George G. Meade
Early on the morning of June 28, 1863, General George Gordon Meade was awakened by a messenger with a letter from Abraham Lincoln. The President, the letter said, had appointed…
The City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the birthplace of the United States. In 1776, representatives from the thirteen colonies met there to discuss the revolt against England. The delegates signed the Declaration of Independenceon…
Boston
Every year, more than two million people take a two-mile walk into history along Boston’s Freedom Trail. Among the highlights are the cobblestoned site where British troops fired on colonists…
Brooklyn Bridge
One of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century, the Brooklyh Bridge opened with fireworks and fanfare on May 24, 1883. It connected New York State’s two largest cities,…
Baltimore
Baltimore’s fine harbor has always been the heart of the city. Shipping and shipbuilding thrived there before the Revolution. In the 1800s, sleek sailing ships called Baltimore clippers carried the…
Santa Fe
Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States. It was founded in the winter of 1609-1610 by Spanish settlers from Mexico as the center of Spain’s royal…
New Orleans
New Orleans is one of the most picturesque and interesting cities in the US In the section known as the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carre (old square), the pastel-colored…
Seattle
Near the center of the city, on the site of the 1962 World’s Fair, stands the Space Needle. From the top of this tower, visitors can admire the magnificent setting…
Dallas
The shining skyscrapers of Dallas are visible from far across the praries of northeastern Texas. Considered the financial center of the Southwest, Dallas is the home of banks, oil companies,…
Amy Tan
In Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club, a group of Chinese-American women meets regularly to play mah-jongg, a Chinese game played with small ivory tiles. The women all came…
The Saratoga Campaign
The first years of the Revolutionary War were discouraging for Americans. British forces were larger, better trained, and better equipped. American victories were few, but in the fall of 1777,…
Lemonade Lucy Hayes
The press jokingly called her “Lemonade Lucy,” because no alcoholic beverages were served in the White House while she was First Lady. But Lucy Hayes, wife of the 19th President,…
The Camp David Accords
The presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was the setting for a historic moment in September, 1978. With the help of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the leaders of Egypt and…
Fisk Jubilee Singers
“The magic of their song kept thrilling hearts,” the African-American leader W.E.B. Du Bois said of the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University. The “Jubilees” were the first choral group to…
African Americans
Unlike immigrants from other lands, ancestors of most African-Americans came to America by force rather than by choice. One million arrived aboard slave ships between 1619 and 1808. As slaves,…