Archive for portrait of america
50 Years of 50 States: Day One Contest Winner!
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Jeannette Rankin (R-Montana)
Wow, everyone that commented got that question right! Didn’t I tell you this would be easy? Maybe I’ll make today’s question a little tougher. Yes, the answer was in fact Jeannette Rankin from Montana. Besides being the first female Congressperson, she was also the founding Vice-President of the American Civil Liberties Union. Always a pacifist (she was the only Congressperson who voted against entering World War II) she led a demonstration against the Vietnam War in 1968, at the age of 88! When Rankin passed away in 1973, she left a portion of her estate to assist “mature, unemployed women workers.” This seed money would be used to create the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, a women’s scholarship fund.
Congrats to David Cavin, who will receive a copy of the book State by State: A Portrait of America by Matt Weiland! But we’re not done, yet! There’s still 4 more days of prizes, and of course an incredible journey across the USA, so subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter, or you might miss out on all the fun!
*Winner selected based on the random number generator service Random.org.
50 Years of 50 States: Day One Trivia Question
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State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
Man, did the day go by fast today! It’s hard to believe we’ve already visited 10 states! Now here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for; the opportunity to win a copy of State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America by Matt Weiland. I hope you’ve been paying attention, because here’s the question.
Who was the first woman elected to Congress, and what state was she from?
If you haven’t been keeping up, don’t worry; the answer is in one of the 50 Years of 50 States posts from today. Once you’ve got your answer, submit it in the comments section below by 11:59 PM Eastern. The winner will then be chosen at random from the selection of those who answered correctly. This contest will go on daily through Saturday, so be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter, for more chances to win! Good Luck!
50 Years of 50 States: Vermont
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Green Mountain State
Date Ratified: March 4, 1791 (14th)
Capital: Montpelier
Map of Vermont
- Vermont was the 1st state outside of the original 13 colonies to be admitted to the Union.
- Vermont is one of only 4 states to have existed as a sovereign nation prior to admittance. The Vermont Republic existed between 1777 and 1791, and performed all of the functions of a sovereign nation, including issuing currency and running a postal service. The Vermont Republic even appointed ambassadors to France, the Netherlands, and the fledgling United States.
- The Vermont Republic also has the distinction of writing the first constitution in the New World which would outlaw slavery and allow universal male suffrage regardless of property ownership.
- Montpelier is currently the smallest capital city in the U.S. with a population of only 8000 people.
- Vermont voted overwhelmingly for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, with 76% of Vermonters voting for him. The next closest state was Minnesota, where Lincoln only garned 63% of the vote.
- In 2009, Vermont became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage without being forced to do so by a court.
- The current state flag of Vermont was adopted in 1923:
Flag of Vermont
Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win a copy of State by State: A Portrait of America by Matt Weiland.
50 Years of 50 States: Alaska
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Land of the Midnight Sun
Date Ratified: January 3, 1959 (49th)
Capital: Juneau
Map of Alaska (courtesy of Wikipedia)
- Sarah Palin, is the first Alaskan on a major party’s presidential ticket.
- Alaska is also home to Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod.
- Alaska is the only state not to officially be a part of the interstate highway system.
- Alaska holds the distinction of being the only state to have been occupied by a foreign power while being owned by the U.S. The 3 outer Aleutian Islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II.
- Alaska is twice the size of Texas, and when superimposed on a map of the contiguous United States, it extends from coast to coast.
- At 6600 miles, Alaska’s coastline is longer than the other 49 states combined, and is over 4 times longer than the 2nd longest coastline (Florida).
- The 1964 Good Friday Earthquake was the 2nd largest earthquake in recorded history and 100 times more powerful than the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.
- The northernmost city in the U.S. is Barrow, Alaska.
- The state flag of Alaska consists of eight stars forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a blue background. The flag was designed by a 13-year old in 1927 as part of a design contest. The following quote was submitted along with the flag design:
The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower. The North Star is for the future state of Alaska, the most northerly in the union. The Dipper is for the Great Bear—symbolizing strength.
Flag of Alaska
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50 Years of 50 States: West Virginia
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Mountain State
Date Ratified: June 20, 1863 (35th)
Capital: Charleston
Map of West Virginia
- The original state capital was in Wheeling before it was moved to Charleston, which is more centrally located, in 1870. In 1875, the capital was moved back to Wheeling. However, the capital building burned down in 1885, and the capital was subsequently moved back to Charleston, where it remains to this day.
- West Virginia is the only state to secede from a confederate state during the Civil War. As such, it is the only state to have acquired its sovereignty by proclamation of the president (Abraham Lincoln, at the time).
- West Virginia was the first state to have a sales tax.
- The first electric railroad in the world was constructed between Huntington and Guyandotte.
- The current West Virginia state flag was adopted in 1929.
Flag of West Virginia
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50 Years of 50 States: New Hampshire
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Granite State
Date Ratified: June 21, 1788 (9th)
Capital: Concord
Map of New Hampshire
- New Hampshire became the first post-colonial sovereign nation in the Americas when it broke away from Great Britain in January 1776.
- New Hampshire was also the first state to have its own state constitution.
- New Hampshire is the only state with neither a general sales tax nor a personal income tax at any level.
- New Hampshire is the site of the first primary election of each presidential election cycle.
- 2008 elections resulted in women holding 13 out of the 24 seats in the New Hampshire state Senate. It is the first time in American history that women have held the majority in a state legislative body.
- The highest recorded wind speed gust, 231 mph, was measured at Mt. Washington in 1934.
- The current flag of the state of New Hampshire was adopted in 1909. It features the state seal, and was modified in 1931, when the state seal was modified.
Flag of New Hampshire
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50 Years of 50 States: Montana
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Treasure State
Date Ratified: November 8, 1889 (41st)
Capital: Helena
Map of Montana
- Montana was the first state to elect a female member to Congress. Jeannette Rankin was elected in 1916, and was a lifelong pacifist. Four days into her term as representative, she voted against the resolution to enter World War I (one of 50 representatives to do so). Subsequently, she was the only Congressperson to vote against entry into World War II. Despite this pioneering event, to this day Jeannette Rankin remains the only female congressperson from Montana.
- Montana was the first state to pass legislation against the federal government’s REAL ID Act.
- This past April, the Montana state legislature was one vote shy of approving House Resolution 3, which would have laid the groundwork for secession from the United States.
- Montana is the one of the lower 48 states not to have a battleship named after it, and the only state not to have a modern naval ship named after it (Alaska and Hawaii both have nuclear subs named after them).
- The current Montana state flag was adopted in 1905, and modified in 1981 to add the word “Montana” above the state seal:
Flag of Montana
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