• On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. George Washington was also the first commander in chief of the U.S. militar y.



• Our Constitution was written in 1787.



• The Star-Spangled Banner was born out of the emotions experienced by Francis Scott Key as he watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The first musical edition was published by Benjamin Carr of Baltimore and titled "The Star-Spa ngled Banner." With the passage of time the song grew in popularity, and in 1931 an act of Congress made it our official national anthem.



• The 16th President of the United States, Lincoln presided over the great American conflict called the Civil War. That conflict was driven by goals of freedom, liberty, and the practice of slavery. On September 22, 1862 the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln which ended evil of slavery.



• During World War II our (United States) enemies were Germany, Italy, and Japan. The United States entered the war on December 8, 1941.



• The 49th state that joined the Union (United States) was Alaska in January 1959, and the 50th was Hawaii in August 1959.



• Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American civil rights leader. He led the 2000 men march in Washington D.C. to protest about blacks' civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was famous for his "I have a Dream" speech in 1963.



• The Immigration and Naturalization service form that we use to apply to become a naturalized citizen is the N-400.