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Delaware
Delaware is called The First State and capital city is Dover. The Blue Hen chicken is the official state bird. The hens were noted for their fighting ability. Delaware is sometimes referred to as the Blue Hen State. Eleven years after the landing of the English pilgrims the first white settlement was made on Delaware soil. http://www.50states.com/facts/delaware.htm#.VPNfJHzF8uc -
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvaina the Keystone State. The capital is Harrisburg. In 1913 the first automobile service station opened in Pittsburgh. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia in 1776. http://www.50states.com/pennsylv.htm#.VPNftHzF8uc -
New Jersey
New Jersey is called the Garden State and the capital city is Trenton. New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the diner capital of the world.
http://www.50states.com/facts/newjerse.htm -
Georgia
Georgia is called the Peach State and the capital city is Atlanta. Georgia is the nations number one producer of the three Ps--peanuts, pecans, and peaches. -
Connecticut
Connecticut is called the Constitution State and the capital city is Hartford. Connecticut is home to the oldest U.S. newspaper still being published: The Hartford Courant, established in 1764.
http://www.50states.com/facts/conn.htm#.VPNiSnzF8uc -
Massachusetts
Massachusetts is called the Bay State and the capital city is Boston. The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th.
http://www.50states.com/facts/mass.htm#.VPNi2HzF8uc -
Maryland
Maryland is called the Old Line State and the capital city is Annapolis. The first dental school in the United States opened at the University of Maryland.
http://www.50states.com/facts/maryland.htm#.VPNjZ3zF8uc -
South Carolina
South Carolina is called the Palmetto State and the capital city is Columbia. The Columbia City Ballet, South Carolina's oldest dance company, has developed into one of the most broadly supported performing arts organizations in the state.
http://www.50states.com/facts/socaro.htm#.VPNj53zF8uc -
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is called the Granite State and the capital city is Concord. The first potato planted in the United States was at Londonderry Common Field in 1719.
http://www.50states.com/facts/newhamp.htm#.VPNkZnzF8uc -
Virginia
Virginia is called the Old Dominion State and the capital city is Richmond. Seven Presidents are buried in Virginia: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Tyler, Taft and Kennedy.
http://www.50states.com/facts/virginia.htm#.VPNk6XzF8uc -
New York
New York is called the Empire State and the capital city is Albany. The Big Apple is a term coined by musicians meaning to play the big time.
http://www.50states.com/facts/newyork.htm#.VPNlVXzF8uc -
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George Washington
George Washington was the first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington
During his first term in office, Washington joined the states together and helped establish the federal government. He did not interfere with the policy-making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. http://www.cr.nps.gov/logcabin/htm -
North Carolina
North Carolina is called the Old North State / Tar Heel State and the capital city is Raleigh. The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in the United States.
http://www.50states.com/facts/ncarolin.htm#.VPNlynzF8uc -
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is called The Ocean State and the capital city Providence. Polo was played for the first time in the United States in 1876 near Newport.
http://www.50states.com/facts/rdisl.htm#.VPNmUXzF8uc -
Vermont
Vermont is called the Green Mountain State and the capital city is Montpelier. Vermont was, at various times, claimed by both New Hampshire and New York.
http://www.50states.com/vermont.htm -
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Whiskey Rebellion
During George Washington's presidency, taxes were the central issue and Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton proposed a tax on a whiskey product produced in the United States. In July of 1794 a force of whiskey rebels attacked and destroyed the home of the tax inspector. pbs.org
This event gave the government its first opportunity to establish federal authority by military means within state boundaries. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641925/Whiskey-Rebellion -
Kentucky
Kentucky is called the Bluegrass State and the capital city is Frankfort. The Bluegrass Country around Lexington is home to some of the world's finest racehorses.
http://www.50states.com/facts/kentucky.htm#.VPNnWXzF8uc -
Tennssee
Tennessee is called the Volunteer State and the capital city is Nashville. Tennessee has more than 3,800 documented caves,
and Bristol is known as the Birthplace of Country Music.
