Historian Gordon S. Wood asserts that the American Revolution, “made the interests and prosperity of ordinary people—their pursuits of happiness—the goal of society and government.” Nonetheless, histories of this earth-shattering epoch often concentrate on the contributions of largely upper-class statesmen and generals, often ignoring the contributions of the ordinary people who made the American Revolution possible in the first place. Jonas Green was one of these ordinary people, rising from humble origins to become the official printer of Maryland, and igniting revolution in Maryland by opposing the Stamp Act.

The Rise to Printing Prominence

Jonas Green seemed destined to be a printer. His grandfather, Samuel Green, was once the lead newspaperman of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his father, Timothy Green, worked as a printer in Boston before becoming Connecticut’s public printer shortly after his son’s birth in 1712. Learning the printing business in his youth, Green worked for the Boston printing firm Kneeland and Green in the early 1730s, then as a journeyman printer for Andrew Bradford in Philadelphia from 1736 to 1737. Opportunity would soon call from Maryland, with Green beginning to print proclamations for the colony in November 1737 while he was still in Philadelphia. Maryland’s governor, Samuel Ogle, was impressed with Green’s skills, and the Maryland Assembly made Green the colony’s official printer in April 1738. Shortly after marrying Anne Catherine Hoof, he settled in Annapolis and began printing there.

Green soon became active in Annapolis cultural and civic affairs, reviving The Maryland Gazette in 1745. The weekly newspaper informed the public on civic, military, religious, and social affairs, served as a forum for political debate, and also added to Annapolis’s cultural scene through its inclusion of poems, essays, treatises, and literary criticism. Jonas Green’s aim was not mere profit, believing the press to be instrumental in informing the body politic, foreshadowing his principled stance against the Stamp Act.

Green explained his intentions with The Maryland Gazette in his first issue: “Our intent therefore is to give the public a weekly account of the most remarkable occurrences, foreign and  domestic, which  from time to time come to our Knowledge; having always a principal regard to such articles is nearest concern to the American plantations in general and the province of Maryland in particular, ever observing the strictest Justice and with in relation of facts and the utmost disinterestedness and impartiality in points of controversy.”

“Improver and Encourager of Wit”: What Made Jonas Green Unique

Green had several distinct advantages that set him apart from many of the printers of colonial America. Firstly, there was the business acumen of his spouse, Anne Catherine Hoof Green. Born in 1720 in the Netherlands, Anne had the business skills that supported their large family. Green’s social activities in the city drained his earnings, and it was Anne’s decision to sell raisins, chocolate, and coffee from their shop that kept the family afloat. Anne’s skill in business was further revealed after her husband’s death, beginning with a successful campaign to secure payment from over a thousand of her husband’s debtors, as well as relocating her supplies and printing shop closer to the Green home in order to fulfill both her domestic and business duties more easily. Succeeding her husband as Maryland’s official printer, Anne was one of the only female newspaper owners in the Thirteen Colonies.

Green also benefited from a charmingly extroverted personality, as evidenced by his membership in the Tuesday Club, an intellectual club for men of wit, where he was known as the life of the party. The club’s founder, Alexander Hamilton (a local physician, not to be confused with the 1st secretary of the treasury) described him: “This gentleman is of a middle stature inclinable to fat, round-faced, small lively eyes, from which from two oriental portals, incessantly dart the dawning rays of wit and humor with a considerable mixture of the amorous leer, in his countenance he wears a constant smile having never been once seen to frown.”

Describing Green as an “Improver and encourager of wit,” Hamilton also attested to Green’s social aptitude: “for were there 50 clubs in the place, he’d be a member of every one of them.” While Green was very active in the Tuesday Club, known as the official purveyor, punster, punchmaker, general printer and poet (P. P. P. P. P. for short), he was also an avid Freemason and active in politics, becoming a councilman in 1755 and rising to the rank of alderman in 1767.

Green also benefited from an attribute shared by many other luminaries of the Enlightenment, an interest in science, noting the appearance of the Aurora Borealis in one of his first issues and covering topics including entomology in others. In the same months, Green reported on the bloody battles being fought in the ongoing Seven Years’ War. The 18th century was characterized by an enlightened pursuit of science as well as immense blood spilled around the world in the pursuit of imperial ambitions. Green reported on both with equal vigor.

