Many people believe that General George Washington visited seamstress Betsy Ross in June, 1776 to ask her to sew a stars-and-stripes flag that would become the first official flag of the new country. The story continues that Ross convinced Washington …[Continue]
Flag Day
With roots in the nineteenth century, June 14th wasn’t officially established as Flag Day until May 30, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation. It’s celebration continued in various communities for many years, but it didn’t really take off …[Continue]
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were approximately 400 black and white Americans who (at great personal risk) traveled on buses through the Deep South in violation of Jim Crow segregation laws, for six months starting May 4, 1961. Along the way, they …[Continue]
Thomas Jefferson
Born on April 13, 1743, Thomas Jefferson is best remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence. But Jefferson’s interests and talents covered an amazing range. He was also a two-term president, diplomat, architect, violinist, inventor and a founder …[Continue]
The Alamo
The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas is a former mission and fortress, built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century. In 1835, during the Texas Revolution, it was the scene of a pivotal battle for independence between the Republic …[Continue]
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Pearl Harbor Naval Station on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is Navy headquarters for the United States Pacific Fleet. Yet even after seventy-six years, its name is synonymous with the surprise Japanese attack of “December 7, 1941 – a …[Continue]
Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 5, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, supporters of the Civil Rights Movement began a thirteen-month boycott against the city’s bus system as a protest against its policies of racial segregation. The boycott was lead by Reverend Martin Luther King, …[Continue]
Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, after three years of a brutal Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (freeing Confederate slaves) that was drafted on September 22, 1862. Before the Proclamation, the North was in the war to reunite …[Continue]
Ellis Island
Today’s online field trip takes us to Ellis Island, which served as the portal to almost all American immigrants arriving between 1892 and 1954. Although some were turned away, 98 percent of those examined at Ellis Island were allowed into …[Continue]
Underground Railroad
The term “underground railroad” was first used around 1830 to describe the loosely organized system that helped thousands of black American slaves escape to the northern states and Canada. The most heavily traveled routes ran through Ohio, Indiana and western …[Continue]
