After the Revolutionary War the 13 colonies became the first states. In the treaty with Britain signed in 1783, the US was granted the rights to the lands from the eastern seaboard to the Mississippi River, though the border with Canada remained a bit ambiguous. The original 13 colonies became states of the US while western lands were organized into territories. Settlers continued to move over the Appalachian Mountains to settle new areas, thus populating the territories and increasing the demand for grants of statehood.
In 1803, the US purchased the Louisiana territory from France, obtaining most of the land that makes of the Mid-Western states. In 1819 the US obtained Florida from Spain via treaty. While Florida had declared independence in 1810 and Spain was unable to retain it through force, the Spanish did not relinquish claims to the territory until the 1819 treaty. Texas was annexed in 1845 and Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were obtained from the British in 1846 through another treaty.
After the Mexican-American War, the US agreed to purchase the land encompassing the Southwestern states in 1848, with an additional, but much smaller purchase, in 1853. This completed the acquisition of the land which became the lower 48, or continental US.
Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867, while Hawaii was obtained through annexation of the independent nation of Hawaii. This last annexation was not completely peaceful.
After each new territorial acquisition the land would be divided into territorial entities which would later be granted statehood. This continual expansion was largely fueled by the desire to allow Americans to continue exploring and claiming Western lands in order to provide every individual with sufficient land to maintain themselves. Lands came to be held by individuals under legislation like the Homestead Act.
http://faculty.weber.edu/kmackay/chronological_list_ofexpansion.htm
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