A report on Historic regions of the United States

Map showing North American territorial boundaries leading up to the American Revolution and the founding of the United States: British claims are indicated in red and pink, while Spanish claims are in orange and yellow.

Map showing mid 17th century claims and land grant boundaries. Some colonies seen here are: Nova Scotia (NSc), Territory of Sagadahock (TS), First Province of Maine (Me), New Hampshire (NH), Plymouth (PC), Massachusetts Bay (MBC), New Netherland (NN), New Sweden (NSw), and Lord Baltimore's Land (Md; Maryland)

New World settlements of The Netherlands, collectively called New Netherland

French settlements and forts in the so-called Illinois Country, 1763, which encompassed parts of the modern day states of Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky)

A 1775 map of the German Coast, a historical region of present-day Louisiana located above New Orleans on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River

Vandalia was the name of a proposed British colony located south of the Ohio River, primarily in what is now the U.S. states of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky

A proposal for the creation of Westsylvania was largely deterred by the Revolutionary War

National Atlas map of United States territorial acquisitions

Seward's Folly. The controversial purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 turned out to be a great deal for the U.S. when the area proved to contain a treasure trove of natural resources.

The Oregon Country. The dispute over Oregon, between Britain and the U.S., led to an uneasy, parallel governing of the territory for almost 30 years.

Progression of the Indian Territory separation from the Arkansaw Territory, 1819–1836

The first state cessions. The 13 original states ceded their western claims to the federal government, allowing for the creation of the country's first western territories and states.

The Northwest Territory was a large and (at times) ill-defined territory ceded by Great Britain to the U.S. at the end of the Revolutionary War. British troops still occupied parts of the area well past 1800.

United States territorial expansion since 1803, maps by William R. Shepherd (1923)

Census Bureau map depicting territorial acquisitions and effective dates of statehood

The Ohio Country, indicating battle sites between settlers and Native American Tribes, 1775–1794

Selected tract purchases of western New York State

Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory, along with No Man's Land (also known as the Oklahoma Panhandle). The division of the two territories is shown with a heavy purple line. Together, these three areas would become the State of Oklahoma in 1907.

Pennsylvania land purchases from Native Americans

Post-Civil War military districts were set up to aid in the repatriation process of the southern states during Reconstruction.

The Panama Canal Zone was once a territory of the United States

The boundaries of the State of Deseret, as proposed in 1849

Animated map of secession and repatriation of the Confederacy, 1860–1870

The proposed State of Superior. The red areas show the counties of the Upper Peninsula that are generally accepted as being part of the proposed state. The pink areas show the counties of the "expanded" proposal.

The failed State of Lincoln, with its proposed 1868 boundaries

The Philippines was a commonwealth of the United States, 1935–1946

Worldwide location of current U.S. insular areas:

The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day.

- Historic regions of the United States

35 related topics with Alpha

Southwest Territory

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Low's map, "The State of Kentucky and adjoining Territories." The Southwest Territory did not yet include West Tennessee, which was still under control of Indians. From Low's Encyclopaedia

Howard Pyle's depiction of a scout warning the residents of Knoxville of an approaching hostile Indian force in 1793

Secretary Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796)

The Washington District, as it appeared on Abraham Bradley's 1796 postal map

The Mero District, as it appeared on Bradley's 1796 postal map

The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States as the State of Tennessee.

Florida Territory

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The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida.

Minnesota Territory

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The nine original counties of the Minnesota Territory extended into what became North Dakota and South Dakota (left)

Minnesota Territory Centennial stamp, issued in 1949 in recognition of Minnesota's unique Métis oxcart traders.

The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota.

Territory of Alaska

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The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959.

1855 J. H. Colton Company map of Virginia that predates the West Virginia partition by seven years.

List of U.S. state partition proposals

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Existing U.S. state or states so that a particular region might either join another state or create a new state.

2013 election results: counties in orange voted to separate from Colorado, while counties in blue rejected the idea.

Proposed map of an independent Long Island and New York City

Proposals to secede from the Union and proposals to create states from either organized incorporated or unorganized U.S. territories are not included.