Poet Eugene Fitch Ware wrote: … Of all U.S. states, only three will live on in story, Old Virginia with all of her noble stock Old Massachusetts with her pretty Plymouth Rock, And sunny Kansas with all her woes and glory… Before all the European settlers arrived, the region that we know as Virginia was … Read more
Colorado is truly a skier’s paradise, a state of great heights. The state’s mountain ranges offer America’s most beautiful and dramatic scenery, and the Colorado vistas were the inspiration for ‘America the Beautiful.’ The Colorado mountains feed many rivers and the state is among the nation’s best vacation destinations. The summers are pleasantly cool, and the winters … Read more
Artist and ornithologist John James Audubon wrote once: … But where in this great continent is this oh-so favored Land… … It is, oh dear reader, in Louisiana that all these fine bounties of nature are showing in its greatest perfection… Historian Charles Gayarre wrote (about the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor of French Louisiana from … Read more
To a lot of people, Pennsylvania is our most historic state. It is the birthplace of U.S. Independence and also of our Constitution. Pennsylvania claims more historic firsts and events than any other U.S. state, and is often called ‘The Birthplace of the Nation’. All of America’s hard coal is mined in the state of … Read more
New Jersey has been giving America not only baseball and football but also the Republican’s elephant, the Democratic donkey of Thomas Nast, as well as Santa Claus. New Jersey was also the state where several of American History’s greatest inventors lived. Thomas Edison invented here electric light bulbs, Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph, and John Holland invented … Read more
Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, was nourishing the future U.S. president and it gave him his early start toward great world fame. Illinois offers many archaeological treasures such as the most extensive primitive earthworks in the nation, and the one-of-a-kind Piasa bird. Because it is so centrally located, and as it has easy access to both … Read more
New York boasts many dramatic contrasts. You can marvel at Niagara Falls, located in the state’s western region, or enjoy the more rugged northeastern Adirondacks. And of course the ethnically diverse and culturally rich “Big Apple”, Manhattan’s nickname, in the state’s southeastern portions. Though New York no longer is ranking first in manufacturing or population, it … Read more
Alabama truly is ‘The Heart of Dixie’. This is the place where they put together the Confederate Constitution, but at the same time, Alabama is looking towards the future. The state has always been an iron and steel production giant, and already early on, Alabama was leading the South in manufacturing. Check also my review … Read more
Rhode Island is the smallest of all states and it would fit into the enormous state of Alaska 425 times. Despite its limited size, the state has of all states the longest official name (‘The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations’). Rhode Island has always been a key industrial state, particularly in jewelry and textile … Read more
As far as area is concerned, Massachusetts comes only as the 44th state in the nation, yet all through the centuries, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has always played a prominent role as a national leader. In Massachusetts, the nation’s first printing press, the first regularly published newspapers, the first U.S. college, and the first secondary … Read more