Vermont Firsts and Other Claims to Fame

Download or read book Vermont Firsts and Other Claims to Fame written by Richard B. Smith and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-02 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vermont may be small in population, but it looms large with innovation. The state constitution was the first in America to ban slavery, provide for universal male suffrage and establish a system for publicly funded education. Ethan Allen captured Fort Ticonderoga for America's First Victory. An eleven-year-old Willie Johnston was America's youngest Medal of Honor winner, and Grace Coolidge became the one and only First Lady to have a raccoon as a pet while in the White House. In the 1930s, rebellious Vermonters were the first to vote down a major New Deal construction project, the Green Mountain Parkway. Join local historian Dick Smith as he reveals this state's pioneering nature.