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After an incident with President Teddy Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a bear, Clifford Berryman, a famous political cartoonist for the Washington Star, used it as a metaphor in a political cartoon over Roosevelt’s indecision over a Mississippi boundary dispute. The cartoon became famous and inspired Brooklyn candy store owners Rose and Morris Michtom to make the first stuffed bear toy, which they named after Theodore Roosevelt. Morris Michtom called the toy, “Teddy’s Bear,” with Roosevelt’s permission. In 1903, the Ideal Toy Company was born, making the first line of teddy bears. The original teddy bear was given to Kermit Roosevelt, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, and his family with the understanding it would later be donated to the Smithsonian. Kermit Roosevelt’s children liked the toy so much, they kept it hidden for several years until later donating to the Smithsonian on January 1964, where it remains to this day.

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The reformed protestant United Church of Christ was born through the union of two other church groups in 1957. Two other local Cleveland, Ohio, churches joined together to form the modern United Church of Christ. These churches were the 23-year-old Evangelical and Reformed Church and the 26-year-old Congregational Christian Church. The union combined both traits from the parent group to form the new United Church of Christs’ identity. The new church allowed freedom within the order compared to the traditional church structure, but incorporated elements of the European Reformation to stay tethered to the past.

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Hands Across America was a charity event organized by USA for Africa in order to raise money for food banks and homeless shelters in the U.S. The goal of the event was to form a continuous chain of people holding hands across the continental U.S. Participants would donate to reserve a spot in the chain as well as purchase commemorative t-shirts. Hundreds of celebrities participated including Oprah, President Ronald Reagan, Prince, and Jane Fonda.  

The concept for Hands Across America was partly conceived by Ken Kragen, a music manager and producer. Kragen had previously been instrumental in another USA for Africa fundraising event, We Are the World, in which Micheal Jackson and Lionel Richie recorded a song by the same name. Hands Across America would turn out to be far less successful than We Are the World. Its goal of creating a chain of people across the U.S failed as rural areas in the southwest lacked the necessary people. The song, "Hands Across America," would also prove to be unsuccessful as it did not have any big pop stars attached like, "We Are the World." Overall, Hands Across America would raise 15 million dollars, 35 million less than anticipated. This movement was featured in the movie, "Us," by Jordan Peele.

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The “Say nice things about Detroit” movement was the brainchild of native Detroit resident, Emily Gail. Gail owned and operated a small camera and gift shop in Detroit in the early 1970s. While on vacation with her husband in Florida, they met numerous people from Detroit who told them “how great it was to be out of Detroit.” For the remainder of their vacation, they hired a plane to tow a banner reading, “Hi, Detroiters. Enjoy Florida. Say Nice Things About Detroit. Emily.” That event garnered media attention and led to the slogan being used widely in Detroit.

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Evansville Freedom Festival, held in Evansville Indiana, was an annual Fourth of July celebration consisting of food, fun, water sports, and air sports. The main event of the festival from 1979 to 2009 was a hydroplane boat race known as Thunder on the Ohio. Thunder on the Ohio was part of the APBA Unlimited Hydroplane circuit. The winner would receive the Four Freedoms cup, so named for the nearby Four Freedoms Monument commissioned by president Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1989, the winner of the cup was Larry Lauterbach, with his boat the Winston Eagle. To win, Lauterbach had to defeat the favored Budweiser team. The Budweiser team's boat, the Miss Budweiser, was piloted to victory by various Team Budweiser racers sixteen times in the thirty-one years the race took place during the festival. One of those racers, Dave Villwock, holds the record for most cups, with a total of ten victories. 

Since 2010, Thunder on the Ohio has been held as its own event, Evansville Hydrofest, usually taking place in late August. The Evansville Freedom Festival has since been renamed to ShrinersFest, but is still held annually. 

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The Naples Jaycees are the local chapter of the Junior Chamber International of Naples, Florida. The group has been involved in local events, charities, community outreach, and professional development for over 50 years. They are known for their historic involvement in local haunted houses and Fourth of July Fireworks events.

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The Pan American Games, also known as the Pan Am Games, is a major sporting event in the Americas that features summer sports. These take place every 4 years in the summer before the Summer Olympics are held. The XVIII Pan Am Games were held in Lima, Peru, in 2019. The first Pan Am Games were thought up in the 1930's, and the first games were slated for 1942, but these were postponed due to WWII. The first Pan Am Games took place in 1951 in Buenos Aires, with 18 sports offered. The following year, the second Pan Am Games were held in Mexico before switching to being every 4 years.

The 1987 Pan American Games, also known as the X Pan American Games, took place from August 7th-the 23rd and included over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in North, South, and Central America. Competitions in 30 sporting events took place in 23 venues around Indianapolis, Indiana, and 1,015 medals were awarded. The official logo for the 10th Pan Am Games consisted of 5 stylized X’s, the Roman numeral for 10. The mascot was Amigo, a green parrot that represented friendliness and festivity. Both the logo and mascot were created by local Indianapolis residents. The opening ceremony was held on the main straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of the Indianapolis 500. The X Pan Am Games were financially successful, bringing in $175 million dollars to the local economy and cost around $30 million to put on, making Indianapolis the first Pan Am Games to break even. This also led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to consider Indianapolis for their headquarters and in 1997, they made the move to Indianapolis.

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The Adler Planetarium located in Chicago, Illinois, was opened in 1930 as the first planetarium in the United States. It is named after founder Max Adler to enable all citizens the chance to observe the sky like astronomers. It was also featured at the Chicago exposition and is considered a National Historic Landmark. Today, the planetarium receives more than half a million visitors annually and features many outreach programs designed to get citizens, and especially kids, into science.

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The foundations of the Kennedy Space Center can be attributed to Public Law 85-568 signed by President Eisenhower in 1958.  This law established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known more commonly by their acronym NASA. After land on Merritt Island, Florida, was acquired, the facility finally opened in 1962 and was named after President John F. Kennedy. The facility holds a special place in American and human history, for developing and launching the Apollo programs, including sending the first man to the moon in 1969.

In 2020, the SpaceX Dragon, the first rocket with returnable parts, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center.