http://www.50states.com/facts/tenn.htm#.VPNnx3zF8uc -
Washington's Farewell Address
George Washington addressed it to his friends and fellow citizens announcing his retirement and offering. This was then published in the newspaper. The Farewell Address warns of foreign as well as domestic threats to the Union. In 1796, both France and Britain were active in empire-building in North America, at the same time they were at war worldwide.
http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/milestones/farewell_address_about.html -
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John Adams
John Adams was more remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician. His greatest accomplishments include becoming the first Vice President and the second President of the United States as well as establishing many of the basic ideas and principles that made up the U.S. Constitution. http://johnadamsinfo.com/john-adams-accomplishments/86/ -
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Sojourner Truth
In May 1851 Sojourner Truth attended the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. She delivered a simple but powerful speech. Her speech was very long ending, "Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say." Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, MI.
http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/sojour.htm -
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Horace Mann’s campaign for free compulsory public education
Arguing that universal public education was the best way to turn the nation's unruly children into disciplined, judicious republican citizens, Mann won widespread approval from modernizers, especially in his Whig Party, for building public schools. Most states adopted one version or another of the system he established in Massachusetts, especially the program for "normal schools" to train professional teachers.Mann has been credited by educational historians as the "Father of the Common School. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
A series of laws were passed by the Federlists Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. These laws were passed to give authority to the federal government and president to deal with suspicious people.
www.ushistory.org -
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Cheif Justice John Marshall
John Marshall was the chief of Justice and set up rules for the Supreme Court. He was involved with the cases Marbury v. Madison, Fletcher v. Peck, McMolloch vs. Maryland, Cohens vs. Virgina, Gibbions vs. Ogden, and Darthmouth College vs. Woodward. Marshall admired his collegues and drew from theheri information. -
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia. http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/thomas-jefferson-brief-biography -
Marbury v. Madison
William Marbury was choosen as a justice of the peace in the District of Columbia. Marbury and several others were appointed to government posts created by Congress in the last days of John Adams's presidency, but these last-minute appointments were never fully finalized. The disgruntled appointees invoked an act of Congress and sued for their jobs in the Supreme Court. (Justices William Cushing and Alfred Moore did not participate.)
oyez.org -
Ohio
Ohio is called the Buckeye State and the capital city is Columbus. Cincinnati had the first professional city fire department.
http://www.50states.com/facts/ohio.htm#.VPNponzF8uc -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. -
Lewis and Clark
lewis and Clark left with about 38 enlisted men and some civilian French boatmen. So, the permanent party included 2 captains, 3 sergeants, 23 privates, and 5 civilians. They went from near St. Louis on the Mississippi River, making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition
http://www.lewisandclark.com/facts/faqs.html#ppl -
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James Madison
James Madison, America's fourth President made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, when he was referred to as the "Father of the Constitution." http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesmadison -
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Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
After Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery, she returned to slave-holding states many times to help other slaves escape. She led them safely to the northern free states and to Canada.On her first trip, Tubman brought her own sister and her sister's two children out of slavery in Maryland. A year later she rescued her brother. -
Louisiana
Louisana is called the Pelican State and the capital city is Baton Rouge. Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV and Rayne is known as the "The Frog Capital of the World".
http://www.50states.com/facts/louis.htm#.VPNqDXzF8uc -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 is often referred to as the United States's second war of independence because, like the Revolutionary War, it was fought against Great Britain. The United States suffered many costly defeats at the hands of British, Canadian and Native American troops over the course of the War of 1812, including the capture and burning of the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.
http://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/War_of_1812.aspx -
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton became involved in the abolitionist movement after a progressive upbringing. She helped organize the world’s first women’s rights convention in 1848, and formed the National Women’s Loyal League with Susan B. Anthony in 1863.
