The Mid-Atlantic states are as central to America's legacy as, well, Uncle Sam. That American icon originated in the habit of a Troy, NY, meatpacker named Samuel Wilson, who stamped each of his boxes with "US Beef" — misinterpreted by consumers who thought US was short for Uncle Sam. From New York City's Statue of Liberty to Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to Baltimore's Fort McHenry, whose War of 1812 siege inspired "The Star Spangled Banner," this region has been a canvas for scenes of American history. Delaware, "The First State," led the way in ratifying the Constitution. Key battles of the Revolution were settled in New Jersey. Millions of immigrants first set foot in America at Ellis Island, off the shore of New York and New Jersey. Women's suffrage got its spark at Seneca Falls, NY.

The Mid-Atlantic states gave us many of the best-known names in our history, too, from Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton to Babe Ruth and Wilt Chamberlain. New York alone supplied five US presidents — Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Chester Alan Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. The region gave birth to classic American authors such as Washington Irving, Herman Melville and Walt Whitman. It was home to many of the 19th century's wealthiest citizens — Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Dupont, Carnegie, Mellon.