Green also revealed his writing skill through poetry, presenting a number of poems in the Tuesday Club, including this section of an ode presented to the club’s president:

“Rejoice with me Rejoice

join with melodious voice

You jovial streams, you Mountain Hills and rocks

Ye fertile Plains, ye fountains, rills, ye  flocks

ye sweet and Flowery Lawns,

that when the morning dawns

With Orient pearly drops of dew,

Your odors on the day renew.”

Green also authored conundrums that would be read at each Tuesday Club meeting, and several of Green’s annual odes were put to music. Green even managed to have one of his poems, an ode for the year 1750, published in The Gentlemen’s Magazine of London—the capital of the colony and the capital of the empire were in agreement on Green’s literary talent.

Green’s membership in the Tuesday Club should not be construed as simply an extension of his extroverted personality, for the Tuesday Club was not merely a club for men about town, but an essential building block of the burgeoning American identity. The Tuesday Club was a uniquely American endeavor that mocked the pretensions of the European aristocracy and was open to all classes. The Club allowed a broader group to contribute to Annapolis’s cultural milieu, blurring class lines and reflecting the upward mobility of American society. Green’s membership in the club should be considered as revolutionary as his later opposition to the Stamp Act.

Jonas Green, Revolutionary

By the time of the Stamp Act, Green had run The Maryland Gazette for two decades, his beautiful prose, social aptitude, scientific interest, and wife’s business expertise serving him well. But he put it all on the line for the sake of political principle. Green was radicalized by a British levy passed on almost every item made from paper, including newspapers, passed in order to alleviate the debts incurred during the Seven Years’ War. He feared that the act would put his paper out of business and began to protest against it by reporting on opposition to the act throughout the colonies.

In August, Green reprinted a denunciation of the Stamp Act from the New York Gazette, written by an “unknown worthy writer” whom Green described as “a lover of Justice, and a friend to his Country.” Matters came to a head later that month when Maryland’s official stamp distributor, Zachariah Hood, arrived in Annapolis and was promptly burned in effigy in front of the state house. September would see Hood fall into greater danger when the frame house he was renting was torn down by an angry mob, prompting the frightened Hood to leave for New York. Green gave a short summary of the violence: “A number of people unknown assembled in this town and pulled down a house lately rented by a certain unwelcome officer.”

While Green had played a pivotal role in demonstrations against the Stamp Act, historian Jane Wilson McWilliams speculates that Green’s sparse retelling of the ransacking of Hood’s dwelling was due to a guilty realization that his months of lambasting the Act had indirectly caused the mob’s violence. Political violence motivated by opposition to the Stamp Act was becoming increasingly common in the Colonies. August saw the home of Andrew Oliver, Massachusetts’s official stamp distributor being ransacked in Boston. Deborah Franklin was forced to brandish a musket from the second story of her home in Philadelphia in response to an angry mob that blamed her husband, Benjamin Franklin, for failing to prevent the Stamp Act. However, while these protests were of a violent nature, they expanded the realm of political action beyond the propertied elite; it was Annapolis’s tradesmen who paraded through the streets burning the stamp collector in effigy, not its aristocrats.

Green’s words would turn into action, with the printer eventually shutting down his paper in protest. In early October 1765, Green printed on the Gazette’s first page: “The Maryland Gazette expiring in hopes of a Resurrection to life again.” Green went on to note “We are sorry, heartily sorry to quit the public in general and our good customers in particular but this Gazette will no longer be published (for some time) for reasons already given, which cannot be but known.” In the aftermath of the decision, Green continued to print the Gazette through several “supplements,” craftily avoiding the British tax by not publishing a new edition.

December saw Green bring the wit he had used in the Tuesday Club to political discourse, describing his paper as a ghost rising from the grave after being slain by British tyranny in An Apparition of the late Maryland Gazette. However, the Maryland Gazette would soon “resurrect” as Green had hoped, with the disappearance of the stamp collector, who was found destitute in the Caribbean, virtually nullifying the Stamp Act in Maryland. In January 1766, he made yet another name change, to The Maryland Gazette, Reviving. Green’s paper would revert to its old name and numbering in March.

