Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
after it was named 'Manhattan,' derived from local Munsee Native American words and
meaning 'Island of Hills.'
By 1625 a colony, soon called New Amsterdam, was established, and the island was
bought from the Munsee Indians by Peter Minuit. George Washington was sworn in here
as the republic's first president in 1789, and when the Civil War broke out in 1861, New
York City, which supplied a significant contingent of volunteers to defend the Union, be-
came an organizing center for the movement to emancipate slaves.
Throughout the 19th century successive waves of immigrants - Irish, German, Eng-
lish, Scandinavian, Slavic, Italian, Greek and central European Jewish - led to a swift
population increase, followed by the building of empires in industry and finance, and a
golden age of skyscrapers.
After WWII New York City was the premier city in the world, but it suffered from a
new phenomenon: 'white flight' to the suburbs. By the 1970s the graffiti-ridden subway
system had become a symbol of New York's civic and economic decline. But NYC re-
gained much of its swagger in the 1980s, led by colorful three-term mayor Ed Koch. The
city elected its first African American mayor, David Dinkins, in 1989, but ousted him
after a single term in favor of Republican Rudolph Giuliani (a 2008 primary candidate
for US president). It was during Giuliani's reign that catastrophe struck on September 11,
2001, when the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center were struck by hijacked
commercial airliners, became engulfed in balls of fire and then collapsed, killing 3000
people, the result of a now-infamous terrorist attack.
The billionaire Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg, first elected in an atmosphere
of turmoil and grief, came under early fire for his severe fiscal policies and draconian
moves as head of the beleaguered public school system. Still, Bloomberg was elected to
a second and a very controversial third term. Considered an independent political prag-
matist, he's earned raves and criticism for his dual pursuit of environmental and develop-
ment goals through a challenging period that has included the 'Global Financial Crisis'
and Hurricane Sandy. It's anyone's guess who will rise to power once the Bloomberg
days are over.
NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY & PENNSYLVANIA IN…
One Week
Start off with a gentle introduction in
Philadelphia
, birthplace of American inde-
pendence. After a day touring the historic sites and a night sampling the hoppin'
nightlife, head into New Jersey for a bucolic night in
Cape May
. Sample another
