 |
 Rough
Riders is the
nickname that was given to the First Volunteer
Cavalry, which distinguished itself with great
fanfare during the Spanish-American War. The unit
was recruited and led by Colonel Leonard Wood and
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. |
 Trail of
Tears is a name given to the forced
relocation and movement of Native American
nations from southeastern parts of the United
States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
The phrase originated from a description of the
removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831, during
which about 6,000 Choctaw died of disease,
starvation, and hypothermia. |
 Five
Civilized Tribes is a
term that came into use during the mid-nineteenth
century to refer to the Cherokee, Choctaw,
Chicasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations because
they seemed to adopt "civilized ways"
much more readily than other tribes. |
 Fort
Kearny was established on the south
bank of the Platte River south of present-day
Kearney in 1848 to protect pioneers on the Oregon
Trail. Abandoned in 1871, the site is now part of
Fort Kearny State Historical Park. |
 The Oregon
Trail was the longest
of the many overland routes used in the westward
expansion of the United States, stretching over
2,170 miles from Missouri to Oregon. Over 300,000
emigrants followed the trail west between 1842
and 1869, when it was supplanted in importance by
the Transcontinental Railroad. |
 Stephen
Watts Kearny entered the military at
the start of the War of 1812 and ended up making
it a career. He subsequently led the campaign
that captured New Mexico without a fight and
served briefly as Military Governor of
California. |
 John
Sevier was one of the leaders of the
State of Franklin movement that ultimately led to
the admission of Tennessee as the 16th state in
1796. He subsequently served six terms as
Governor of Tennessee and represented that state
in the U.S. House of Representatives. |
 Alfred
Emanuel Smith served four terms as
Governor of New York, was the 1928 Democratic
nominee for President, and was first a supporter
of and then opponent of Franklin Roosevelt's
presidency. |
 Death
Valley is a deep
trough about 130 miles long and 6-14 miles wide
near the California-Nevada border. The lowest
elevation in the Western Hemisphere, 282 feet
below sea level, is located in Death Valley. The
highest temperature ever recorded in the United
States, 134°F, was reported from a ranch in the
valley on July 10, 1913. |
 Peter
Minuit served as Director-General of
New Amsterdam (now New York City) from 1626 to
1631. During his tenure, he concluded
a treaty with an unknown group of Native
Americans in which the natives agreed to allow
Minuit's colony to occupy Manhattan Island in
exchange for a variey of trade goods. |
 Argentine
Republic: Facts and Figures Local
Official Name República Argentina. Area
1,072,163 sq mi. Population
42,610,981. Capital Buenos Aires.
Independence from Spain Achieved July 9,
1816. |
 Republic
of Honduras: Facts and Figures Local
Official Name República de
Honduras. Area 43,277 sq mi. Population
8,448,465. Capital Tegulcigalpa. Independence
from Spain Achieved September 15, 1821. |
 John
Herschel Glenn, Jr. became the first
American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962.
When NASA would not let its new hero return to
space, Glenn went into politics and eventually
served four terms in the U.S. Senate. He finally
got to return to space in 1998, and became the
oldest person ever to go into space. |
 Andrew
William Mellon was one of the
richest men in America when he was named
Secretary of the Treasury, a position he held
during the administrations of Presidents Harding,
Coolidge, and Hoover. During his tenure the
national debt was cut dramatically, only to build
up again during the Great Depression. |
 John
Foster Dulles was born into a
family with a history of public service. He
continued that history by becoming a successful
lawyer and then successful diplomat. He crowned
his career by serving as President Dwight D.
Eisenhower's Secretary of State. |