News of the Stamp Act’s repeal would reach Maryland in late May, and Green joyously described the celebration: “After Breaking up of the Assembly, on Tuesday evening last, the several branches of the Legislature met in the Council House, where the Loyal and Patriotic toasts were Drank, the Guns at the Dock at the same Time Firing, and other demonstrations of Joy shown, on account of the IMPORTANT NEWS OF The STAMP ACT being Repealed.”

Green’s Legacy

Green would die less than a year after the Stamp Act’s repeal, with the Gazette containing a notice on April 16, 1767, that he had died the previous Saturday at the age of fifty-five. Succeeding her late husband as the colony’s official printer, Anne proved herself as much of an advocate of American liberty as Green, informing her readers of events such as the Boston Tea Party and the protests against the Intolerable Acts throughout 1774.

However, like her late husband, Anne would never see the revolution she helped ignite, dying a month before the battles of Lexington and Concord. The paper was then ably managed by her son Frederick, who continued the family’s support for the patriot cause, though production was suspended from 1777 to 1779 due to the shortage of paper caused by the British occupation of Philadelphia. Publication resumed on April 30, 1779, this time run by both Samuel and Frederick Green, who continued the paper’s publication until their deaths in 1811. Samuel’s son Jonas continued his grandfather’s legacy until the end of the paper in 1839.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote to a friend about the importance of the fourth estate to American life: “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. To the sacrifice, of time, labor, fortune, a public servant must count upon adding that of peace of mind and even reputation.” Green fit Jefferson’s ideal, a public servant dedicating his time, labor, and fortune to informing the public through The Maryland Gazette, with his social aptitude, writing ability, and interest in science serving him well.

But while Green was a man of many talents, frugality was not one of them. While his extroverted nature served him well as Maryland’s official printer, it was also a double-edged sword, often driving the Green family into debt. His business would have failed if not for his wife’s business savvy. Though The Maryland Gazette flourished for decades, Green put all of that success on the line by protesting the Stamp Act. Through this opposition to British taxes, Green helped light the flame of revolution in Maryland, though he would not live to see the result. Nonetheless, the efforts of Jonas Green and his successors show the importance of the press in shaping American politics and culture.

Further Reading

• Hamilton, Dr. Alexander. History of the Ancient and Honorable Tuesday Club. Vol. 1. University of North Carolina Press, 1990.
• Jane Wilson McWilliams. Annapolis, City on the Severn: A History. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.
• Lemay, J. A. Leo. Men of Letters In Colonial Maryland. The University of Tennessee Press, 1972.
• Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage Books, 1991.

The pioneering efforts of NASA scientists to expand the frontiers of human exploration go far beyond technological breakthroughs in rockets and spacecraft. A number of key innovations invented for missions to space have been applied to daily life on Earth. They have transformed industries and improved the comfort, safety, and health of regular people, not just astronauts. From memory foam mattresses to ingenious water purification systems, here are eight NASA inventions that have shaped the modern world.

1. Memory Foam: Out of This World Comfort

At the height of the space race in the 1960s, the Ames Research Center at NASA created memory foam, also known as temper foam, to increase astronaut comfort and safety during the takeoff and landing of the Saturn V rockets. Memory foam has a number of unique properties; it consists of a viscoelastic material that compresses under pressure and regains its original form after pressure has dissipated. This special property allows memory foam to absorb a great deal of impact energy while providing comfort and cushioning. Moreover, memory foam reduces uncomfortable pressure points that are found in conventional cushioning as it adapts to the shape of the person or object that is pressing against it.

While memory foam was initially used to send NASA astronauts into space in comfort and safety, it soon found commercial use in a number of sectors. Today, this unique material is indispensable for the medical industry as it is used in mattresses and cushions to provide medical patients with extra comfort during extended convalescence. Moreover, the adaptable nature and comfort of the material helped it gain popularity in the consumer market, where it is used in home furnishings, pillows, and mattresses. Memory foam’s ability to conform to the contours of the human body allows it to enhance spinal alignment and reduce joint tension, allowing those with joint pain to rest more easily.

2. Scratch-Resistant Lenses: See Like an Astronaut

To help protect its astronauts from the harsh environment of space, NASA scientists created a special scratch-resistant coating for space suit helmet visors. This scratch-resistant coating helps to mitigate the damage that dust particles, debris, and other environmental dangers may pose to an astronaut’s vision while in space. To tackle this problem, NASA scientists partnered with the Foster Grant Corporation during the 1970s to invent a transparent, long-lasting, scratch-resistant coating that utilizes diamond-like carbon elements. This remarkable technology not only improved the optical clarity of the helmet visor but increased resistance to abrasions and scratches that are created by space dust.

