Four ways the US could take Greenland — and what it means for China and Russia

This means a direct, cash-for-sovereignty transaction, a method deeply embedded in American history. The US vastly expanded through such acquisitions in the 19th century: the Louisiana Purchase from France (1803), Florida from Spain (1819), the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico (1853), Alaska from Russia (1867), and even the Danish West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) from Denmark in 1917. However, applying this antiquated playbook to modern Greenland is a political fantasy.