Which of the following was president when the U.S. government acquired the last of the territory that would make up the contiguous United States?
Franklin Pierce was president when the U.S. government acquired the last of the territory that would make up the contiguous United States. The United States acquired the Southwestern land known as the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 during Franklin Pierce's presidency. This was six years after the Mexican Cession that the U.S. acquired at the end of the MexicanAmerican War under James Polk. Pierce opposed the use of the federal government to prop up private industry and did not endorse the final version of the treaty, which was ratified nonetheless. The acquisition brought the contiguous United States to its present-day boundaries, excepting later minor adjustments