Describe all of the ways in which the United States either gained or expanded into new territory.

The United States of America was created on July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence of thirteen British colonies. Their independence was recognized by Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which concluded the American Revolutionary War. This effectively doubled the size of the colonies, now able to stretch west past the Proclamation Line to the Mississippi River. This land was organized into territories and then states, though there remained some conflict with the sea-to-sea grants claimed by some of the original colonies. In time, these grants were ceded to the federal government.