Not long after NASA invented this coating, it was modified and adapted for use in everyday eyewear. Today, scratch-resistant lenses are commonplace and can be found in the majority of sunglasses and prescription glasses, increasing their durability and optical clarity. The diamond-like coating has also been adopted by other industries and can be found as a screen protection for smartphones and car windscreens. The invention and widespread use of this coating is evidence that space research has had a wide influence on consumer goods, as materials that were once created for the exploration of space can now be found in most homes. The scratch-resistant coating has significantly improved the longevity of common optical lenses and allowed the vision care industry to further innovate, creating new types of coatings that block out harmful screen glare.

3. Water Purification Systems: Drinking Water From Waste

One of the most significant obstacles humanity faces when sending a rocket into orbit is the fact that the weight of simple resources such as drinking water impacts the rocket’s overall ability to send important instruments into space. To tackle this problem, NASA developed advanced water purification systems to provide drinking water to astronauts on long-duration space missions and save space during rocket supply missions. To eliminate any potential impurities from recycling wastewater NASA invented the Environmental Control and Life Support System. This complex mechanism uses a variety of ingenious filtration techniques, including ion exchange, carbon scrubbing, and electrolysis. As a result, NASA astronauts were able to harvest clean drinking water from a variety of otherwise hazardous sources, such as human urine.

The ideas that were set forth in NASA’s water filtration system eventually helped to improve similar systems here on Earth. These systems are especially important in developing countries where clean drinking water is scarce, and help provide hydration during emergency scenarios where there is a disruption to the water supply. During natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes, the techniques invented by NASA to filter waste water have been proven as a viable means to provide clean hydration.

4. The CMOS Image Sensor: Capturing the Stars

One of the most legendary engineering groups within NASA is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, an elite group of the agency’s top minds that came together to tackle the biggest problems of space exploration. The JPL was largely responsible for the invention of the CMOS image sensor, a small digital semiconducting device that is now found in most cameras and smartphones.

The development of the CMOS sensor began during the 1990s when NASA engineers were tasked with developing a lightweight imaging system that could be sent into orbit and operate with a minimal power source. In comparison to the conventional digital image sensors, which were used in cameras at the time, the CMOS sensor provided a much more compact and energy-efficient solution for capturing images in space. The size and power consumption of the CMOS sensor is made possible due to the fact that both the image capturing and processing are conducted on the same silicon chip.

Today, the CMOS sensor is ubiquitous in consumer electronics, security systems, cell phones, digital cameras, and medical imaging equipment. Compared to the alternatives the CMOS sensor offers consumers faster image processing speeds, increased effectiveness in low-light environments as well as reduced energy consumption. The adoption of the CMOS sensor into consumer electronics has made small digital image systems widely available, thus making the cost of integrating a camera into any device much more affordable. CMOS sensors are also used by a number of private scientific and industrial companies for robotics, automatic vehicles, and even private space exploration.

5. Cordless Power Tools: Power to the People

Another ingenious NASA invention that has become virtually essential in our modern world is the cordless power tool. For the Apollo space program, NASA engineers were tasked with creating a portable, battery-powered drill that would function in zero gravity so that astronauts could gather rock and soil samples while exploring the Moon. To solve this problem NASA scientists partnered with the private consumer goods manufacturers Black and Decker to create the world’s first cordless drill. The finished design incorporated an efficient motor design, which was powered by a lightweight rechargeable battery, allowing astronauts to operate the drill in space without the need for an external power source.

The ingenious design of this cordless drill soon found its way into myriad consumer devices, including saws, sanders, and other handheld tools. Moreover, the efficient motor design found in the cordless drill, which was used by astronauts on the Moon, was used as a direct inspiration for the DustBuster handheld vacuum cleaner. Due to their versatility and ease of use, these cordless power tools have enabled consumers to perform basic tasks in areas without an electricity outlet. Moreover, NASA’s invention transformed the power tool industry and completely changed the way consumers approached cordless technology in general.

