Story Archive
Jesse Owens: When the World Needed a Hero, He Grabbed the Gold
Jesse Owens: When the World Needed a Hero, He Grabbed the Gold... While still in high school, Jesse Owens tied the world record for the 100-yard dash. Two years later, at a college track meet, he set three world records and tied another world record in...
The Gateway Arch
That's a Very Big Arch! The Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, Missouri is over 60 stories tall! The arch is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, a national park. The arch was built to honor the pioneers who helped settle the western states. The...
The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty... If you go to New York City, one of the first things you'll probably see is the Statue of Liberty. It's a huge reminder of the freedoms that Americans should never take for granted. The statue, which was built piece-by-piece over several...
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence... Each year, on the 4th of July, Americans celebrate the signing of The Declaration of Independence. So what, exactly, is it? The Declaration of Independence is a document signed by members of America's Second Continental Congress. The...
The Great Lakes: They’re Bigger Than Your Average Lake
The Great Lakes: They're Bigger Than Your Average Lake! If you were in a space ship flying above North America, you'd notice five very big bodies of water located on the border between the United States and Canada. They're called the Great Lakes, and their names...
The Transcontinental Railroad and Its Golden Spike
The Transcontinental Railroad and Its Golden Spike... The word "transcontinental" means "from one side of a continent to the other side." The world's first transcontinental railroad was built in the United States between 1863 and 1869. It connected the...
Neil Armstrong: The First Man on the Moon
Neil Armstrong: The First Man to Walk on the Moon... Neil Armstrong was born in a town called Wapakoneta, Ohio. He was an Eagle Scout, and he was interested in flying. Very interested. He was so interested, in fact, that he got his student pilot's license before he...
George Washington: America’s First President
George Washington: The Father of Our Country... Before the United States of America became a country, he was a well-to-do and well respected landowner. In the Revolutionary War, he was the general who led the American Army to victory over the British. And, when...
Thomas Edison: He Didn’t Give Up
Thomas Edison Didn't Give Up... Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, the record player, movie-making equipment, and lots of other things, too. But, he made plenty of mistakes. For every great discovery that worked, he made hundreds of things that didn’t work. But,...
America’s Interstate Highway System
The Interstate Highway System: America Built the Roads and Then the Roads Helped Build America... In 1919 a young army officer named Dwight Eisenhower took a long road trip across America with his fellow troops. Because the highways were in such bad shape, the...