How were the US states borders determined?

Answer 1

The western states had their boundaries largely marked out by surveyors. This is evident in their long straight lines and square appearances. Other states are delineated by rivers (see the Mississippi river states) or by land purchases.

There is a folk legend that the top chunk of Arkansas is missing due to the New Madrid earthquake of 1812. According to the legend, that chunk broke off and "landed in Missouri".

Answer 2

Early state's boundaries were set originally by tradition, often following geographic features. Later states' boundaries were set increasingly with the help of longitudinal and latitudinal lines (hence the increasing use of straight boundaries over time); all boundaries are set by statute now.

Answer 3

it is a long & complicated story

but basically they were established by various political agreements

sometimes involving the royal or federal government

but in most cases concluded directly between the colonies or states

the lines were agreed

in 1683 with Connecticut

in 1772 & 1834 with New Jersey

in 1774 & 1781 with Pennsylvania

in 1787 & 1853 with Massachusetts

in 1790 with vermont

in 1979 with Rhode Island

& in 1783 between the united states & Great Britain

Answer 4

Each state has its own history of how their borders were set. Most of the time, it was decided politically by the members of Congress or by the major lines of latitude and longitude.

Answer 5

they unrolled a big sheet of paper with a map on it and traced the lines onto the dirt.