6. Cochlear Implants: A Game Changer for the Hearing Impaired

While NASA did not directly invent the cochlear implant for use in space exploration, engineer Adam Kissah, while working at the space agency on miniature electronic devices during the 1970s, was inspired to invent the device. While at NASA, Adam Kissah worked to automate compact systems for space travel, and in 1977, after leaving the agency, he patented the cochlear implant, helping to pioneer this miraculous technology for the hearing impaired. The modern-day cochlear implant is a small medical device that allows people with hearing impairment to detect sound by stimulating the auditory nerve directly, avoiding the damaged ear tissue. Medical engineers designed the cochlear implant by basing the design on NASA’s efforts to develop small, low-energy electronic devices that are used to track the vital signs of astronauts.

The pioneering advances that NASA made in the field of microelectronics helped to pave the way for the creation of cochlear implants that are more compact, reliable, and long-lasting. Moreover, the lives of countless people with hearing impairment have been improved significantly by the advent of smaller cochlear implants.

7. Fire Safety Equipment: NASA Protection for Firefighters

The development of improved firefighting equipment has benefited considerably from NASA’s work in creating heat-resistant textiles for use in space suits. The creation of these lightweight, durable, and thermal-resistant materials was vital to protect astronauts during space missions, as temperatures in orbit can fluctuate massively. To tackle this problem, NASA invented entirely new materials, such as polybenzimidazole, a material that can tolerate extremely high temperatures without burning, melting, or falling apart.

The advances that NASA made in this field have made their way to civilian life, and the protective equipment that emergency service workers now wear every day has been greatly improved by these new materials. The materials that the space agency developed allow firefighters to perform their work with improved flexibility and increased flame resistance. This enables emergency workers to work for extended periods of time in hazardous environments, saving countless lives. Moreover, NASA helped firefighting personnel modify the breathing apparatus originally used to provide astronauts with a steady supply of oxygen.

8. LASIK: How Nasa Improved Eyesight

The significant advances that NASA engineers made to laser technology during the 1980s contributed to the development of laser eye surgery, or LASIK, to repair vision.

LASIK’s precision lasers and their accuracy were directly influenced by NASA’s own research into lasers for satellite tracking and communication. During the procedure, LASIK technology is used to track the eye movements of the patient while the cornea is reshaped with a precision laser, thus curing refractive problems that can commonly cause poor eyesight. Furthermore, NASA’s development of excimer lasers helped laser eye surgery become a common practice in the field of ophthalmology. The excimer is a type of laser that uses pressurized gasses under high pressure to create a type of particle called an excimer, which manifests as an incredibly precise laser beam in the ultraviolet spectrum.

On the eve of the US entry into World War II, the federal government requested design submissions for a vehicle that could do it all. The US Army Quartermaster Corps needed a utility vehicle to replace horses and motorcycles, and thus the ¼ ton light reconnaissance vehicle was born. The Willys MB, nicknamed the Jeep, became an icon of the Allied war effort, serving as everything from stretcher to weapons carrier. Despite its small size, the WWII Jeep excelled wherever it went, becoming a testament to American ingenuity and innovation.

Answering the Call for a Lightweight Reconnaissance Car

The German invasions of Western Europe in the summer of 1940 led to a sense within the corridors of power that the United States might have to join the war. Knowing that the prospect of another major international conflict meant fighting across a vast array of terrains, the US Army Quartermaster Corps issued a request to 135 automakers for a vehicle that could serve in a multitude of roles.

Only three viable automakers responded to the call and submitted designs that met the strict weight, wheelbase, and four-wheel drive requirements: American Bantam, Willys-Overland and Ford. With the three design submissions, the companies were assigned the seemingly impossible feat of delivering a prototype within 49 days, and a working test vehicle in only 75 days.

The Willys MB and the Engineering Triumph of Four-Wheel Drive

While Willys-Overland ultimately won the contract, the final product became more of a collaboration than one specific winning design. Bantam delivered a small body design that met many of the Army’s needs, but they lacked the manufacturing capacity to meet the production requirements. Willys, on the other hand, produced an engine that exceeded all expectations with 60 horsepower and the ability to climb hills and tow heavier loads. This engine became known as the “Go Devil” engine. Finally, Ford submitted a serviceable design and had the production capabilities required by the Army.

Ultimately, the Army picked the best of each design and awarded the contract to Willys, who submitted the lowest bid per vehicle. From there, it became a team effort from Ford and Willys-Overland to meet the extreme production needs throughout the war. Of the more than 600,000 Jeeps that served in WWII, 360,000 were produced by Willys and 280,000 were made by Ford.

