Introduction Historic sites and monuments are important places in the United States Memorable things some good and some terrible have happened in history at national sites and landmarks National historic monuments are especially beautiful scientifi cally interesting or may contain evidence of earlier life The Antiquities Act of 1906 gave the president the right to designate national monuments National historic landmarks and sites are designated by the United States Secretary of the Interior Congress can also designate national historic sites Protecting the past helps us remember our triumphs and learn from our mistakes This book contains only a few of the hundreds of sites where meaningful things happened All of them are part of America’s national story
Alabama Brown Chapel AME Church National Historic Landmark In March of 1965 organizers worked here to resist racism When 600 protestors marched from Selma to the capital on March 7 1965 police attacked them But TV coverage of the brutality drew more support for the marchers turning the tide in their favor On March 21 1965 3,200 marchers began a 70 mile 112 65 kilometer walk to Montgomery At the capitol four days later they were 25,000-strong President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act fi ve months later Location Selma AL 4 Established 1982
Alaska Admiralty Island National Monument Admiralty Island is part of Tongass National Forest in the Alaska Panhandle Its large population of grizzly black and brown bears makes it a rare pristine place This area is also home to whales mountain goats and deer Bears outnumber people here but there are more bald eagles than bears There are more bald eagles here than in the remainder of the United States Tlingit Indians descendants of the tribes that have controlled the Straits for centuries make up the only permanent community Location Admiralty Island AK Established 1978 5
