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Delaware
Admitted into the union on December 7th, 1787. A fun fact about Delaware is that the frying pan built in 1950 for use at the Delmarva Chicken Festival is 10 feet in diameter and holds 180 gallons of oil and 800 chicken quarters. The festival is in Delaware. -
Pennsylvania
In 1909 the first baseball stadium was built in Pittsburgh. (http://www.50states.com/facts/penn.htm#.VPiokH-9KK0) -
New Jersey
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
Historic Saint Marys Georgia is the second oldest city in the nation. (http://www.50states.com/facts/georgia.htm#.VPn4EX-9KK0) -
Connecticut
Connecticut and Rhode Island never ratified the 18th Amendment (Prohibition). (http://www.50states.com/facts/conn.htm#.VPn3cX-9KK0) -
Massachusetts
There is a house in Rockport built entirely of newspaper. (http://www.50states.com/facts/mass.htm#.VPn4qX-9KK0) -
Maryland
America's national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key a Maryland lawyer. It is believed Key wrote the anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. (http://www.50states.com/facts/maryland.htm#.VPn5jX-9KK1) -
South Carolina
Every few years, Irmo has a sighting of some kind of water monster that inhabits Lake Murray. The monster first 'surfaced' in 1973 when residents of Irmo and Ballentine saw a cousin of the Loch Ness Monster. It was described in The Independent News in 1980 as "a cross between a snake and something prehistoric." (http://www.50states.com/facts/socaro.htm#.VPn5wn-9KK0) -
New Hampshire
The first potato planted in the United States was at Londonderry Common Field in 1719. (http://www.50states.com/facts/newhamp.htm#.VPn6a3-9KK0) -
Virginia
The first federal prison exclusively for women in the United States was opened in 1926 in West Virginia. (http://www.50states.com/facts/westva.htm#.VPn7lH-9KK0) -
New York
New York City has 722 miles of subway track. (http://www.50states.com/facts/newyork.htm#.VP3esYb3aK0) -
North Carolina
Krispy Kreme Doughnut was founded in Winston-Salem. (http://www.50states.com/facts/ncarolin.htm#.VP3ft4b3aK0) -
George Washington Presidency
On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/georgewashington) -
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is the smallest state in size in the United States. It covers an area of 1,214 square miles. Its distances North to South are 48 miles and East to West 37 miles. (http://www.50states.com/facts/rdisl.htm#.VP3gdYb3aK0) -
Whiskey Rebellion
In January 1791, President George Washington's Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed a seemingly innocuous excise tax "upon spirits distilled within the United States, and for appropriating the same."1 What Congress failed to predict was the vehement rejection of this tax by Americans living on the frontier of Western Pennsylvania. By 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion threatened the stability of the nascent United States and forced President Washington to personally lead -
Vermont
Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds. (http://www.50states.com/facts/vermont.htm#.VP3hGYb3aK0) -
Kentucky
Cheeseburgers were first served in 1934 at Kaolin's restaurant in Louisville. (http://www.50states.com/facts/kentucky.htm#.VP3iGYb3aK0) -
Tennessee
Davy Crockett was not born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, as the song says. He was born on the banks of Limestone Creek near Greeneville, where a replica of the Crockett's log cabin stands today. (http://www.50states.com/facts/tenn.htm#.VP3jC4b3aK0) -
Washington’s Farewell Address
He was warning young people for the dangers such as foreign and national dangers. -
John Adams Presidency
John Adams, a remarkable political philosopher, served as the second president of the United States (1797-1801), after serving as the first vice president under George Washington. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/johnadams) -
Alien and Sedition Acts
Signed into law by President John Adams in 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress as America prepared for war with France. These acts increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from five to fourteen years, authorized the president to imprison or deport aliens considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" and restricted speech critical of the government. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdo -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico. (www.history.com/topics/manifest-destiny) -
Thomas Jefferson Presidency
Thomas Jefferson, a spokesman for democracy, was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/johnadams) -
Ohio
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton. (http://www.50states.com/facts/ohio.htm#.VP3j54b3aK0) -
Chief Justice John Marshal
Some of his big cases include Marbury v. Madison (1803), Fletcher v. Peck (1810), McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Cohens v. Virginia (1821), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), and
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819). He shaped the Supreme Court. -
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Jefferson tried to allot that power to the individual states in the Kentucky resolves in 1798-an early attempt to assert states’ rights. Chief Justice John Marshall settled the dispute by declaring that the Judiciary Act of 1789 that fellow federalist judge John Marbury tried to base his argument upon as unconstitutional. By doing this, Marshall asserted the right of “judicial review,” and asserted the power of the Supreme Court the ultimate power in interpreting the Constitution. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane "Sale of Louisiana") was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles) by the United States from France in 1803. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase) -
Lewis and Clark
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May 1804. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition) -
James Madison Presidency
James Madison, America's fourth President (1809-1817), 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) -
Horace Mann's campaign for free compulsory public education.
