Historical regions of the United States explained
The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, international and interstate purchases, cessions, and land grants, and historical military departments and administrative districts. The last section lists informal regions from American vernacular geography known by popular nicknames and linked by geographical, cultural, or economic similarities, some of which are still in use today.
For a more complete list of regions and subdivisions of the United States used in modern times, see List of regions of the United States.
Colonial era (before 1776)
Thirteen Colonies
See main article: Thirteen Colonies.
Pre-Revolutionary War regions
See main article: European colonization of the Americas. † - indicates failed legal entities
New England
Mid-Atlantic
Southern
Interior
Far West
Unlike the land to the east, most of the land west of the Mississippi River was under French or Spanish rule until the first years of the 19th century.
Colonies settled but unrecognized
Colonies proposed but unrealized
Independent entities later joined to the Union
Regions purchased from foreign powers
See also: Territorial evolution of the United States and Manifest Destiny.
- Louisiana Purchase, 1803, from France, for $15,000,000
- Florida Purchase (or the Spanish Cession), 1819 (effective 1821), from Spain, for $5,000,000; included: East Florida, West Florida, and Sabine Free State or Neutral Ground
- Gadsden Purchase, 1853, from Mexico, for $10,000,000
- Alaska Purchase (also called "Seward's Folly"), 1867, from Russia, for $7,200,000
- Virgin Islands, 1917, from Denmark, for $25,000,000
Regions annexed from or ceded by foreign powers
- Republic of West Florida Annexation; seceded from Spain, 1810; disputed with Spain until 1821
- Baton Rouge District (annexed by the U.S., 1810)
- Mobile District (annexed by the U.S., 1812)
- Pembina Region, formerly part of Rupert's Land and the Red River Colony (often referred to as the British Cession of 1818) to U.S. in an exchange for the unorganized territory of the original Louisiana Purchase lands north of the 49th parallel
- The Aroostook War Compromise Lands; 1842, split jointly claimed areas with the UK
- Oregon Country (U.S.); the 1846 Oregon Treaty finally split the jointly governed region (called Columbia by the English) between the U.S. and United Kingdom at the 49th parallel
- Mexican Cession; effective 1848, from Mexico, including:
- Texas annexation; annexed from Mexico in 1846, including most of present-day Texas and parts of Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and No Man's Land; disputed with Mexico until the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848
- United States Minor Outlying Islands; most claimed under the Guano Islands Act as outside the jurisdiction of other nations (1856 and later)
- After victory in the Spanish–American War in 1898, from Spain:
- American Samoa; 1899, from Germany
Ceded or purchased Native American regions
Interstate, territorial, and federal cessions
The following are state cessions made during the building of the U.S.
- The Delaware Wedge, dispute with Pennsylvania settled in 1921; now a part of the state of Delaware.
- Washington, D.C.; to the federal government from Virginia and Maryland, 1790.
- District of Columbia retrocession; the return to Virginia of the District of Columbia lands which Virginia had originally ceded for its creation, 1847.
- Greer County, Texas; a disputed county claimed both by Texas and the federal government; to Oklahoma Territory, 1896.
- The Honey Lands; a disputed tract of land between the Territory of Iowa and State of Missouri; to State of Iowa, 1851
- District of Kentucky; from Virginia; became the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1792.
- Illinois County; from Virginia; became Northwest Territory, 1784.
- District of Maine; from Massachusetts; became the state of Maine, 1820.
- The Toledo Strip; the object of the nearly bloodless Toledo War between Ohio and Michigan; to Ohio, 1837.
- Washington District; from North Carolina; became the Southwest Territory, 1790.
- West Virginia; from Virginia; separating itself from the Confederacy, declared 1861; admitted to the Union in 1863.
- The Western Reserve; from Connecticut to the Northwest Territory (Ohio), 1800.
- The Yazoo lands; from Georgia to the Mississippi Territory, 1802.
Former organized territories
The following is a list of the 31 U.S. territories that have become states, in the order of the date organized. (All were considered incorporated.)
