LNGenZ News for Kids: 8 – states

Montana entered the Union as the 41st state on November 8, 1889. Many of the U.S. states got their names from the indigenous tribes of the region; however, Montana is a Spanish translation from “montaňa” which means “mountainous region.” This… Read More

Missouri, the “Show Me State,” was named after the tribe Missouris. The first European explorers showed up in 1673 when Father Jacques Marguette and Louis Joliet visited and provided the first written accounts of the area. It would be nearly… Read More

Mississippi joined the Union in 1817, becoming the 20th state. “The Magnolia State,” so named because of its many magnolia trees, was first explored in 1540 by the Spanish, but since they could not find any gold, they abandoned the… Read More

Minnesota became the 32nd state to join the Union on May 11, 1858. Its nicknames include “Land of 10,000 Lakes” (although it actually has more than 11,800), “North Star State,” and “Gopher State.” It got its name from the Dakota… Read More

Michigan became the 26th state to join the Union in January 1837. Known by several nicknames such as the Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, and Water Winter Wonderland, its history is steeped in Native Americans and cars – an odd… Read More

On Feb. 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to join the Union. The Bay State, as it’s known today, was the stage for both the beginning of the colonization of the New World and the fight for America’s independence… Read More

Maryland became the seventh state to join the Union on April 28, 1788. The English King Charles I gave a man named George Calvert a charter to found the colony in 1632 but he ventured to the new land. Instead,… Read More

Maine became the 23rd state to join the Union on March 15, 1820. Its history began with global warming that melted the ice to reveal the land at the end of the last Ice Age. The indigenous people then called… Read More

Louisiana became the 18th state to join the Union on April 30, 1812. For generations before the Europeans stepped foot in the area, the land was home to several indigenous tribes including the Choctaw, Chitimacha, Atakapa, and the Natchez. The… Read More

Indigenous people roamed this area long before it became known as the state of Kentucky. For many generations, the Woodland people lived here, and then later those who were known as the Fort Ancient people. These tribes built mounds in… Read More

Before Kansas was Kansas, it was populated by the indigenous people known as the Paleo-Indians. The state got its name from the Kansa or “Kaw” tribes that lived there. Other native groups inhabited the area, too, including the Arapaho, Comanche,… Read More

Iowa, also known as the Hawkeye State, became the 29th state admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846. The state’s name comes from the Iowa River, referring to the Ioway people, a tribe of Native Americans that inhabited the… Read More