The prospect of acquiring Greenland has thrust the United States into a debate it has not seriously confronted in decades: whether it is prepared to add a vast new territory to the nation’s map for the first time since World War II.
President Donald Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland would represent the first major territorial acquisition by the United States in generations, reviving a practice that once defined the country’s expansion but has largely lain dormant since the mid-20th century.
White House officials reportedly said that acquiring Greenland is a “national security priority,” with options under discussion ranging from purchase to other arrangements, and with military force “always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” according to a statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leaders of several European powers, including Denmark, quickly rejected the idea, insisting in a joint statement that “Greenland belongs to its people.”
Historical Precedent
If the United States were to succeed, Greenland would become the largest addition of land to the American sphere from a European power since the Alaska Purchase in 1867, when the U.S. bought 591,000 square miles from Russia for $7.2 million.
By comparison, the largest land acquisition in U.S. history remains the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which doubled the nation’s size after a deal with France.
Many sections of the United States are the product of acquisitions secured through purchases, wars, treaties, and annexations. Control of Puerto Rico and Guam came through the war with Spain in 1898. Large sections of Oklahoma were created through early-20th-century incorporations of the Indian Territory. But since World War II, the nation’s footprint has remained mostly static.
The last parcel of land purchased by the United States that has remained part of the union was Water Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, acquired in 1944 for $10,000 from the East Asiatic Company, a Danish shipping firm operating while Denmark was under Nazi occupation.
While the United States administered a number of Pacific islands after the war under a United Nations trust arrangement, many of those territories later became independent nations.
Unclear Path Forward
Greenland’s potential status within the United States is far from clear.
Administration officials have not specified whether it would become a state, a U.S. territory, or enter into some other form of association. A senior White House official said one option under consideration is a compact of free association, similar to agreements the United States has with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau, which trade financial assistance for American defense responsibilities, per NBC.
It is also unclear how the United States would seek to acquire Greenland.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly floated a purchase; others have suggested diplomatic arrangements or other mechanisms, while declining to rule out force.
Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff for policy, said this week, “It wouldn’t be military action against Greenland,” while questioning Denmark’s claim to the territory.
Denmark and Greenland Defend Sovereignty
The United States has a long and complicated history with Danish territory.
In 1917, Washington purchased the Danish West Indies — now the U.S. Virgin Islands — for $25 million in gold. That treaty, signed during World War I amid fears of German expansion, transferred full sovereignty to the United States while guaranteeing civil and property rights to residents.
In a declaration appended to the agreement, the U.S. government stated it “will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland,” language that has resurfaced in current debates over sovereignty.
Denmark and Greenland’s leaders have firmly rejected Trump’s claims.
In a joint statement with other NATO members, European leaders said security in the Arctic must be achieved “by upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders,” adding that decisions about Greenland rest solely with Denmark and Greenland.
In March 2025, Greenland’s political parties that favored independence, including some that supported American annexation, surged in the parliamentary elections, per The Dallas Express.
Leavitt said that Greenland “is vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.”
The United States already maintains a long-standing military presence on the island, including an air base visited last year by Vice President JD Vance.
The future of Greenland joining the United States, and in what capacity it might do so, is still uncertain. However, the very discussion about this indicates a notable return to a time when American power was assessed not only by its influence around the world but also by physical changes on the map.