The Jeeps that rolled out of the Willys plant bore the name Willys MB with the “M” standing for military and the “B” representing the second design they submitted. The Jeeps made in Ford’s manufacturing plant became known as Ford GPWs, the “G” designated it as a government vehicle, the “P” was an internal Ford designator for the 80-inch wheelbase, and the “W” meant that it was a Willys design. The contraction of GP to “jeep” is one of many theories behind the vehicle’s iconic nickname.

Why the Jeep Was the Swiss Army Knife of World War II Vehicles

As warfare modernized, the aspect of the WWII Jeep that made it the most versatile general-purpose vehicle came from its design. The Jeep was designed to complete a multitude of tasks adequately rather than one task to perfection. This meant that the vehicle could adapt to the needs of whatever situation soldiers found themselves in.

Depending on the environment, the Jeep served as an ambulance that could race stretchers of wounded men back from the frontlines quickly, or it could be outfitted with the M1919A4 mounted machine gun. The WWII Jeep was essentially a blank canvas that was ready to answer the call at a moment’s notice.

The compact design and light weight not only allowed it to navigate brutal terrains, but it also meant that Jeeps could be brought to the fight in ways that no other vehicle could. For operations behind enemy lines, the Waco CG-4A glider was designed to carry one fully assembled Jeep and land silently in field locations to give airborne troops immediate mobility. However, most of the Jeeps made it to their destination on more conventional cargo planes and ships.

Further setting itself apart from other general-purpose vehicles, the Jeep was designed to be easy to repair. When Allied Forces relied on vehicle support, the ability to get Jeeps back into the fight was a top design requirement. Making the engines easily serviceable and all the parts interchangeable between the Willys MB and Ford GPW led to many damaged Jeeps becoming Frankenstein vehicles back at the motor pools.

The Jeep in the Pacific and European Theaters of War

Following the Normandy landings in 1944, the Jeep was used to support a fast-moving operation utilizing Europe’s extensive network of roads and farm tracks. Its four-wheel drive capabilities made it the perfect vehicle for officers and reconnaissance teams to use in order to keep up with the high intensity of the campaign even when encountering uneven terrain. Serving as a messenger vehicle and radio command platform, the Jeep allowed Allied Forces to coordinate their attacks across great distances more efficiently.

Showing off its versatility, the harsh terrains of the Pacific Theater pushed the Jeep to its limits. As American forces island hopped their way around the Pacific, Jeeps were required to maintain effectiveness while driving over soft sandy beaches and harsh jungle terrains. Some of their duties included transporting ammunition and wounded soldiers to and from the front, as well as supporting aviation operations on captured airfields.

The requirements of each theater were drastically different, but the one design was able to provide value equally. From the highly coordinated, fast-moving operations spanning hundreds of miles in Europe, to the more hostile nature of the remote Pacific Islands, the Jeep ensured that wherever the enemy tried to hide, the Allied Forces could reach them.

General Eisenhower and the Machine That Won the War

Upon reflection of the American victory during WWII, General Dwight D. Eisenhower claimed that the war was won with four crucial pieces of equipment, “the atomic bomb, the bazooka, the Jeep, and the C-47.” The Supreme Allied Commander included the Jeep in the list because it enabled reconnaissance and communications through its ability to move quickly across any terrain. Including this seemingly simple vehicle alongside aircraft and the atomic bomb shows just how important mobility was to the men on the ground.

While the Jeep did not win battles through firepower like many other American military innovations at the time, it solved a problem crucial to the success of any modern army. It answered the issue of frontline logistics in a way that no other vehicle at the time could come close to. Throughout military history, wars are never won by superior fire and manpower alone, but logistics was especially important during World War II as allied commanders coordinated millions of soldiers across multiple countries.

The Enduring Legacy of the Jeep

By the end of WWII, most of the soldiers serving overseas had ridden in or at a minimum seen firsthand the off-road capability and durability of the small ¼ ton vehicle. Unlike large military trucks and armored vehicles, the Jeep could return home and have practical civilian applications. As the demand for military Jeeps slowed, Willys-Overland introduced the “Civilian Jeep” to the market, and the legacy was born.