history.com -
Indiana
Indiana is called the Hoosier State and the capital city is Indianapolis. Santa Claus, Indiana receives over one half million letters and requests at Christmas time.
http://www.50states.com/facts/indiana.htm#.VPNqmnzF8uc -
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James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States and the last president from the Founding Fathers of the United States. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesmonroe -
Mississippi
Mississippi is called the Magnolia State and the capital city is Jackson. Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, on January 8, 1935 and the world's largest cactus plantation is in Edwards.
http://www.50states.com/mississi.htm#.VPNrM3zF8ud -
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Fredrick Douglass
Fredrick Douglass gave his speech on July 5, 1852. While still a young slave in Maryland, Frederick Douglass taught himself to read, whereupon he discovered that he was as capable of thinking and reasoning as any free man, and therefore ought to be free. In this speech before a sizeable audience of New York abolitionists, Douglass reminds them that the Fourth of July, though a day of celebration for white Americans, was still a day of mourning for slaves and former slaves like himself. -
Illinois
Illinois is called the Prairie State and the capital city is Springfield. The Sears Tower, Chicago is the tallest building on the North American continent.
http://www.50states.com/facts/illinois.htm#.VPNrg3zF8uc -
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Dartmouth College was given a charter by King George III in 1769 and the state of New Hampshire was trying to change Dartmouth’s charter. In 1816, the New Hampshire legislature attempted to change Dartmouth College-- a privately funded institution--into a state university. The legislature changed the school's corporate charter by transferring the control of trustee appointments to the governor. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
Maryland to destroy a branch of the Bank of the United States by putting a tax on its notes. Marshall declares the Bank of the United States Constitutional by the Hamiltonian Doctrine of implied powers while at the same time denying Maryland the right to tax the bank’s notes. Marshall claimed that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy,” and “a power to create implies a power to preserve.” This is another example of Federal power being asserted overe the power of the state. -
Transcontinental Treaty
Transcontinental Treaty, also called Adams-Onís Treaty or Purchase of Florida, accord between the United States and Spain that divided their North American claims along a line from the southeastern corner of what is now Louisiana, north and west to what is now Wyoming,In 1810, these American settlers in West Florida rebelled, declaring independence from Spain. Spain ceded Florida and renounced the Oregon Country in exchange for recognition of Spanish sovereignty over Texas. www.britannica.com -
Alabama
Alabama is called the Yellowhammer State and the capital city is Montgomery. Alabama workers built the first rocket to put humans on the moon.
http://www.50states.com/facts/alabama.htm#.VPNr43zF8uc -
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Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony is perhaps the most widely known suffragist of her generation and has become an icon of the woman’s suffrage movement. Anthony traveled the country to give speeches, circulate petitions, and organize local women’s rights organizations.
http://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/susan-b-anthony.htm -
Missouri Compromise
Tensions began to rise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery places within the U.S. Congress and across the country. Missouri would be admitted to the union as a slave state, but would be balanced by the admission of Maine, a free state, that had long wanted to be separated from Massachusetts. Second, slavery was to be excluded from all new states in the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri.
www.ushistory.org/us/23c.asp -
Maine
Maine is called the Pine Tree State and the capital city is Augusta. Maine is the only state that shares its border with only one other state.
http://www.50states.com/facts/maine.htm#.VPNsT3zF8uc -
Missouri
Missouri is called the Show Me State and the capital city is Jefferson City. The first successful parachute jump to be made from a moving airplane was made by Captain Berry at St. Louis, in 1912.
http://www.50states.com/facts/mo.htm#.VPNtxHzF8uc -
Monroe Doctrine
President James Monroe’s 1823 annual message to Congress contained the Monroe Doctrine, which warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=23 -
Gibbons v. Ogden
A New York state law gave to individuals the exclusive right to operate steamboats on waters within state jurisdiction. Laws like this one were duplicated elsewhere which led to friction as some states would require out of state boats to pay substantial fees for navigation privileges. In this case Thomas Gibbons, a steamboat owner who did business between New York and New Jersey. Challenged the license granted by New York to Aaron Ogden. -
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John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was an American statesman who served as the sixth President of the United States. A member of multiple political parties over the years, he also served as a diplomat, a Senator and member of the House of Representatives. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/johnquincyadams -
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Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. He nicknamed "Old Hickory," was the first president truly elected due to popular vote. Andrew Jackson was named a Major General in the US Army. On January 8, 1815, he defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans and was lauded as a hero.
