What places could have become part of the United States?

America50

Hello, I'm new here, I'm posting here to ask a question.

Over America's history lots of places have had a chance to become part of it, such as Yucatan or Greenland. The question is, how big could the United States have possibly gotten if every candidate for annexation became part of the U.S.? Thank you.
 
Daniwani

Daniwani

I know allot of maps feature an American Newfoundland, this is largely based on the mistaken idea that there was an option to join American included when confederation with Canada was being mulled over for the last time. The Anti-Confederates however did seek closer economic ties with the United States. It's possible that an Indie Newfoundland that goes way down hill could join America, but chances are that loyalism to the crown would place Canada as the only option given the direction of pre-confederation Newfoundland Society.

Could America have annexed Panama or the Canal zone? I've sometimes wondered how plausible that would be. All things considered I always thought America maxed out quite nicely, territoriality, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to make it a touch larger without straying to far from TTL.
 
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Nagisaki

Nagisaki

Philippines, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Cuba, Greenland, Palau, Marshall islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Liberia, Japan, The Moon.
 

Gog (♀)

Cuba, Canal Zone, Philippines, Random Pacific Islands, Northern Mexico, Panama, Canada, Anglo Carribean Islands, Guyana

By order of likeliness
 
EnglishCanuck

EnglishCanuck

Well IMHO the fact that the US never went full on empire building IOTL's 1890s speaks quite a bit for how little love there was for the idea of pure territorial expansion outside the continental boundaries.

However I can see a way around this. Have the Grant administration follow through on the annexation of Santo Domingo and build a naval base there and get them used to policing a non-white population and adopt reasons for the expansion. From there Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines fall nicely into the American Union (as territories first obviously) with pre-existing justification for their annexation (military and economic needs). Then you can have the annexation of the Panama Canal Zone present no problems in the eyes of the American voters who are already used to empire building exercises.

Beyond that buying up former European colonies in the Caribbean and probably more islands in the Pacific you can't get much more unless they outright claim Liberia as a colony.
 
Germaniac

Germaniac

Donor
Have Zachary Taylor survive and win his battle for immediate statehood for new Mexico (granted a much larger new Mexico". This will mitigate the aversion to Spanish speaking people in the country and government.

With this gone the growth into central America and Caribbean will be greater.
 

Alt History Buff

Most of Canada was possible if the US got lucky in 1775. Quebec may have fallen but I wouldn't doubt Britain could retake it fairly easily.

I've never been a big believer that the French population at this time would welcome/be welcomed into the US. Quebec might have been better off (by everyone) to leave and form their own country. The US could take the Maritimes and Ontario on west.

If Ontario falls to the US, so does Western Canada.

I believe that Lousiana, the American southwest and Alaska were more or less destined to be united to the USA due to pure demographic growth, either with the US as an independence country or a self-governing British "Commonwealth" along the lines of late 19th century Canada, Australia, etc. The US could govern their own affairs while allowing Britain to handle foreign policy. Only the timing and method of acquiring these lands is up for debate.

After that?

A bit more of relatively unpopulated Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Baja California).

Hispaniola, maybe the Bahamas as no one ever seemed to want them until the 20th century.

Guyana and portions of northern/interior Brazil?

Maybe the US could have gotten into the carving up of Africa (for whatever that is worth) and get a "Sphere of Influence" over a bit of China.

The latter two depend on when/if the American Civil War happens. That would dominate American politics for years afterword and preclude any obvious additions.

Any other additions would require a war of conquest that the US wouldn't likely win.

I'm not convinced Cuba would ever desire to join and the US lacked the power to force the matter pre-Civil War and the will to do so later. See Philippine resistance to the most openly imperialistic of American actions.

Beyond that, not much.

Maybe there could be a Portuguese-American War where they get some Portuguese Island possessions here and there.
 

606jae

Canada (many scenarios)
northern Mexico (any one but Trist as negotiator)
Yucatan (asked for annexation)
DR (asked for annexation)
El Salvador (I THINK asked for annexation in the 1820s)
Panama Canal zone (we were foolish for not annexing this)
Philippines Islands
Cuba (after Spanish American war kept instead of independence)
Spain's other colonies
Northern Borneo (we were given the deed and turned down)
Kamchatka (I have seen where Lenin wanted to give the USA a longterm lease to stir up tensions between USA and Japan)
Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Palau
islands including Okinawan we were awarded in the Treaty of Francisco, but eventually returned to Japan)
Taiwan (the only nation in the world with a legal claim to the island is the USA from the treaty of San Francisco)
Wilsonian Armenia
some African territory had we got involved in the scramble
anything else in either the Caribbean and Central America could have taken place also any one we occupied we could have annexed
Sicily (talk after WWII if Italy went Communist)
US occupation zone of Germany (borderline ASB but I could see the 4 occupying powers especially USSR and France wanting to keep their zones)
 

606jae

I forgot to add there are or were weakly supported moves for the USA to annex Guyana and Albania. Guyana is borderline ASB Albania IS ASB
 

M79

Not a definitive list, but this topic includes...

-Canada
*Everything west of Lake Superior was offered at one time
*Ontario if the Americans can hold a bit longer in 1814 (ideally not burning York to the ground in the process)
*Quebec (1851)

-Caribbean Islands (WW2, instead of Lend-Lease it could become Sand for Supplies or something akin)

-Chile (parts; 1891)

-Dominican Republic (1870, 1904)

-Easternmost Siberia

-El Salvador (their offer, 1822)

-Greenland (World War 2)

-Guatemala (multiple opportunities)

-Haiti (multiple opportunities)

-Honduras (multiple opportunities)

-Iceland (World War 2)

-Mexico
*Yucatan Peninsula (States of Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo)
*Republic of Rio Grande (States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila)
*Failed negotiations from Trist (States of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, and possible Sinaloa and/or Durango)
*Isthmus of Tehuantepec (multiple occasions)
*Tampico (1917)

-North Borneo

-Nicaragua (1920s)

-Panama (multiple opportunities)

-Philippines

-Siberia (Varying area, varying times)
 

god....freyjones

Banned
Had the USA and UK gone to war in the late 19th century, Harrison or Hayes could have attempted to annex the Bahamas, Jamaica, Bermuda, or any other the former/current UK territories in the region. That said, I think an initial gaining may be repulsed by the Royal Navy, and any major fighting would be in Canada. And perhaps the USA at that point (unlike 1812) could have annexed part of Canada as it was far larger, and stronger economically and militarily than in 1812.
 
Cuāuhtemōc

Cuāuhtemōc

Banned
The Galapagos could've been purchased by the United States from Ecuador. I believe there was an attempt at negotiations with the Ecuadorian government to purchase the sparsely populated archipelago in exchange for its foreign debt being cancelled. There were two attempts in 1926 and 1932. FDR also had an interest in the islands as well. The Americans also had a military presence there during the Second World War due to worries of the Japanese seizing control of the islands and using them as a forward base to attacking American interests in Panama but interest would later wane.
 
shiftygiant

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Greenland, Cuba, the Philippines, North Mexico, British Columbia (Like, half of it anyway), Peutro Rico, Albania, the rest of Canada, Panama, Sicily, Okinawa, the Trust Territories, and the Golden Circle (Everything that the Caribbean sea touches).

Not all at the same time and they all have varying degrees of plausibility, but that's the best I can come up with off the top of my head.
 
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