Important Historical Event in Each State—part 4 of 5

This week, part 4 of my 5 part blog series about historical events in the states covers New Mexico to South Carolina

31. New Mexico

Event: Atomic bomb testing

Year: 1945

Location: Alamogordo

Scientists detonated the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert, and from that moment on the world would never be the same. The nuclear test was code-named "Trinity." The following month atomic weapons were used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with such devastating results that the Japanese surrendered shortly after. The Soviet Union set off its first atomic bomb in 1949, ratcheting up Cold War tensions.

32. New York

Event: Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

Year: 2001

Location: New York City

On September 11, 2001, two hijacked commercial airplanes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The skyscrapers collapsed trapping thousands of people and first responders. In all, close to 3,000 people died in the attacks. Another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon and another was brought down in a field in Pennsylvania by the passengers, sacrificing their lives to stop the attack. The destination of the hijackers of the downed plane was believed to be Washington, D.C.—either the White House or the Capitol building.

33. North Carolina

Event: Manned flight

Year: 1903

Location: Kitty Hawk

Though the Wright Brothers grew up in Ohio, they found the perfect place for their flying machine experiments in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The brothers pored over weather records before determining that North Carolina would suit their needs. The first flight lasted just 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. By the end of the day, the world's first airplane stayed in the air for nearly one minute.

34. North Dakota

Event: Standing Rock protest

Year: 2016

Location: Standing Rock reservation

In 2016 and 2017, a protest against a proposed oil pipeline grabbed the nation's attention. The Dakota Access Pipeline route in North Dakota ran through Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and under the Missouri River, the reservation's source for drinking water. Residents protested, fearing the oil would contaminate the water. Hundreds of Native American activists and their allies descended on the reservation to protest what reservation residents believed was an encroachment on their sacred lands and a threat to their crucial water supply. Dozens of protesters were arrested, and the Obama administration blocked the project. Though the Trump administration has since reversed the decision and construction of the pipeline was completed, the company responsible for the pipeline is facing a litany of lawsuits that claim its security officers used unnecessary force on those protesting.

35. Ohio

Event: Ohio and Erie canal opened

Year: 1833

Location: Ohio and Erie Canal

During the early days of Ohio's history, the area was tough to access from much the country due to its geography and lack of infrastructure. An ambitious construction project which became known as the Ohio and Erie Canal sought to change that. The canal, which took nearly seven years to build, now serves as a 110-mile link between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. In addition to connecting two sides of Ohio, the canal provided an important link between the Midwest and the East Coast. Before the canal, it cost $125 to ship a ton of goods between the Ohio and the east coast. After the canal became functional, the price dropped to $25 per ton.

36. Oklahoma

Event: Federal Building bombing

Year: 1995

Location: Oklahoma City

Before the Twin Towers attack on Sept. 11, 2001, the worst terror attack on American soil was committed by domestic terrorists. The attack killed 168 people, injured about 650 others, and damaged some 300 buildings. Anti-government militant Timothy McVeigh loaded a truck with explosive materials and detonated it outside the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He chose that building because it contained the offices of federal agencies—the Drug Enforcement Agency, Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. McVeigh was captured and eventually executed. Co-conspirator Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison.

37. Oregon

Event: Lewis and Clark Expedition

Year: 1806

Location: Clatsop County

Shortly after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition to explore the new land west of the Mississippi River. Lewis was joined by William Clark as co-commander and other adventurers who became known as the Corps of Discovery. In 1804, they set out from St. Louis in what is now Missouri. More than a year later, they arrived at the northwestern tip of what is now Oregon where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. There they constructed Fort Clatsop to ride out the winter. In 1806, they returned to St. Louis to complete their nearly 8,000-mile round trip journey.

38. Pennsylvania

Event: Signing of Declaration of Independence

Year: 1776

Location: Philadelphia

The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and expressed the ideals of the new nation and why it chose to separate from Great Britain. The document put forth the assertion that all men are created equal, the creator endows men with "certain unalienable rights," and that governments derive their power from the people they govern. Philadelphia, the largest city in the Colonies at the time the Declaration of Independence was approved, was also where the Constitution was adopted.

39. Rhode Island

Event: King Philip's War

Year: 1675

Location: Statewide

King Philip's War, also known as the Great Narragansett War, marked a turning point in the relationship between natives and white settlers. While there had been simmering resentment and some violent skirmishes between natives and settlers for decades, the war became one of the largest conflicts since European settlers arrived. Tribal leader Metacom, called King Philip by the settlers, led a revolt against the Europeans following the execution of three of his warriors who were found guilty of murdering a native who converted to puritanism. During the 14-month conflict, colonial militias attacked and destroyed native villages, with much of the fighting taking place in Rhode Island.

40. South Carolina

Event: Attack on Fort Sumter

Year: 1861

Location: Charleston Harbor

Seven states seceded from the Union, throwing the new Confederate government and existing U.S. government at odds over who owned what in the South. President Abraham Lincoln wanted to resupply Union forces at South Carolina's Fort Sumter, but Confederate forces turned the supplies away. Months later, in April 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard ordered his men to fire on the fort. Union troops quickly ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender Fort Sumter. Though no people were killed in the fighting, the battle marks the beginning of the Civil War.

Next week is the last of my 5 part series highlighting an important historical event in each of the 50 states. Part 5 covers South Dakota to Wyoming.