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/andrewjackson/tp/Ten-Things-To-Know-About-Andrew-Jackson.htm -
William Lloyd Garrison
In the very first issue of his anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison stated,"I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD." And Garrison was heard. Through Garrison’s various newspaper jobs, he acquired the skills to run his own newspaper.
http://www.biography.com/people/william-lloyd-garrison-9307251 -
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Abolitionist Movement
Thousands of women were involved in the movement to abolish slavery. Women wrote articles for abolitionist papers, circulated abolitionist pamphlets, and circulated, signed, and delivered petitions to Congress calling for abolition. Some women became prominent leaders in the abolition movement.
https://www.nwhm.org -
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner was an African-American slave who led a slave rebellion of slaves and free blacks in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 60 white deaths. He led a group of other slave followers carrying farm implements on a killing spree. In the aftermath, the state quickly arrested and executed 57 blacks accused of being part of Turner's slave rebellion. When found, he was quickly tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner -
Arkansas
Arkansas is called the The Natural State and the capital city is Little Rock. Arkansas contains over 600,000 acres of lakes and 9,700 miles of streams and rivers.
http://www.50states.com/facts/arkansas.htm#.VPNuVXzF8uc -
Michigan
Michigan is called the Wolverine State / Great Lakes State and the capital city is Lansing. The western shore of Michigan has many sand dunes. The Sleeping Bear Dunes rise 460 feet above Lake Michigan. Living among the dunes is the dwarf lake iris the official state wildflower.
http://www.50states.com/facts/michigan.htm#.VPNu0XzF8uc -
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Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States. Serving as the eighth Vice President and the tenth secretary of state, both under Andrew Jackson. Martin Van Buren was of Dutch descent but was the first president to be born in the United States of America. http://americanhistory.about.com/od/martinvanburen/tp/Ten-Things-To-Know-About-Martin-Van-Buren.htm -
Trail of Tears
The US government passed a law in 1830 called the Indian Removal Act. This allowed the US government the right to force Indian tribes to vacate their land and move to reservation lands. Most Indian tribes did not want to leave their land. It was their spiritual and physical home. But the government sent in the army to force tribes to move. Andrew Jackson was the President.
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/trailoftears.html -
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William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States. He the oldest president to be elected at the time. He became the first to die in office on his 32nd day, serving the shortest tenure in United States presidential history. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/williamhenryharrison -
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John Tyler
John Tyler became the tenth President of the United States when William Henry Harrison, his running mate, died in April 1841. He was the first Vice President elevated to President after the death of a predecessor. John Tyler Quote: "If the tide of defamation and abuse shall turn, and my administration come to be praised, future Vice Presidents who may succeed to the presidency may feel some slight encouragement to pursue an independent course." http://americanhistory.about.com/od/johntyler/a/ff -
Florida
Flordia is called the Sunshine State and the capital city is Tallahassee. Orlando attracts more visitors than any other amusement park destination in the United States.
http://www.50states.com/facts/florida.htm#.VPNvX3zF8uc -
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James Knox Polk
Often referred to as the first "dark horse," James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States and the last strong President until the Civil War. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamespolk
An experienced speaker, Polk surprised everyone when he won the presidency. He was called a "dark horse" candidate because he was not expected to beat his opponent, Henry Clay of the Whig Party, to become the 11th president of the United States. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/reform/jb_r -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the idea that Americans were destined, by God, to govern the North American continent. This idea, with all the accompanying transformations of landscape, culture, and religious belief it implied, had deep roots in American culture.
