National World War I Memorial and Museum
Kansas City, Missouri
None of the events of World War I took place in the United States, but thousands of brave Americans took up arms in the conflict. The National World War I Memorial and Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, honors their sacrifice and serves to teach visitors about the war, which is often overshadowed by the larger World War II that began 21 years later. The centerpiece of the memorial is Liberty Tower, which stands 217 feet tall. Below is a field of artificial red poppies that symbolize the soldiers who died in the war. Exhibits at the on-site museum give visitors an immersive battlefield experience.
Roger Williams National Memorial
Providence, Rhode Island
It’s easy to take freedom of religion in America for granted, but it hasn’t always been a fundamental right. Many of the first Colonies were governed under strict religious rules, and it wasn’t until Roger Williams left Massachusetts and founded the city of Providence that freedom of conscience became enshrined as a fundamental right. Ostracized because of his personal religious beliefs, Williams established Providence and Rhode Island as a place where anyone could live, regardless of who or how they worshiped. Today, the Roger Williams National Memorial is a 4.6-acre urban park on the site where Williams founded Providence.
De Soto National Memorial
Bradenton, Florida
Christopher Columbus gets most of the credit for being the first European explorer to land in the New World, but conquistador Hernando de Soto was the first European to come onto what is now the continental United States when he and his crew arrived on the beaches of Tampa Bay in 1539. The De Soto National Memorial marks the spot where they landed and where bloody clashes between the conquistadors and the local indigenous people took place. Visitors to the site today can enjoy living-history camps that take place in the winter and early spring, as well as an annual re-enactment of the De Soto landing each April.
