by Criswell | Amazing America, Historic Events
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 existing eastern U.S. rail system with...
by Criswell | Amazing America, Places
On the border between the states of Nevada and Arizona is a huge dam that blocks the Colorado river and holds back water that fills an enormous lake. It’s an giant block of concrete and steel called Hoover Dam. When it was completed in 1935, Hoover Dam was...
by Criswell | Amazing America
In the United States, Labor Day is a holiday that’s celebrated on the first Monday in September. Some people think that Labor Day celebrates the last day of summer or the day that the neighborhood pool closes. But, it’s much more than that. Labor is...
by Criswell | Amazing America, Places, Planet Earth
If you were in a space ship flying above North America, you’d notice five very big bodies of water located on the boarder between the United Sates and Canada. They’re called the Great Lakes, and their names are: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron,...
by Criswell | Amazing America, Places
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 trip (which was officially called a “convoy”) took 56 days and averaged less than 6 miles per...
by Criswell | Amazing America, Historic Events
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Americans made a terrific real estate deal. With the backing of Congress, Jefferson arranged for the U.S.A. to purchase a huge territory from the French government. It was a purchase that almost doubled the size of...