 Primary reason for purchasing the land  Railroad would stretch from the heart of the Deep South to the coast of the Pacific Ocean  US land above the purchase was too mountainous to lay a railroad

 James Gadsden  American Ambassador to Mexico  Negotiated purchase of territory from Mexico

 29,670 square miles  Major portion of present day Arizona and New Mexico  Last border change and territory acquisition of the contiguous United States

 Negotiated by Ambassador Gadsden on December 30, 1853  Ratified by the US Senate and signed by US President Franklin Pierce on April 25, 1854  Transferred by Mexico on June 8, 1854

 US paid Mexico $10 Million  Equivalent of $260 Million today

 Cemented USA contiguous border to what it is today  North did not support building of the railroad in the South  Railroad was not completed until 1881, at the time it was the 2 nd transcontinental railroad

USA ReceivedMexico Received