, the Northwest Compromise (or whatever that “54-40” or fight!" thing was called), and the puppet governments of West Florida and Texas were all examples of expansionism, we just don’t really see them that way in retrospect because they are all now part of the Lower 48. Additionally, Cuba was considered for absorption and statehood in order to stave off the inevitable conflict between slave and free states after the Missouri Compromise. On the other hand, by the time Manifest Destiny was complete, there wasn’t much left to grab. The Spanish-American War, Hawaii and the annexation of Panama represented the majority of the easy picking which remained. Further expansion would have brought America at odds with other colonial powers, something America largely sought to avoid. Spain was one thing; the French or the Brits were another entirely. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/10 "2001-08-21T21:56:08Z")
We hardly ever have any good invasions anymore. I want to see gunships steaming up the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, paratroopers storming the parliament in Ottawa, Marine assaults on Victoria and Halifax, huge columns of armored vehicles rolling up through the Canadian prairie. Oh, for the good old days. Now we just let our corporations either buy things up or infest the local culture, 'til next thing you know you can’t swing a dead cat around without hitting a Starbucks or a McDonalds. Or we just give them the bad baseball and basketball teams and swipe all of the good NHL teams or players. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/11 "2001-08-21T21:57:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wildest Bill \* > \*\*I never knew we invaded Canada and LOST??? \*\* Yep, we just _ **PRETEND** _ to be mild-mannered and polite. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/12 "2001-08-21T22:12:06Z")
I’ve got some amazing notes that I will never again in my life find from a paper I wrote about the invasion of 1812. There were debacles on both sides of the battle. 1. The battle in the bluff above Queenston Heights. (Possibly Kingston, but most likely Queenston.) The Yanks came over via boat and landed on Canadian shores. They climbed a treacherous hill and invaded the town on the other side. Isaac Brock led the battle against them and was killed in the skirmish. I believe the American leader died as well, or was just an idiot, because both sides were left confused. Then the natives, who had an incredible reputation for being fearless savages, ran around the hill doing war cries to imitate a massive native attack. The Yanks, and probably the Canucks as well, all freaked out and scattered. More Yanks died running off the cliff than fighting the Canucks. 2. The American President declared that taking Canada would be a “mere matter of marching”, but we remained superior on land. On the Great Lakes, however, we got our asses kicked, which is amazing because the Yank’s star shipguy was deathly afraid of cows. 3. Thanks to merchants between Montreal and, I believe, Maine worried about having their commerce interrupted, the Canadians knew that war was declared before the American militia. and, uh, my list runs dry here. I remember laughing my ass off as I read up on accounts from both sides of the war, but my bibliography notes are many miles and many years away from here. The above is the best of my recollection. I know the cow thing is true, I just don’t recall which commander (I’m pretty sure he was a Yank, though). The battle on the bluffs is something I remember fairly well, though I expect people to dispute it because it’s flattering to no one except the natives. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/13 "2001-08-21T22:17:27Z")
I just reread that and realized how haphazard that looks. Have a field day. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/14 "2001-08-21T22:17:45Z")
I believe the last significant territory the U.S. acquired and hasn’t granted independence to was the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were purchased from Denmark during WWI. The U.S. did most of its imperialist landgrabbing in 1898. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/15 "2001-08-21T22:30:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > **I believe the last significant territory the U.S. acquired and hasn’t granted independence to was the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were purchased from Denmark during WWI.** The last one would be the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, acquired from Japan in 1944. ---
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/16 "2001-08-21T22:31:45Z")
> [@](#): > > The American President declared that taking Canada would be a “mere matter of marching”, but we remained superior on land. On the Great Lakes, however, we got our asses kicked, which is amazing because the Yank’s star shipguy was deathly afraid of cows. We got beat by a country that used cows as sailors? We should invade and wipe away our shame! Death to the cows! ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/17 "2001-08-21T22:51:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > **I believe the last significant territory…** I see that Colibri beat me to it. If I can’t beat him on speed, maybe I can try for depth. Don’t know what you consider “significant.” The Northern Mariana Islands were taken over by the US during WW2, became part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (administered by the US) after the war, and became a commonwealth (like Puerto Rico) in 1976. The other portions of the Trust Territory opted for independence, with defense compacts with the US. These are the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (comprised mostly of the Caroline Islands). However, the compacts are “compacts of free association” with the US. Sounds suspiciously like the Puerto Rican translation of commonwealth, “estado libre asociado.” ---
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/18 "2001-08-21T23:34:26Z")
Bush might make PR a state in a concession to Hispanics. Hoping he doesn’t lose them like the GOP lost blacks. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/19 "2001-08-21T23:48:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wildest Bill \* > \*\*why don’t we buy half of Mexico or something? \*\* We didn’t have to _buy_ half of Mexico because we stole half of Mexico fair and square. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420/20 "2001-08-21T23:49:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gorewonfla \* > \*\*Bush might make PR a state in a concession to Hispanics. Hoping he doesn’t lose them like the GOP lost blacks. \*\* Y’know, I don’t recall the president having the power to create new states unilaterally, and if I remember my civics correctly, the actual territory in question has to vote to become a state. And by the way, Florida went to Bush, rightly or not. Get over it already. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-america-stopped-trying-to-acquire-more-land-after-alaska-and-hawaii/77420.md?page=2)