Principal advocate of the nineteenth-century common school movement, Horace Mann became the catalyst for tuition-free public education and established the concept of state-sponsored free schools. The zeal with which Mann executed his plan for free schools was in keeping with the intellectual climate of Boston in the early days of the republic. (http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2197/Mann-Horace-1796-1859.html) -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict, lasting for two-and-a-half years, between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its American Indian allies. Seen by the United States and Canada as a war in its own right, it is frequently seen in Europe as a theatre of the Napoleonic Wars, as it was caused by issues related to that war (especially the Continental System). The war resolved many issues. (http://en.wikipedia.org/) -
Louisiana
Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV. (http://www.50states.com/facts/louis.htm#.VP3miIb3aK0) -
Indiana
The first professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne on May 4, 1871. (http://www.50states.com/facts/indiana.htm#.VP3nZYb3aK0) -
James Monroe Presidency
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825) and the last president from the Founding Fathers of the United States. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesmonroe) -
Mississippi
The world's largest cactus plantation is in Edwards. (http://www.50states.com/facts/miss.htm#.VP3oVYb3aK0) -
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an African-American social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass) -
Illinois
The Sears Tower, Chicago is the tallest building on the North American continent. (http://www.50states.com/facts/illinois.htm#.VP4GdvnF98E) -
Transcontinental Treaty
anscontinental Treaty, also called Adams-Onís Treaty or Purchase of Florida, (1819) 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, thence west along the latitude 42° N to the Pacific. Thus, Spain ceded Florida and renounced the Oregon Country in exchange for recognition of Spanish sovereignty over Texas. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/602475 -
McCullouch v. Maryland,
The case involves an attempt by the state of Maryland to destroy a branch of the Bank of the United States by putting a tax on its notes. John Marshall declares the Bank of the United States Constitutional by the Hamiltonian Doctrine of implied powers (think necessary and proper clause) 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.” -
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. Marshall and the Supreme Court ruled that the charter was a contract, and thus was safe from being changed or nullified by the states. The precedents that this case set were safeguarding business from state legislatures (positive effect), and later enabling chartered corporations to escape public control (negative effect). (http://learn.midsouthcc.edu) -
Alabama
The Confederate flag was designed and first flown in Alabama in 1861. (http://www.50states.com/facts/alabama.htm#.VP4HkfnF98E) -
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad - Meet Amazing Americans. America's Library - Library of Congress. 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. www.americaslibrary.gov/.../tubman/aa_tubman_rail_1.ht...) -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was an American social reformer and feminist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony) -
Maine
Approximately 40 millions pounds (nearly 90 percent) of the nation's lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine. (http://www.50states.com/facts/maine.htm#.VP4IFvnF98E) -
Missouri
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/missouri.htm#.VP4IkvnF98E) -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is the best known U.S. policy toward the Western Hemisphere. Buried in a routine annual message delivered to Congress by President James Monroe in December 1823, the doctrine warns European nations that the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs. (www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?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 foreign (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 under a federal coastal license challenged the monopoly license granted by New York to Aaron Ogden. (oyez) -
John Quincy Adams Presidency
John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail Adams, served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. 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) -
Sojourner Truth
was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. Sojourner Truth was named Isabella ("Bell") Baumfree when she was born. She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843. Her best-known extemporaneous speech on gender inequalities. (wiki) -
Andrew Jackson Presidency
Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States from 1829-1837, seeking to act as the direct representative of the common man. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/andrewjackson) -
William Loyd Garrison
was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, which he founded in 1831 and published in Massachusetts until slavery was abolished by Constitutional amendment after the American Civil War. He was one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United States. In the 1870s, Garrison became a prominent voice for the woman. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion (also known as the Southampton Insurrection) was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, during August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed anywhere from 55 to 65 people, the highest number of fatalities caused by any slave uprising in the American South. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner's_slave_rebellion) -
Abolitionist Movement
The Abolitionist movement in the United States of America was an effort to end slavery in a nation that valued personal freedom and believed "all men are created equal." Over time, abolitionists grew more strident in their demands, and slave owners entrenched in response, fueling regional divisiveness that ultimately led to the American Civil War. (http://www.historynet.com/abolitionist-movement) -
Arkansas
