USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In 1819, after years of negotiations, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams achieved a diplomatic coup with the signing of the Florida Purchase Treaty, which officially put Florida into U.S. hands at no cost beyond the U.S. assumption of some $5 million of claims by U.S. citizens against Spain.

Detailed explanation-2: -American settlers moved in and began to resist Spanish control. After years of border arguments, Spain finally agreed to cede the Florida Territory to the U.S. in 1819 by signing the Adams-Onis Treaty, signed by Spanish minister Luis de Onis and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.

Detailed explanation-3: -The United States now wanted control of Florida. Spain’s attempt to bring settlers to Florida failed, and by 1800 Spain’s control of Florida had weakened. Gaining control of Florida for the United States would mean gaining control of the Mississippi River. That was an important route for trade.

Detailed explanation-4: -But while Feb. 22, 1819, was the date of the Adams-Onis treaty, Spanish foreign minister Louis de Onís took two years to sign the thing, and did so only after he realized that if he dallied too long, Spain wouldn’t get a penny. He inked it on Feb. 21, 1821.

Detailed explanation-5: -Representatives of Spain and the United States signed a peace treaty in Paris on December 10, 1898, which established the independence of Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and allowed the victorious power to purchase the Philippines Islands from Spain for $20 million.