- Northwest Territory (1787–1803); became the state of Ohio and the Territory of Indiana
- Territory South of the River Ohio (also known as the Southwest Territory) (1790–1796); became the State of Tennessee
- Territory of Mississippi (1798–1817); became the State of Mississippi and the Territory of Alabama
- Territory of Indiana (1800–1816); split into the Illinois Territory, the Michigan Territory, and the State of Indiana
- Territory of Orleans (1804–1812); became the State of Louisiana.
- Territory of Michigan (1805–1837); became State of Michigan and the Territory of Wisconsin
- Territory of Louisiana (1805–1812) (preceded by the District of Louisiana), then renamed the Territory of Missouri
- Territory of Illinois (1809–1818); split into the State of Illinois and additions to the Michigan Territory
- Territory of Missouri (1812–1821); became the State of Missouri and unorganized territory (the eastern part of which was attached to the Territory of Michigan in 1834)
- Territory of Alabama (1817–1819); became the State of Alabama
- Territory of Arkansaw (1819–1836); became the State of Arkansas, additions to the unorganized territory of the original Louisiana Purchase, and the unorganized Indian Territory (which eventually spawned Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory and No Man's Land)
- Territory of Florida (1822–1845); became the State of Florida
- Territory of Wisconsin (1836–1848); split into the State of Wisconsin, the Iowa Territory and Unorganized Territory
- Territory of Iowa (1838–1846); split into the State of Iowa and unorganized territory of the original Louisiana Purchase
- Territory of Oregon (1848–1859) (preceded by the unrecognized Oregon Country); split into the State of Oregon and Washington Territory
- Territory of Minnesota (1849–1858) (preceded by unorganized territory of the original Northwest Territory (remnant of former Wisconsin Territory) and original Louisiana Purchase); split into the State of Minnesota and unorganized territory of the original Louisiana Purchase
- Territory of New Mexico (1850–1912) (preceded by Nuevo Mexico, of which the southern part was known as the Arizona Territory (1861–1864) by the Confederate States of America); split into the Arizona Territory and the State of New Mexico
- Territory of Utah (1850–1896) (preceded by Alta California and the unrecognized State of Deseret); split into the State of Utah, the Nevada Territory, additions to the Colorado Territory and additions to the Wyoming Territory
- Territory of Washington (1853–1889); became the State of Washington and additions to the Idaho Territory.
- Territory of Kansas (1854–1861) (preceded by unorganized territory of the original Louisiana Purchase); part became the modern State of Kansas; the western part became part of the Colorado Territory
- Territory of Nebraska (1854–1867) (preceded by unorganized territory of the original Louisiana Purchase); split into the State of Nebraska, the Dakota Territory, additions to the Idaho Territory and additions to the Colorado Territory
- Territory of Colorado (1861–1876) (preceded by parts of the territories of Kansas, Utah, New Mexico and Nebraska); became the State of Colorado (see also Jefferson Territory)
- Territory of Nevada (1861–1864) (preceded by the Utah Territory and the unrecognized State of Deseret); became the State of Nevada.
- Territory of Dakota (1861–1889); became the State of North Dakota, the State of South Dakota, additions to the Idaho Territory and additions to the Wyoming Territory.
- Territory of Arizona (1863–1912); became the State of Arizona and an addition to the State of Nevada.
- Territory of Idaho (1863–1890) (preceded by parts of the territories of Washington, Dakota, and Nebraska); became the State of Idaho, the Montana Territory, additions to the Dakota Territory and additions to the Wyoming Territory.
- Territory of Montana (1864–1889); became the State of Montana.
- Territory of Wyoming (1868–1890) (preceded by parts of the territories of Dakota, Utah and Idaho); became the State of Wyoming.
- Territory of Oklahoma (1890–1907) (preceded by the unorganized Indian Territory (1834–1907) and the Neutral Strip); became the State of Oklahoma.
- Territory of Hawaii (1900–1959) (preceded by the Republic of Hawaii); became the State of Hawaii.
- Territory of Alaska (1912–1959) (preceded by the Department of Alaska and the District of Alaska); became the State of Alaska.
Internal land grants, cessions, districts, departments, claims and settlements
The following are land grants, cessions, defined districts (official or otherwise) or named settlements made within an area that was already part of a U.S. state or territory that did not involve international treaties or Native American cessions or land purchases.
