Which boundary formed the southern edge of the United States after the American Revolution?

Which boundary formed the southern edge of the United States after the American Revolution?

• A. British Florida
• B. Spanish Florida
• C. Florida
• D. Florida Territory

Answer: (B)

After the Revolution, borders were set by the peace treaty, not by myths of where “the country” extended. The Treaty of Paris (1783) drew the southern boundary along the 31st parallel north from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River, and then along the Mississippi to the Gulf. Land south of that line belonged to Spain, so the United States’ southern edge ran against Spanish Florida. That’s why Spanish Florida is the right description—Florida at that time was under Spanish control, not British, and the Florida Territory wouldn’t exist as a U.S. entity until the 1820s.

After the Revolution, borders were set by the peace treaty, not by myths of where “the country” extended. The Treaty of Paris (1783) drew the southern boundary along the 31st parallel north from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River, and then along the Mississippi to the Gulf. Land south of that line belonged to Spain, so the United States’ southern edge ran against Spanish Florida. That’s why Spanish Florida is the right description—Florida at that time was under Spanish control, not British, and the Florida Territory wouldn’t exist as a U.S. entity until the 1820s.