North America
Totem Poles of the First Nations in Vancouver Canada. Photo: Tonya Fitzpatrick
“Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it.”
– Eudora Welty
Explore the history, diverse cultures and traditions of the North American countries of Canada, Mexico and the United States. North American culture reflects both the cultures of its indigenous people- the Native Americans as well as the culture that is influenced by European Colonization.
The United States is the third largest country in the world and one of the most culturally diverse countries of the world. Described as the ‘melting pot‘ of North America , amalgamation of different cultures has given shape to the unique U.S. culture.
Mexico is the most populous state of North America and one of the largest city in the world.
Canada is the largest country of North American region and covering more than half of the continent’s area.
What does the future of travel look like? We asked a travel industry insider, Helen Hernandez, CEO of the North American Travel Journalist Association (NATJA) for her insights.
On January 13, 1888, a small group of explorers and scientists, 33 in all, gathered at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. (A place where DC members of the famed Explorers Club, including World Footprints, meet today.) They proposed to organize a society "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural, historical, and natural resources." Two weeks later, they incorporated the National Geographic Society . Alexander Graham Bell, the Society's second president, proposed a magazine, sales of which would help fund the Society's activities. In 1899, Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor was named the first full-time editor of National Geographic magazine. He served the organization for fifty-five years (until 1954), and members of the Grosvenor family have played important roles in the organization since. Bell and Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor devised the successful marketing notion of Society membership and the first major use of [...]
New York City's La Guardia Airport opened on this day in 1938. Located in Queens County on New York's Long Island, the airfield was originally named Glenn H. Curtiss Airport but it was re-named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City who presided over the airport's construction. It's central location and proximity to the city center make La Guardia a favorite hub for many travelers. La Guardia is the smallest of the city's three primary airports behind JFK and Newark's Liberty International.
A mere 88 years ago, women had no Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote in elections. In January of 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced that he was supporting a new amendment to the US Constitution that would give women the right to vote. The House of Representatives passed the 19th amendment, but it failed in the Senate after a series of delays. The National Woman's Party began a campaign to oust members of Congress who voted against the 19th Amendment - with great success. The following year, both Houses of Congress were overwhelmingly pro-suffrage. On May 21, 1919 the House of Representatives passed the 19th amendment by a vote of 304 to 89 and in June, the Senate passed it by a margin of 56 to 24. After ratification by the States, the Nineteenth Amendment was certified on August 26, 1920. Beginning in the 1800s, women organized, petitioned, and [...]
Don Vicente Martinez Ybor, a Spaniard, came to Florida from Cuba. He first set up his cigar-making factory in Key West but found his mostly Cuban workers often left to return home.
Cowboys. Covered wagons. Campfires. Welcome to Casper, Wyoming’s sweet little secret, centrally located and ideally suited for autumn travel.
Dade Battlefield is a small state park in Bushnell, Florida that tells a big story of one of America’s most forgotten wars. The Second
World Footprints won recognition as a top travel podcast, receiving a Gold Award in the 2021 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition.
World Footprints commemorates the anniversary of the terrifying attack that changed the world and brought heroes to the front-line. You will hear from survivors their first-hand account of the events as they experienced them.
When we think of cultures on the brink of extinction the mind usually wanders to earth based cultures world wide being infringed upon by modern development. Another common image is that of oppressed peoples being forced to assimilate, flee, or possibly be put to death in a hostile regime takeover. Unfortunately these are familiar headlines in our modern era. All of these are very accurate and very real. But there is another cultural heritage in jeopardy…one a lot closer to home, only about 300 years old, (not very old in terms of culture) and I would argue, dying quickly. It's the American culture. But what exactly IS the American culture and how does one experience or preserve it? From the very beginning, America was a nation made up of over 500 nations, and that was before the first Europeans ever set foot on the continent. The American culture then, has always been [...]
San Antonio invites tourists from around the globe, offering them an immersive experience of Mexican and Texan culture.
What once was old is now new in Florida’s Marion County. One of the “newest” attractions in the city of Ocala, has roots going back nearly 100 years, commemorating an epic FBI shootout with a notorious gang that ended the era of gangsters in the United States.
