Gadsden Purchase

The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 is one of the most monumental land purchases in United States history. In basic terms, the Gadsden Purchase was an area of land that was acquired by the United States from Mexico in order to build a railway for the transportation of goods in the South from East to West in order to fulfill Manifest Destiny. Throughout this paper, I hope to accurately navigate through the events prior to the Gadsden Purchase as well as the early life of James Gadsden. Although many topics relate to the purchase itself, I will offer a historical view into Gadsden’s life before, after, and during the purchase as well as a more in depth look into the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. I shall also touch base on why the land was so sought after, for what purposes, the Santa Anna profile, and the details of the land and the growth of the region after the treaty. Although the original railway plans were never fully developed, the region of the Gadsden Purchase is rich in history and culture, and is, in my opinion the most well-known land purchase in United States history.
James Gadsden was born May 15th 1788 in Charleston, South Carolina. There is not a lot of information about his childhood or even his earlier years of education but we do know that he graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in Connecticut in 1806. After graduating college he soon realized his calling was to join the army. He was brought in as a commissioned officer under the command of General Andrew Jackson, who later in 1828 became the President of the United States of America. Gadsden served under General Jackson during two wars, the war of 1812 against the English and against the Native Indians in Florida in 1819. While fighting the Indians he built and defended a great fort, named Fort Gadsden. This today would be found in the Florida panhandle. He later helped establish Fort Brooke south of Fort Gadsden. Fort Brooke was built on the lands we now know as Tampa.
James

Bibliography: 1. George Griggs, “History of Mesilla Valley, or, The Gadsden Purchase : known in Mexico as the Treaty of Mesilla”, Mesilla, N.M. Bronson Print Co. 2. David Devine, “Slavery, scandal, and steel rails”, iUniverse, New York, 2004. 3. Sylvester Mowry, “Memoir of the proposed territory of Arizona”, Tucson, Ariz. : Territorial Press, 1964. 4. William S. Kiser. “Turmoil on the Rio Grande : the territorial history of the Mesilla Valley, 1846-1865”. College Station : Texas A&M University Press, c2011. Edition 1st ed. 5. J. Fred Rippy, Anglo-American Filibusters and the Gadsden Treaty, 1922, Duke University Press. 6. Louis Bernard Schmidt, Manifest Opportunity and the Gadsden Purchase, Arizona and the West, 1961, Journal of the Southwest.