Chapter 48: Mexico cedes 55% of its entire land in the 1848 Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo.

On February 2, 1848, a final treaty is signed. The U.S. gains 339 million acres of land at an agreed upon price of $15 million, or 4.4 cents per acre. It is ratified by a vote of 38-16 in the Senate with the Whigs in opposition.

Over time the new land will include the states of California, Utah, Nevada and most of Arizona, along with parts of Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.