Important Historical Event in Each State—part 3 of 5

This week I'm covering Massachusetts through New Jersey in part 3 of my 5 part blog series showing an important historical event from each state.

21. Massachusetts

Event: Battle of Lexington

Year: 1775

Location: Lexington

Resentment toward the English crown was very intense in Lexington and that was where the militiamen from Massachusetts chose to stand their ground against the British Empire. As battles go, the Battle of Lexington was little more than a skirmish. The British killed eight militiamen and wounded nine others at Lexington, then they continued on to Concord to destroy munitions stored there. But when the British tried to return to Boston, more colonists attacked them, killing or wounding 250 British soldiers. The American Revolution had begun.

22. Michigan

Event: Model T built

Year: 1908

Location: Detroit

The Model T built by Henry Ford revolutionized travel in the United States. It was constructed to make car ownership affordable to average American workers. Ford built more than 15 million of the vehicles, also called the "Tin Lizzie," from 1908 to 1927. Most models were started by a hand crank and reached top speeds of 45 miles an hour. Ford and others decided to build cars in Michigan because of the availability of iron ore and timber, and the rail and water routes made it convenient to ship cars to large cities such as Chicago and New York City.

23. Minnesota

Event: Mayo Clinic founded

Year: 1864

Location: Rochester

The Mayo Clinic has become the standard by which all hospitals are measured. The institution was chosen as the best hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The Mayo Clinic has its roots in immigrant founders Dr. William Worrall Mayo and Mother Alfred Moes, each of whom took separate routes to Rochester before they founded the hospital. Their visions of hospital care and teams of specialists have been realized today. In 1919, the institution became a not-for-profit organization.

24. Mississippi

Event: Lynching of Emmett Till

Year: 1955

Location: Money

The lynching of 14-year-old African American Emmett Till shocked the nation and served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Till, a Chicago resident, was visiting relatives in Mississippi. He was kidnapped and killed after white residents in the town of Money claimed he whistled at a white woman. When Till's body was found, it had been grotesquely disfigured. His mother chose to have an open casket at his wake to show the world the horror of the crime. There was a trial and the accused murders were acquitted by an all-white, male jury. In January 2017, Timothy Tyson, author of The Blood of Emmett Till, said the woman whom Till allegedly made advances toward told him she lied about the incident.

25. Missouri

Event: Admitted as slave state

Year: 1820

Location: Statewide

Tensions between slave states and free states were rising in the United States in the early 19th century, particularly over the issue of whether the expanding nation should admit new states as free or slave states. In 1820, Congress passed legislation known as the Missouri Compromise that maintained the balance of power between free states and slave states. The compromise allowed the admission of Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Neither the North nor the South was happy with the compromise, but the Union managed to hold together for another 41 years before it finally erupted into the Civil War.

26. Montana

Event: Battle of the Little Bighorn

Year: 1876

Location: Little Big Horn

We've all heard the story of Custer's Last Stand. In 1876, George Armstrong Custer led U.S. Army soldiers to forcibly relocate members of the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes after gold was discovered on their lands. Thousands of Native Americans, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, rallied at the Little Bighorn River. Custer was ordered to wait for reinforcements, but he attacked the main encampment of the tribes. Custer and his soldiers were overwhelmed and all killed within an hour. That would be the last decisive victory of indigenous tribes against the Army, as the government increased the use of force to put down any rebellions.

27. Nebraska

Event: Kansas-Nebraska Act

Year: 1854

Location: Statewide

The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide if the state would be a slave state or a free state. The legislation prompted settlers on each side of the slavery issue to pour into Kansas to affect the outcome of the first election after the law had passed. The election results produced violence, earning the state the name "Bleeding Kansas." A pro-slavery legislature was chosen amid charges of fraud. Because of this, Congress refused to admit Kansas as a state. Anti-slavery settlers eventually outnumbered pro-slavery supporters and Kansas was admitted as a free state just before the Civil War.

28. Nevada

Event: Gambling legalized

Year: 1931

Location: Statewide

With the nation in the throes of the Great Depression, Nevada became the first state to legalize gambling in 1931 as a mean of creating a revenue source. The decision would have profound consequences for the state and the nation. At the time, Las Vegas was nothing more than a desert stopover. The construction of nearby Hoover Dam gave the area a big boost. Gambling and casinos, run by organized crime, turned Las Vegas into an entertainment colossus.

29. New Hampshire

Event: First government independent from England

Year: 1776

Location: Statewide

New Hampshire's state motto is "Live Free or Die," so it shouldn't be surprising that the state was the first to declare itself independent from England. The state set up its own government away from colonial rule in January 1776, months before the Continental Congress. In 1778, it was also the first state to hold a constitutional convention.

30. New Jersey

Event: Battle of Trenton

Year: 1776

Location: Trenton

By the end of 1776, the Continental Army was in trouble. It had been beaten in New York and chased across New Jersey into Pennsylvania by the British Army. General George Washington needed a victory to lift the hopes of the budding nation. He took a risk by crossing an ice-choked Delaware River the day after Christmas to surprise the Hessian troops billeted at Trenton. The Army killed or captured the entire force of 1,400 Hessians. The victory boosted Americans' belief in the cause of fighting to liberate themselves from British rule.

Next week is part 4 of 5 covering New Mexico through South Carolina.