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Originally Posted by JonClarke
And the relevance is?????
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Geez, you don’t see the relevance? We find ourselves at a juncture in history, and a major juncture at that. While our forefathers did not necessarily grasp the full significance of laying stake to as much territory as possible when the circumstances presented the opportunity, it is fortunate (for the USA) that they chose to incorporate as much territory as possible into the Union. Relatively small decisions 200 years ago made tremendous differences today.
Imagine a lackadaisical approach to the colonization of Mars. The Chinese, or the Indians, or whoever, claim the majority of Mars as their territory. Although that may not seem significant now, a few hundred years down the road it could conceivably result in a dramatic change in the balance of power. Imagine if you will the Chinese telling the USA that the US colony is on Chinese land, and that they must leave immediately or pay taxes to China. Although there are some who would find this either humorous or possibly justice, I assure you that we would not take it lightly. IOW, it would be better to at least preeminently claim territory, than to be kicked out by others who were simply more aggressive in their approach.