The specific event or event that led Gadsden purchase to the acquisition of territory
The specific event that led to the Gadsden Purchase was the failure of the earlier Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to resolve border disputes between the United States and Mexico after the Mexican-American War. The border between the two countries was not clearly defined, and both sides had conflicting claims to certain areas, particularly in the southern portion of the present-day states of Arizona and New Mexico.
In order to resolve these disputes and secure a favorable route for a planned transcontinental railroad, the United States sent James Gadsden, the American minister to Mexico, to negotiate a new treaty. Gadsden successfully negotiated the Gadsden Purchase Treaty, which was signed on December 30, 1853. Under this treaty, the United States acquired approximately 29,000 square miles of territory from Mexico for a payment of $10 million.
The Gadsden Purchase was significant because it provided the United States with a clear and direct southern route for the transcontinental railroad, which was a major transportation and economic project at that time. Additionally, the acquisition of this territory was part of a broader American effort to expand its influence and control over the western territories.