U.S. bought โVirgin Islandsโ from Denmark in 1917.
This document is the official receipt signed on March 31, 1917, acknowledging that the United States paid Denmark the full purchase price of $25,000,000 in gold for the Danish West Indies (now known as the United States Virgin Islands โ St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix).
It was issued by the U.S. Treasury and signed by C. C. Brown (likely a Treasury official), confirming receipt of a Treasury warrant (dated March 31, 1917, numbered 13,225) as โfull paymentโ under Article 2 of the 1916 treaty between the two countries.
Here are some key highlights from the text and historical context:
โข The islands were formally ceded by Denmark to the United States.
โข The convention (treaty) was signed in New York on August 4, 1916.
โข Ratifications were exchanged in Washington on January 17, 1917 (exactly 109 years before today!).
โข The U.S. Congress authorized the payment via an act approved on March 3, 1917.
โข Actual transfer of sovereignty (โTransfer Dayโ) occurred on March 31, 1917, when the Danish flag came down and the American flag went up โ just days before the U.S. entered World War I.
The United States wanted the islands primarily for strategic reasons: to secure a naval base in the Caribbean, protect the newly opened Panama Canal, and prevent Germany from potentially seizing them during the war.