Gulf of America Redux: My Letter to the Chicago Sun-Times
I reworked my last post as a letter to the editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. It ran in yesterday’s editions (February 05, 2025).
A gulf of confusion
Thanks to Neil Steinberg for his column on the conundrum caused by Donald Trump’s declaration of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Once upon a time, it made sense to refer to the Gulf as that of Mexico. Mexico governed almost all of the coastline.
Upon the founding of our republic, the United States had — shall I say? — no beachfront property on the Gulf.
It was only with the Louisiana Purchase that we gained a toehold in 1803. Spain ceded Florida to us in 1819. And then there was the little matter of the seizure of Texas from Mexico in 1845.
So now, in 2025, we want to seize the naming rights as well?
Scott Summers
Related
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2025/02/04/cta-accessibility-disabled-pritzker-jan6-caitlin-clark-aja-wilson-gulf-trump-fox-science