Acquiring the Mexican Cession resulted in the United States gaining territory in which region?

• A. The U.S. gained territory in the Southwest through a war with Mexico.
• B. The U.S. purchased the land from Mexico.
• C. The U.S. lost territory to Mexico.
• D. The U.S. annexed the land from Canada.

Answer: (A)

The question is about how the United States expanded its territory in the mid-1800s. The Mexican Cession came after the Mexican-American War and was land that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This acquisition added territory in the Southwest, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. So the best answer connects the expansion to the war with Mexico and identifies the Southwest region as the gained area. It wasn’t a purchase, it wasn’t land taken from Canada, and it wasn’t land lost to Mexico, which is why those options aren’t correct.