A Historical Perspective on U.S. Land Purchases and the Challenges of Acquiring New Territories

Donald Trump's Greenland Acquisition Plans

President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his desire to purchase Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. While the country has stated that Greenland is not for sale, Trump has persisted in his interest, even sending his son Donald Trump Jr. to the island in a publicity stunt.

The United States has a history of land purchases, with the most recent acquisition occurring in the 1940s. Acquiring Greenland would be a costly endeavor, requiring justification and Senate approval.

Louisiana Purchase (1803): The U.S. purchased 828,000 miles of land from France for $15 million, equivalent to $375 million today. However, this did not include the cost of acquiring the land from Native American governments, which is estimated to have been around $2.6 billion ($65 billion today) between 1804 and 1970.

Spain ceded East Florida to the U.S. and renounced its claim to West Florida for no compensation. However, the U.S. agreed to assume liability for $5 million in damages caused by American citizens who rebelled against Spain, equivalent to $124 million today.

Following the Mexican-American War, the U.S. paid Mexico $15 million for over 525,000 square miles, equivalent to slightly less than $600 million today.

The U.S. purchased 30,000 square miles of land from Mexico for $10 million, equivalent to $409 million today.

Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million, equivalent to $153 million today.

Spain sold the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million, equivalent to $760 million today. The U.S. recognized the Philippines' independence after World War II in 1946.

The U.S. acquired the rights to build and operate the Panama Canal through the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. The U.S. paid a one-time payment of $10 million and an annual fee of $250,000 for a 10-mile wide strip of land. Today, the one-time payment would be $358 million and the annual fee would be $8.9 million. The U.S. returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999.

The U.S. assumed territorial control over 45 miles in the southern portion of Guantanamo Bay for $2,000 in gold per year to build a naval base and detention center. The yearly lease payment was changed in 1934 to match the price of the dollar and set to $4,085 in 1974. The U.S. still pays this amount today.

The U.S. purchased the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix from Denmark for $25 million, equivalent to $616 million today.

These examples illustrate the historical context of land purchases by the United States. Whether or not the U.S. will acquire Greenland remains to be seen.