E komo mai
That’s Hawaiian for
‘Welcome, come in’
I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve been having learning about the different states that comprise
the United States of America.
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
These are the states I’d like to look at today. Come along with me, and let’s have some fun!
Delaware
Delaware’s motto is ‘The First State’ and for good reason. It is the first state that ratified the Constitution in 1787. Hmm…a few things there.
What does ratify mean?
It means to give official, formal approval.
Sooo I thought we became the United States in 1776?
Well, no.
Each ‘state’ was an individual colony under British rule. To declare independence there was a Second Continental Congress. This was created to manage the Revolutionary War. 1776 - We won! But who won?
And where did we go from there?
Here’s how we got started:
But then, statesmen being human and all, had to spend a lot of time arguing about things like who should sign first? What should we call the leader? Who should be the leader? How about another king? (If this had won votes it would have been ‘King George Washington’!). Yes, a lot of other important issues too.
So, in 1781 there was a Constitution ratified. Only it was not so great, so after more debate and revisions, in 1787 Delaware was the first to sign the Constitution as we know it (mostly) today.
Whew.
Back to Delaware.
The state capital is Dover, which is one of the oldest European settled cities in America. The largest city in Delaware is Wilmington. Delaware is the second smallest state. You can drive across it in 2 hours!
What’s famous about Delaware?
For one thing, it is known for beautiful beaches, like Rehoboth Beach.
Delaware has the fastest internet connection in the States, and in fact is faster than any other country in the world besides South Korea. Many big companies are registered here because of its’ business-friendly laws. For shoppers, there’s no sales tax!
For being such a small state, it sure seems to have a variety of wildlife and birds.
‘The Sunshine State’
Florida, in 1845, became the 27th state to join the Union. It has 1850 miles of coastline, and 1300 golf courses. The capital is Tallahassee but the largest city is Jacksonville. I was surprised it wasn’t Miami!
Yeah. 4500.
Although I think of Florida and oranges going together, the most well-known food is Key lime pie.
Georgia is called ‘The Peach State’. If you’ve ever visited, you would find Peach Street, Peach Avenue, Peach Way, Peach Circle, Peach Tree Street, Peaches Cul-de-sac, well, you get the idea.
Georgia joined the United States of America in position #4 in 1788.
On January 19, 1861 Georgia voted to leave the Union and join the Confederate States of America. They were the fifth state to do that, after South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. Around 120,000 Georgians fought on the Confederate side, and about 3,500 - 4,000 fought for the Union (many of the last were either free men or escaped from slavery individuals.) The second most bloody battle of the Civil War was The Battle of Chickamauga, Sept 1863, fought in Georgia with over 34,000 casualties and a clear win for the Confederates. They did not, however, win the War.
Georgia is known for peanuts, pecans, kudzu and BBQ. Coco-Cola was created here, as was the cotton gin (machine). The first Women’s College to grant degrees to women, in the world, was chartered here in 1836.
Fun fact: Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee, pineapple and vanilla in the USA.
Hawaii still retains many of it’s customs and celebrations from it’s earlier history. There are many common phrases and place names that are from the Hawaiian language.
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