Cheezhead

The state of Connecticut is located in the New England region of north east, bordered by New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. One of the 13 original colonies, the state played an important part in the development of the country’s early government. Known as the “Constitution State”, Connecticut had the first constitution in North America.

Modern day Connecticut has benefited from its abundance of raw materials, which has resulted in a good manufacturing industry. Many financial organizations have also flourished in the area including insurance companies and hedge funds. Because of this, the state has the highest per capita income and median household income in the nation.

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Rhode Island

Originally founded as an area of religious refuge, Rhode Island has a history of independent thought. Of the original 13 American colonies, it was the first to declare in depended from England and ratify the constitution. The state was also the first to enact a law prohibiting slavery in America

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Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is the largest city in the State of Maryland. The city is located in the center of the state at the head of the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, part of Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is the largest city in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, which consists of about 8.1 million residents. Baltimore serves as a major seaport and is close to many major Midwestern markets.

Baltimore was founded in 1729. The city is named after Cecilius Calvert, Second Baron of Baltimore, Ireland, who was the first governor of the Province of Maryland. Baltimore became an independent city from Baltimore County in 1851. The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, forcing the city to rebuild.

Recently the city has seen a push to revitalize its downtown area and Inner Harbor. In the city’s early history, the harbor was a landing destination for boats and ships bringing such items as bananas, sugar and cocoa. However, until the late 1970s the harbor had been abandoned.

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Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the largest and most populous city in the State of Arizona. It also serves as the state capital, and is the most populous capital in the country, with more than a million people. Phoenix is located on the banks of the Salt River, and is known as “The Valley” as it is surrounded by mountains.

Father Eusebio Kino, an Italian Jesuit, was among the first Europeans to travel to Phoenix during the 1600s and 1700s. Jack Swilling, an American Civil War veteran, founded the city in 1867. The name Phoenix comes from the ruins of a former civilization. Phoenix was incorporated as a city in 1881.

During World War II Phoenix’s economy shifted to that of a distribution center. During the last half of the 1900s the city’s population began to grow. The city has maintained a growth streak in recent years and is the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States, second only to Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Hawaii

Hawaii is a state located on an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan and northeast of Australia. Honolulu on the island of Oahu serves as the state’s capital.

The first recorded European contact with Hawaii was by British explorer James Cook in 1778. The area was known as the Republic of Hawaii from 1894 to 1898. It was then annexed to the United States through the Newlands Resolution in 1898. Hawaii was the 50th state admitted into the Union in 1959.

After becoming part of America, Hawaii saw a construction boom and rapidly growing economy. In recent decades, the Hawaiian government has made more of an effort to promote Hawaiian culture.

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Seattle, Washington

Seattle is a coastal port city and the largest city in the Pacific Northwest United States. It is located between part of the Pacific Ocean known as Puget Sound and Lake Washington and is about 96 miles south of Canada.

Seattle was founded by the European Denny Party in 1851. The area was originally called New York and was renamed Alki in 1853. The city was later renamed Seattle after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The city was officially incorporated in 1869. Over the years, the city’s economy has been affected by the lumber industry, the Klondike Gold Rush, the shipbuilding boom and the dot-com boom.

Central Connecticut State University ranked Seattle the most literate of America’s 69 largest cities in 2005 and 2006, and the second most-literate city in 2007. Seattle also was ranked as the most educated city by the United States Census Bureau in 2002.

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Located in Central Texas, Austin is the state’s capital and fourth-largest city. From 2000 to 2006, it was known as the third fastest growing large city in the nation.

Originally founded in the 1830’s, the area that is now Austin was first called Waterloo. Renamed after Stephen F. Austin, the city became the capital of the independent Republic of Texas in 1839. Throughout the remained of the 19^th century, Austin was considered a center for both government and education. Presently, the city is known best as home to many hi-tech companies and other businesses.

According to the city’s official slogan, Austin considers itself “the live music capital of the world” and the area is known for having a strong appreciation of arts, despite it’s big business appeal.

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Michigan

Michigan is a state located in the Midwestern United States. The state is bounded by four of the five great lakes and Lake St. Clair and has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world. Michigan also is the only state to consist entirely of two peninsulas. Lansing serves as the state capital.

French voyagers explored and settled in Michigan during the 17th Century. The state was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term for “large water” or “large lake.” Population in the state grew slowly until the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which made transportation easier. Michigan became a part of the Union in 1837.

In the 20th Century, Michigan’s economy underwent a large change because of the automotive industry, and the state remains the leading auto producer today. Detroit, the state’s largest city, has been losing population as people move to the outskirts of the city.

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Arizona

Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Phoenix serves as the state’s capital and largest city. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states, as it borders New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, touches Colorado and borders Sonora and Baja California, Mexico.

In 1539, Spanish Franciscan Marcos de Niza explored the region. The state seceded from the Union in 1861. Arizona was admitted back into the Union in 1912, making it the 48th and last of the contiguous states. Cotton farming and copper mining, two of Arizona’s early important industries, suffered during the great depression, and tourism soon became the state’s thriving industry. During World War II, Arizona was the site of German and Italian Prisoner of War camps, and Japanese US-resident internment camps.

Following World War II, the state’s population began to grow. In the 1960s, Arizona saw the development of many retirement communities and special age-restricted areas catering only to senior citizens.

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Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is located in the southern region of the United States. Baton Rouge serves as the state capital, and New Orleans is the largest city. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are equivalent to counties.

Louisiana was named after King Louis XIV of France. The land was originally claimed by Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, and was acquired by the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

The state is known for being multicultural and has French, Spanish and African influences. The state has a large population of Cajun and Creole people, African-Americans and Franco-Americans, southern white people, other Europeans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.

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