The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-11-03
TALKS ON EXPANSION.
Richard H. Mooney Traces
the Westward March
of the Country.

an interesting talk in the parlors of the
Y. NJ c. A. last night on Expansion
from the lS colonies to the Philip
pines" Maps were used, showing the
area of the country before and after
each acquisition.
Mr. Mooney said in substance:
The principal nations which had
claims and settlements in this country
based upon discovery or exploration in
the 18th or 18th century were Spain,
France and England. The claims Of
Sweden in Delaware and of Holland in
New York We're appropriated by Eng
! land. England claimed all the territory
along the Atlantic coast from Maine to
Florida, embracing the territory of the
IS original colonies. The French, COM
bining trade with missionary zeal, laid
claim to all the country along the st.
! Lawrence, the Great Lakes the Mis-
sissippi and Ohio valleys Spain owned,
including Florida, what in general may
be called the southwestern part of our
country
! In 1854 the French and Indian war
broke out, which is known as the seven
years war in European history. Here
Mr.. Mooney spoke of this war, describ-
ing the battle of Fort Dusquesne, men
toning the fact that Washington first
appears in history at this time, and
the battle Of quebec in 1859 and the
conduct of the heroic Wolfe and Mont
calm. The result of the war was that
the country between the Mississippi and
the Alleghanies and the whole Of Can
ada were surrendered to Great Britain,
/ so that not an acre of mainland in
! North America remained in possession
Of France. No other treaty ever trans
i ferred such immense portions of the
earth's surface from one nation to an
other.
AT the close of the revolutionary war
in 1888, the United States was 1854
square miles, all east of the Mississippi.
The first expansion of our area as a
nation under our constitution was the
! purchase of Louisiana territory COM
II prising the entire region between the
Mississippi river and the Rocky noun
tains and extending from British
America on the north to Texas on the
south.
By the treaty which closed the seven
4 years war, France gave this territory
i to Spain. By another treaty in 1901
i Spain gave 1t back to France. Napo-
leon thought he would like to found a
colony there
In 1903 Napoleon saw that war with
Great Britain was coming, and that in
such a case the British fleet could
J easily keep the French forces away
from the Mississippi river, so he was
glad to sell Louisiana to the United
i States for $15,00000Q.
i This purchase more than doubled the
: area of the country. 1t added LII, 1881
4 square miles to our already 1927, S44
From this purchase the states OF
; Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa
il Kansas, Nebraska. Wyoming, Montana
North and South Dakota with great
part of the states of Minnesota and
Colorado and also the Indian territory
and Oklahoma have been formed.
) Missouri ranks fifth among our 4;
states, and St. Louis ranks fourth
) among our large cities. The Louisiana
region has today about $4,000, 900 of the
/ 75000.000 population of the United
! States. The constitution gave no ex'
press power to the president to ado
: new territory.
/. The purchase was defended OF
grounds of safety and necessity, ant
} also under the so-called elastic CLAUSE
in the constitution, article l, section 8
clause Is, which gives to congress thu
| right to make all laws which shall bt
necessary and proper for carrying int
execution the powers vested by thi!
| constitution in the government of the
United States.
During the second war with Eng.
land or the war of 1872 Florida ha(
been in a condition Of anarchy, and tht
Seminole Indians made a great deal Of
trouble in Georgia.
Spain made no attempt to maintain
order there, so Andrew Jackson in
vaded Florida and virtually took pos
session of the country.
The conduct of Jackson excited no
debate in congress and in the cabinet
but the matter was finally adjusted by
the United States buying Florida from
Spain in 1919 for 100000.
This territory added about 1926;
square miles to our national domain
Spain at this time was having much
trouble with her colonies. Mexico ant
the South American republics set III
for themselves as independent repub-
lies.
The controversy over the extension
of slavery had been going on since It's
Introduction into jamestown, in Vir-
ginia in 1919 The southern people al.
ways looking to keep a balance of slave
4 states with the free states were in IA
vor of acquiring the republic of Texas
which formerly belonged to Mexico, but
declared its independence in 1886.
The next year Texas applied for adj
mission to the Union, but nothing was
/ done about it, and for years she was
known as the Lone Star State"
Texas was admitted in 1S45. The
Mexican war followed, and at its ter
mlnation, in 1S49, a territory equal in
area to Germany, France and Spain
added together, was acquired.
i Texas is equal in area to Austria
Hungary, Italy and Switzerland The
! Oregon question, which the Ashburton
treaty did not settle, now demanded
consideration.
1 Great Britain and the United States
laid claim to the portion of the Pa
cific coast between California, which
belonged to Mexico, and Alaska, which
belonged to Russia.
A compromise was finally effected,
fixing the boundary line at 4S degrees
during Folks administration.
In 1857 the vast territory of Alaska,
valued for furs, fisheries, timber and
metals, was bought from Russia for
about $1,000 O00 It contains about ST.
800 square miles.
Alaska includes the islands of the
Aleutian archipelago. This addition to
our territory raised the total area of
the United States to S6,OO00,OOO square
miles, an extent of territory nearly
equal to that of all the countries of
Europe united.
In 1897 rich deposits of gold We're
| found on the Yukon river, and on the
| Klondike, tributary of that river.
| The Antilles are a group of islands
| lying between the Atlantic ocean and
the Caribbean sea, and extending from
| the Gulf of Mexico nearly to the Gulf
of Paria.
| OF these there are two groups, the
| Greater Antilles and the Lesser An
| TILES. The former includes Cuba. Hay
ii. Jamaica and Porto Rico; the latter,
| the Winward and the Leeward islands.
Cuba. ''the pearl of the Antilles, is
the largest of all. 1t is a little more
! than $50 miles long, and its average
| width is about so miles. It's area is
| about $500 square miles, little larger