The mockingbird is the official state bird. It was designated in 1929. (http://www.50states.com/facts/arkansas.htm#.VP4I-vnF98E) -
Michigan
Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office. The J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. They have been operating for 125 years. (http://www.50states.com/facts/michigan.htm#.VP4JifnF98E) -
Martin Van Buren Presidency
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States (1837–1841), after serving as the eighth Vice President and the tenth secretary of state, both under Andrew Jackson. While the country was prosperous when the "Little Magician" was elected, less than three months later the financial panic of 1837 punctured the prosperity. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/martinvanburen) -
Trail of Tears
In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. (www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1567.html) -
William Henry Harrison Presidency
William Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States (1841), 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) -
John Tyler Presidency
John Tyler became the tenth President of the United States (1841–1845) 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. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/johntyler) -
James K. Polk Presidency
Often referred to as the first "dark horse," James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States from 1845-1849, the last strong President until the Civil War. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamespolk) -
Florida
Gatorade was named for the University of Florida Gators where the drink was first developed. (http://www.50states.com/facts/florida.htm#.VP4KJPnF98E) -
Texas
The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. (http://www.50states.com/facts/texas.htm#.VP4KlvnF98E) -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, the U.S.–Mexican War or the Invasion of Mexico, was an armed conflict between the United States and the Centralist Republic of Mexico (which became the Second Federal Republic of Mexico during the war) from 1846 to 1848. It followed in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory, despite the 1836 Texas Revolution. It was the fourth of the five major wars fought on American soil. (Wikipedia) -
Iowa
The state's smallest city park is situated in the middle of the road in Hiteman. (http://www.50states.com/facts/iowa.htm) -
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early women's rights movement. Her Declaration of Sentiments, presented at the Seneca Falls Convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, is often credited with initiating the first organized women's rights and women's suffrage movements in the United States.[1]2 -
Wisconsin
The House on the Rock was designed and built in the early 1940s. It is considered an architectural marvel and is perched on a 60-foot chimney of rock. The 14-room house is now a complex of rooms, streets, buildings, and gardens covering over 200 acres. The Infinity Room contains 3,264 windows. (http://www.50states.com/facts/wisconsin.htm#.VP4LSfnF98E) -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention.[1] It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman".[2] Held in Seneca Falls, New York, it spanned two days over July 19–20, 1848. Attracting widespread attention, it was soon followed by other women's rights conventions, including one in Rochester, New York two weeks later. In 1850 the first in a series of annual National Women's Rights Conventions met in Worceste -
Senca Falls Resolution
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women’s rights convention in the United States. It was organized by a handful of women who were active in the abolition and temperance movements and held July 19–20, 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. Intended to call attention to unfair treatment of women, the convention was attended by about 300 people, including about 40 men. (http://www.historynet.com/seneca-falls-convention) -
Zachary Taylor Presidency
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, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/zacharytaylor) -
Millard Fillmore Presidency
Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States (1850–1853) and the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. -
California
More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States. (http://www.50states.com/facts/california.htm#.VP4Ll_nF98E) -
Franklin Pierce Presidency
Franklin Pierce became 14th President of the United States at a time of apparent tranquility (1853–1857). By pursuing the recommendations of southern advisers, Pierce--a New Englander--hoped to prevent still another outbreak of that storm. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/franklinpierce) -
Dred Scott vs Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, 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, claiming that his residence in free territory made him a free man. Scott then brought a new suit in federal court. Scott's master maintained that no pure-blooded Negro of African descent and the descendant -
James Buchanan Presidency
James Buchanan, Jr., the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861), served immediately prior to the American Civil War. He remains the only president to be elected from Pennsylvania and to remain a lifelong bachelor. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/jamesbuchanan) -
Minnesota
Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the country. (http://www.50states.com/facts/minnesota.htm#.VP4L7fnF98E) -
Oregon
Pilot Butte, a cinder cone volcano, exists within the city limits of Bend. (http://www.50states.com/facts/oregon.htm) -
John Brown and the armed resistance
John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was a white American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States.[1] During the 1856 conflict in Kansas, Brown commanded forces at the Battle of Black Jack and the Battle of Osawatomie.[1] Brown's followers also killed five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie.[1] In 1859, Brown led an unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry that ended with his capture. (Wiki) -
Abraham Lincoln Presidency
Abraham Lincoln became the United States' 16th President in 1861, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/abrahamlincoln)
