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"AI Overview
Annex territory, in a political context, means to incorporate a territory into the domain of a city, country, or state, usually by force or without permission."
The context we are talking about makes clear which usage of the term applies here, and it's just stupid to hold onto some fantasy notion that Canadians are anything but vehemently against joining the US.
I will just toss yet another silly argument over to chat GPT...
Hay chatzie, care to explain?
In U.S. history, most of the land was gained through purchases and agreements. Only sometimes has the U.S. used force to take over new territory. One peaceful example was the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the U.S. bought a huge piece of land from France for $15 million, which doubled the country’s size. The U.S. also bought Florida from Spain in 1819 through a treaty called the Adams-Onís Treaty, and in 1867, the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. There was also the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, where the U.S. bought a small piece of land from Mexico to complete its southern border.
However, the U.S. didn’t always gain land peacefully. Sometimes, it used force or war. The U.S. fought the Mexican-American War. When the war ended in 1848, the U.S. took not only Texas but also California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In Hawaii, the U.S. helped businessmen overthrow Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893, and later, in 1898, the U.S. officially annexed Hawaii. Even though most native Hawaiians didn’t want it, the U.S. still took over.
The U.S. also used force against Native Americans. The government made treaties with tribes but often broke them and forced Native Americans onto reservations. The U.S. Army fought battles with many tribes, using violence to take their land. After the Spanish-American War in 1898, the U.S. gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Even though this was through a treaty, it came after the U.S. had defeated Spain in the war.
The U.S. sometimes added new land by letting the people who lived there vote to join. One example is Texas. A long time ago, Texas was its own country after it broke away from Mexico in 1836. For almost 10 years, it was independent, but many Texans wanted to join the U.S. In 1845, they had a vote, and most people said yes. So, Texas became the 28th state. This was a peaceful and democratic way for Texas to join.
Another example is Hawaii. Even though the U.S. had taken control of Hawaii in 1898, it didn’t become a state right away. In 1959, the people of Hawaii had a vote, and almost everyone said they wanted to be part of the U.S. So, Hawaii became the 50th state. Around the same time, Alaska also had a vote. The people there chose to join the U.S., and Alaska became the 49th state. These are examples of how some places became part of the U.S. because the people voted for it.
So, while the U.S. mostly bought a lot of its land peacefully, there were also some times when it used war, force, or unfair deals to expand its territory.
