00:00Do you know how the U.S. grew from just a few colonies into a giant 11 times bigger and all
00:05within 100 years? Back in 1776, North America was divided between Britain, Spain, and indigenous
00:11lands that Europeans hadn't taken yet. At that time, the 13 British colonies adopted the Declaration
00:17of Independence and declared themselves the United States of America. After years of fighting,
00:22Britain officially recognized their independence through the Treaty of Paris. The U.S. gained
00:26vast territory all the way to the Mississippi River and began actively settling it. In 1803,
00:32a massive land deal with France doubled the size of the U.S. through the Louisiana Purchase.
00:37A few years later, Florida was partly taken by force and partly purchased from Spain.
00:42After Texas split from Mexico and joined the U.S., the Mexican-American War broke out,
00:46and in the end, the U.S. gained the entire West. Mass migration of Americans along the Oregon Trail
00:51led to an agreement with Britain. The border was set at the 49th parallel. A deal with Russia added
00:56Alaska, the last big piece of the puzzle on the continental U.S. map.
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