State the Facts #2- Find the State Capital Quiz

Answer: Harrisburg

The capital Harrisburg is a medium sized city of about 50,000 people (2010 census) in the middle of Pennsylvania on the Susquehanna River. It's located 172 miles west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest city. "Philly" is one of the oldest and historically most significant cities in America.

Independence Hall is where founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Adams signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Located across the plaza is the famous Liberty Bell, which originally hung in the Hall steeple.

The first time it was rung resulted in the still visible crack in its facade. The city is also known for its artery clogging sandwiches of thinly sliced beef fried and smothered with cheese; and for its feisty local and vocal sports fans.

Answer: Salem

Salem, Oregon is the correct state capital here, as Portland is the major city along the mighty Columbia River in the northwest corner of Oregon, only 60 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia provides the western two thirds of the border between Washington and Oregon, and it's second only to the Mississippi River in water volume discharged. The Columbia basin also provides more hydroelectric power than any other region in the country.

Raleigh, the state capital, and Winston-Salem are two of North Carolina's major cities in the heart of tobacco country, and both had cigarette brands named after them. However, neither is on a river of any consequence. Salem, Massachusetts was the site of the infamous witch trials in 17th century new England, one of the more bizarre and unenlightened episodes in early American history. Columbia, South Carolina is the capital of that state.

Answer: Denver

Denver, Colorado, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, is known as the 'mile high city.'

Des Moines is the capital of the plains state of Iowa; San Francisco is not a state capital; and Santa Fe is the fourth largest New Mexico city, far smaller than Albuquerque, the largest.

Answer: Albany

New York City- open 24/7, the Big Apple, the melting pot, the financial nerve center of the world. Whatever you want to call it, it's big, and it defines the state of New York in many minds. New Yorkers speak with a discernible dialect and a certain endearing brusqueness.

However, there is a whole expanse of interesting state outside the big city, including the capital in Albany on the Hudson River, 140 miles north of New York City. Dutch colonists first settled there in 1614, creating a successful fur trading enterprise with local Mohawk Indians.

The English elbowed them out in the 1660s, renaming the town "Albany" after the duke who would later become King James II.

Answer: Montgomery

In Alabama, the Montgomery bus boycott was precipitated by the now well documented incident in December of 1955 when regular African American citizen Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man and would not move to the back of the bus.

The boycott, eventually joined by many people of all races, rendered the bus system irrelevant, as black workers organized carpools, and taxi drivers reduced fares to ten cents, the same as bus fare. First a Montgomery federal court and finally the US Supreme Court ruled that the laws enforcing segregated seating were unconstitutional under the fourteenth amendment.

This overturned these "Jim Crow" laws, and the boycott was ended after thirteen months. Dr. Martin Luther King, a twenty six year old pastor at the time, came to prominence as a result of his help with organizing the protest.

Answer: Montpelier

Vermont (from "green mountain" in French) is the home of Burlington and also Montpelier, its capital. Burlington is the home of the University of Vermont, and it's located only fifty miles from the Canadian border and ninety miles from Montreal. In 2015, it became the first US city to run totally on renewable energy. Montpelier, Vermont is the least populous capital of a US state.

It is named after the French city of Montpellier (two "l"s), which is located on the Mediterranean coast. Both namesake cities are university towns. Located in or near the Vermont capital are Goddard College, Vermont College, and The New England Culinary Institute.

Answer: Helena

These are four of what pass for major cities in Montana, with Helena being the capital city. It sits on the southern line of Lewis and Clark county in west central Montana. Of the cities listed, only Billings, at 104,170, topped the hundred thousand mark in population as of the official 2010 US Census. Missoula was second at 66,788, and Helena came in at a modest 28,190.

Other than Alaska, Montana vies with Wyoming as the least densely populated of US states, with about seven inhabitants per square mile.

The Helena river valley was home to indigenous peoples as long as 10,000 years ago. In the early 1800s, fur trappers from British Canada and the United States trickled into the area. Gold strikes in nearby Idaho territory in the 1860s caused a bigger influx of Europeans, and led to the creation of the Montana territory in 1864.

Answer: Providence

Providence, Rhode Island, founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Ironically, religious intolerance in the Massachusetts colony forced Williams and his followers to flee and find a safer place to practice a less dogmatic, more open religious life, based on separation of church and state. Rhode Island became a haven for other minority groups such as Baptists, Quakers, and Jews, who were despised and persecuted by the Puritans.

They named their city out of gratitude for the beautiful site they found at the head of Narragansett Bay, with access to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Providence settlers also got along well with the Native Americans in the territory and made no attempt to usurp their land or drive them out. Brown University, a member of the "ancient eight" Ivy League colleges, adds to Providence's present day prestige as a center of learning. With a 2010 census population of 178,042 Providence is by far the largest city in the "Ocean State," the smallest of the fifty.

Answer: Springfield

Homer Simpson is from Springfield, TV land. There are at least 35 towns or cities named Springfield in the United States. The namesake rifle refers to a number of small firearms produced at the Springfield Armory in, you guessed it, Springfield (Massachusetts). Springfield, Illinois is the largest city in central Illinois, and the sixth largest overall in the state, with a 2010 population of slightly over 100,000. Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield from 1837-1861, when he moved to Washington to become the 16th president.

The state capital named after him, however, is Lincoln, Nebraska. Chicago is the "city of big shoulders" on Lake Michigan with Midway and O'Hare airports, the Chicago Cubs and White Sox baseball teams, and the architectural marvel with giant Corinthian columns and marble floors known as Chicago Union Station.

Answer: Annapolis

The answers are four capital cities, but only Annapolis, Maryland's seat of government, and big city Baltimore answer the question. Along with the nation's capital of Washington, D.C., these three cities form a triangle with sides not much longer than a marathon run.

The avian reference is to Baltimore's baseball franchise. The Orioles play in Oriole Park at Camden Yards against the Toronto Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals. The mostly brick "baseball only" structure opened in 1992 as one of the first "retro" stadiums in the country. Annapolis is situated on the Chesapeake Bay, and is the home of the US Naval Academy.