http://www.history.com/topics/manifest-destiny -
Texas
Texas is called the Lone Star State and the capital city is Austin. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state and Austin is considered the live music capital of the world.
http://www.50states.com/facts/texas.htm#.VPNv03zF8uc -
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Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War marked the first U.S. armed conflict fought on foreign soil. It divided Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. The United States won the war and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The whole states of California, Nevada, Utah, as well as parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
http://www.history.com -
Iowa
Iowa is called the Hawkeye State and the capital is Des Moines. Strawberry Point is the home of the world's largest strawberry and Spirit Lake is the largest glacier-made lake in the state.
http://www.50states.com/facts/iowa.htm#.VPNwZ3zF8uc -
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is called the Badger State and the capital city is Madison. Wisconsin snowmobile trails total 15,210 miles of signed and groomed snow highways.
http://www.50states.com/wisconsi.htm#.VPNxaHzF8ud -
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Seneca Falls Convention
It was eight years before Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott would carry out their agreement to hold a convention on women's rights. On July 19 and 20th, 1848, they hosted the Seneca Fall Convention on women's rights in Seneca Falls, New York. The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women’s rights convention in the United States.
http://www.historynet.com/seneca-falls-convention -
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Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor, a general and national hero in the United States Army from the time of the Mexican-American War and the the War of 1812, was later elected the 12th President of the United States up until his death. http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/zacharytaylor -
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Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States and the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. He was remembered for being the butt of innumerable jokes about everything from his supposed lack of accomplishments to his unusual name. http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-should-know-about-millard-fillmore -
California
California is called the Golden State and the capital city is Sacramento. Located in Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum is the largest museum of its kind in North America.
http://www.50states.com/facts/calif.htm#.VPNxtXzF8uc -
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Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce became 14th President of the United States at a time of apparent tranquility. By pursuing the recommendations of southern advisers, Pierce--a New Englander--hoped to prevent still another outbreak of that storm. Franklin Pierce's policies may have helped to push the United States into Civil War. http://www.ducksters.com/biography/uspresidents/franklinpierce.php -
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James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr., the 15th President of the United States served immediately prior to the American Civil War. He remains the only president to be elected from Pennsylvania and to remain a lifelong bachelor. He was a five-time member of the House of Representatives, the secretary of state under President James Polk, and the U.S. minister to Great Britain. http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/ -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. He resided in Illinois (a free state) and in an area of the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After returning to Missouri, Scott sued unsuccessfully in the Missouri courts for his freedom. Scott's master maintained that no pure-blooded Negro of African descent and the descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sense of Article III of the Constitution. -
Minnesota
Minnesota is called the North Star State / Land of 10,000 Lakes and the capital city is Saint Paul. Minneapolis is home to the oldest continuously running theater (Old Log Theater) and the largest dinner theater (Chanhassan Dinner Theater) in the country.
http://www.50states.com/facts/minn.htm#.VPNyJHzF8uc -
Oregon
Oregon is called the Beaver State and the capital city is Salem. Oregon's state birthday is on February 14, Valentine's Day and Oregon and New Jersey are the only states without self-serve gas stations.
http://www.50states.com/facts/oregon.htm#.VPNyfnzF8uc -
John Brown and the armed resistance
Believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. Brown's attempt in 1859 to start a liberation movement among enslaved African Americans in Harpers Ferry. He was tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men and inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty on all counts and was hung.
http://www.historyorb.com/people/john-brown -
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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the United States' 16th President. Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Lincoln, one week before his death, had a dream of someone crying in the White House, when he found the room; he looked in and asked who had passed away. The man in the room said the President. When he looked in the coffin it was his own face. Lincoln also freed slaves from slavery. http://www.alincoln-library.com/