- Cumberland District, North Carolina (also called the District of Miro); Tennessee.
- District of Louisiana; Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming; renamed Missouri Territory in 1812.
- Military Tract of 1812; Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas, Missouri.
- Ohio Country; parts of Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia.
Alaska
Colorado
Iowa
Nebraska
New York
Ohio
See main article: Ohio Lands.
Oklahoma
Indian reserves
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
- Congressional Reservation
- Greene's Reserve
- North Carolina Military Reservation
- Western Purchase
Federal military districts and departments
These entities were sometimes the only governmental authority in the listed areas, although they often co-existed with civil governments in scarcely populated states and territories. Civilian administered "military" tracts, districts, departments, etc., will be listed elsewhere.
Central United States
- Department of the Northwest (1862–1865) Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska[2]
- District of Minnesota (1862–1865)
- District of Wisconsin (1862–1865)
- District of Iowa (1862–1865)
- District of Dakota (1862–1866)
- District of Montana (1864–1866)
- Department of the Missouri (1861–1865) Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, part of Kentucky, and later Kansas; re-configured in 1865 as part of the Division of the Missouri.
- Division of the Missouri (1865–1891).
- Department of Dakota (1866–1911) Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and parts of Idaho, South Dakota and the Yellowstone portion of Wyoming.
- Department of the Missouri (1865–1891) Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Indian Territory, and Territory of Oklahoma.
- Department of the Platte (1866–1898) Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory, Wyoming (except Yellowstone), and a portion of Idaho.
- Department of Texas (1871–1880) (originally part of the Department of the Gulf) Texas after 1865.
- Department of New Mexico (1854–65) New Mexico Territory; previously part of the District of California and the Department of the West.
Pacific area
- Pacific Division (1848–1853) lands won in the Mexican–American War; became the original Department of the Pacific in 1853.
- Military Department 10 (1848–1851) California.
- Military Department 11 (1848–1851) Oregon Territory.
- Department of the Pacific (1853–1858; and 1861–1865); separated into the Department of California and the Department of Oregon in 1858.
During the American Civil War, the Department of the Pacific had six subordinate military districts:
- District of Oregon (headquarters at Fort Vancouver) January 15, 1861 – July 27, 1865
- District of California (headquarters at San Francisco, co-located with Department of the Pacific). Independent command from Department from (July 1, 1864 – July 27, 1865); those parts of California not in other districts.
- District of Southern California (September 25, 1861 – July 27, 1865); Counties of Southern California (southward from San Luis Obispo and Tulare Counties).
- District of Humboldt (December 12, 1861 – July 27, 1865); Del Norte, Humboldt, Klamath, Mendocino Counties of California.
- District of Utah (August 6, 1862 – July 27, 1865); Utah Territory, Nevada Territory, later State of Nevada.
- District of Arizona (March 7, 1865 – July 27, 1865); Territory of Arizona
The Department of California (1858–1861) comprised the southern part of the Department of the Pacific: California, Nevada, and southern part of Oregon Territory; merged into the Department of the Pacific as the District of California.
The Department of Oregon (1858–1861) comprised the northern part of the Department of the Pacific: Washington Territory and Oregon Territory.
The south
- Department of the Gulf (1862–1865; created by the U.S. for the Civil War) Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas.
- Trans-Mississippi (or Trans-Mississippi Department; CSA) (1862–1865). Formerly "Military Dept. 2"; Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), Kansas, and Louisiana west of the Mississippi River.
The west
Retroceded possessions and overseas territories
Functioning but non-sanctioned territories
These "territories" had actual, functioning governments (recognized or not):
Civil War-related
These are functioning governments created as a result of the attempted secession of the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Some were enclaves within enemy-held territories:
These were regions disassociated from neighboring areas due to opposing views:
Regional nicknames
See main article: List of regions of the United States.
Belts
Belts are loosely defined sub-regions found throughout the United States that are named for a perceived commonality among the included areas, which is often related to the region's economy or climate.
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Luisiana . Artifacts.org . 2012-09-17.
- Heidler, David Stephen; Heidler, Jeanne T.; Coles, David J.; Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History; W. W. Norton & Company; New York; 2000; p. 590.
