On April 30, 1803, President Jefferson purchased Louisiana from Napoleon Bonaparte of France for $15 million. This acquisition included all the land drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. This added 2,000,000 sq km (800,000 sq. miles) and doubled the size of the country.
After signing the Louisiana Purchase, the borders were not fully defined until 1819. At this time the United States ceded back to Spain the part of the Louisiana Territory lying west of the 23rd meridian and south of the Arkansas River. This included the southern part of present day Kansas.
In 1821, when Mexico received her independence from Spain, Mexico gained control of this land.
When Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas claimed this land.
On February 2, 1848, The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the US and Mexico confirmed the US's claim to this territory and established the borders between the countries.
Under the Compromise of 1850, Texas sold part of her land to the US for $10,000,000. This purchase included the part of Kansas that Texas had owned.
On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which formed the territory of Kansas. This territory included modern-day Kansas; however, the western border was the height-of-land in the Rocky Mountains including what is now known as Pike's Peak. The total area of the territory 327,071 sq. km (126,283 sq miles), about 50% more land than modern Kansas.
Although the Kansas constitution was approved by the US House of Representatives in 1860, it was refused by the Senate. After a change in the balance of power, President James Buchanan signed the bill on January 29, 1861, making Kansas the 34th state.
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