General Discussion

FadedMullet

(747 posts) Sat Jan 24, 2026, 02:01 AM 18 hrs ago

Learned something from "The Newshour" on PBS tonight. "The U.S. has tried to acquire Greenland three times.....

......in the past. In 1867 after acquiring Alaska, a three-way land swap suggestion in 1910, and a $100 million offer in 1946."
Who knew? Or better yet, who put this bug in Trump's ear?

3 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Learned something from "The Newshour" on PBS tonight. "The U.S. has tried to acquire Greenland three times..... (Original Post) FadedMullet 18 hrs ago OP

Google AI gave me the following on the land swap...... FadedMullet 18 hrs ago #1

Thank You for that history of Cha 17 hrs ago #3

Ronald Lauder markie 17 hrs ago #2

FadedMullet

(747 posts)

1. Google AI gave me the following on the land swap......

Reply to FadedMullet (Original post)

Sat Jan 24, 2026, 02:04 AM

18 hrs ago

In 1910, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark
Maurice Francis Egan proposed a complex three-way land swap intended to transfer Greenland to U.S. control. The deal involved the U.S. giving Denmark islands in the Philippines, which Denmark would trade to Germany in exchange for the return of Northern Schleswig. The proposal was intended to appease German expansionism while allowing Denmark to regain territory lost in 1864, but the plan failed because Denmark was not interested in parting with Greenland.
Key Aspects of the 1910 Proposal:

Participants: United States, Denmark, and Germany.
The Swap Mechanism:
Denmark would cede sovereignty of Greenland to the United States.
The United States would transfer control of certain Philippine islands (likely part of Mindanao) to Denmark.
Denmark would transfer these Philippine islands to Germany.
Germany would return the northern portion of the Schleswig-Holstein region to Denmark.
Context: The proposal, often linked to the Taft administration, was motivated by U.S. interest in Greenland's strategic, mineral, and telegraphic value.
Outcome: The plan was rejected and did not proceed.

While this 1910 proposal failed, the United States later purchased the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) from Denmark in 1917, a deal that included U.S. recognition of Danish sovereignty over all of Greenland.