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This is a list of the evolution of the borders of the United States. This lists each change to the internal and external borders of the country, as well as status and name changes. It also shows the surrounding areas that eventually became part of the United States. Each stage has a map, to show what the specific makeup of the country was at any given time. After achieving independence with the Treaty of Paris, the United States expanded westward, enlarging its borders seven times, with two major border adjustments, one each with colonies of the United Kingdom and Spain, and several small disputes. The original thirteen states grew into fifty states, most of which began as incorporated territories. The general pattern seen in this is of territorial expansion, carving of organized territories from the newly acquired land, modification of the borders of these territories, and eventual statehood. Only two states, Nevada and Missouri, grew appreciably after statehood, and five, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, lost land, in each case to form new states. ==Notes== *This article does not include unincorporated territories and countries under free association. The fundamental difference between ''unincorporated'' and ''incorporated'' territories is that incorporated territories are considered to forever be under the jurisdiction of the United States Constitution, whereas it is possible for unincorporated territories to become independent. These are: * *Nations under Compacts of Free Association: Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau. * *Unincorporated, organized territories: Guam, United States Virgin Islands. * *Commonwealths, another form of unincorporated and organized territory: Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (This is different from the term ''commonwealth'' used by some states.) * *American Samoa is unincorporated and unorganized, but has a constitution and self-government, making it functionally very similar to an organized territory. * *The United States Minor Outlying Islands, which are uninhabited, unorganized, and except for Palmyra Atoll, unincorporated. * *The former unincorporated territories of the Line Islands, Panama Canal Zone, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and the Phoenix Islands. * *The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations trusteeship granted to the United States following World War II. It has since dissolved, becoming the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. * *Various unincorporated territories whose claims under the Guano Island Act have been abrogated by the United States Government. * *Following Japan's defeat in World War II, the Amami Islands, what is now Okinawa Prefecture, and the minor islands of the Nanpo Islands and Minami-Tori-shima were de facto US territory until their return to Japan in 1953, 1972, and 1968 (both), respectively. Note though officially they were not organized as a territory of the US. Okinawa, the dominant island, was occupied by US military under an active military officer,〔http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2002/05/14/national/handover-of-okinawa-to-japan-was-prickly-issue/#.VLCyYPlWkVY〕 and neither was Okinawa part of any other nation nor independent. The reversion or return is widely used to describe the transfer of sovereignty. *"Unorganized territory" is not a name; it simply means Congress has not passed an organic act for the territory. In most situations, the purpose of unorganized territory was to act as land for Native American settlement. Later, the last unorganized territory in the country was indeed referred to as "Indian Territory", though this is not an official name. The last territories acquired by the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Mexican Cession, began unorganized, but not as land set aside for Native Americans, but simply because they had not been organized yet. Palmyra Atoll is the only remaining unorganized incorporated U.S. territory. *Dotted lines on the borders mean that region is part of a country not fully shown on the map, which is confined to the present-day borders of the United States. An exception is Oregon Country, which was shared land which extended beyond the area of the map. *Some territorial disputes and borders from early in the United States' history are unclear. For example, the border between West Florida and East Florida seems unclear. For the purposes of simplicity, this article uses the original border, the Apalachicola River, even though later maps tended to move it west to the Perdido River. This is partly because the Organic Act for Florida specified that it included parts of both West and East Florida; if the border were the Perdido River, then Florida Territory would not have included any of West Florida, it having already been divided among Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Text of the Organic Act for Florida Territory )〕 *Several very small changes are included in the list but not included in the maps. *#The switch of two extra counties from Virginia to West Virginia at the end of the American Civil War. *#The Alaska Boundary Dispute, since it arose from a total lack of surveying, rather than a dispute over the surveyed lines; it would also appear quite small on the map. *#When the Dakota Territory was created, it also included land south of 43° N and north of the Keya Paha and Niobrara rivers. This was transferred to the state of Nebraska on March 28, 1882.〔 (archived from (the original ) on 2004-12-28)〕 *#The two small adjustments to the Indiana Territory. *#Various disputes along the Rio Grande with Mexico. *Ratification of the Constitution, Confederacy formation and reconstruction are simplified to make the map simpler. *Other small territorial changes, such as minor adjustments to state borders or transfers of small amounts of territories between states (such as Boston Corner, New York) are also not shown on this list. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Territorial evolution of the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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