Marketing the civilian models to rural areas and farmers, Willys built a reputation for having a vehicle that could do it all. Having survived the gauntlet of testing in both theaters of World War II, the back roads of the United States were no match for the Jeep. To this day, the Jeep is marketed as a symbol of American ruggedness and freedom, and elements of the original design have stood the test of time.

The Jeep’s legacy endures far beyond the United States, and its boxy shape is believed to have inspired the iconic Land Rover and Range Rover in England. Later Jeep models combined its all-terrain abilities with passenger comfort, inspiring the creation of SUVs (sports utility vehicles) that dominate the modern automotive market.

Portland, Maine, has seen its share of protests. As a political center of the state, it is no stranger to controversy and sometimes, spirited arguments. However, this is not a new phenomenon, as marked by the 1855 Portland Rum Riot. In June of that year, a mob gathered, angered by the actions of their mayor, who also happened to be the father of US Prohibition law. Simmering outrage soon escalated to a deadly clash between the city government and its people, fueled by Nativist sentiment and economic inequality.

Neal Dow and the Rise of Maine Law

The son of Quakers, Neal Dow was a Mainer, born and raised. Surrounded by hard-living and hard-working people from an early age, Dow noticed that alcohol seemed to pervade Maine society. His observations were not unusual for the time. In the early part of the 19th century (Dow was born in 1804), alcohol use and abuse were widespread throughout America, with the average adult over 14 consuming over 6 gallons of alcoholic beverages a year (the modern average is 2.8). Following his father’s example, young Neal joined temperance organizations, and this activism soon led him into politics. Promoting Whig policies of morality and reform, Dow’s political star continued to rise, carrying him to the office of mayor of Portland, Maine’s largest city, in 1851.

Dow remained committed to the cause of temperance, leading to the passing of the 1851 “Maine Law,” the first significant Prohibition legislation in the nation. It forbade the traffic of beverage alcohol and allowed for easily obtained search warrants for enforcement. Within four years, most states in the Northeast and Midwest had followed suit with similar laws. In 1855, having found enforcement difficult, Dow championed another law, which passed, strengthening the first and introducing imprisonment for first-time offenders. 

Tensions Build Between Reformers and Immigrant Workers

Despite the benefits touted by temperance supporters, Prohibition unfairly targeted immigrants and working-class people in Portland and beyond. Anti-immigrant organizations often teamed up with alcohol reformers. Bars in working-class neighborhoods were often singled out by politicians and law enforcement, and forerunners to organizations like the Ku Klux Klan used anti-alcohol sentiment as a “cover,” targeting those that they perceived to be their enemies under the guise of targeting drinkers. In a time of growing Nativist ideas, Prohibition only added to troubling social tension. 

The Secret Shipment of Municipal Alcohol

Though “beverage alcohol” was prohibited, alcohol for “medicinal and mechanical purposes” was allowed to be purchased by municipal liquor agents under the Maine Law. In 1855, Neal Dow made a mistake, violating his own law: he ordered a supply of alcohol from a wholesaler before city officials appointed a liquor agent who would legally be able to do so. A political opponent within the city government soon spread the news of the mayor’s misstep far and wide, painting him as a hypocrite. 

The Standoff at the City Vault

After the press spread the news of Dow’s law violation, angry citizens gathered to protest their mayor. On the afternoon of June 2, 1855, a crowd, small at first, began amassing outside of Portland’s City Hall. The crowd grew as the hours passed, both in size and unruliness. It is estimated that the mob measured 1500-2500 at its peak, and Dow recruited police officers to stand guard at City Hall, where the alcohol was stored. Two militias were also called into muster at the armory, ready to reinforce the police if needed. 

Deadly Violence and the Political Fallout for Neal Dow

Tension only increased as the day passed into evening, and soon, some members of the mob began to lash out. Rocks and bricks were thrown at the building, and the militia arrived to read the official riot act. Objects continued to be hurled, hitting some of the soldiers and officers. An angered Dow ordered the militiamen to fire and disperse the crowd. At first, the militia captain refused the order, arguing instead that perhaps non-lethal measures should be taken first. Unfortunately, the violence escalated anyway, and the crowd breached City Hall. Police officers fired several volleys, killing the first man who entered the room where the liquor was held—sailor John Robbins. Firing continued, and several others were injured. 

Dow’s image and career were targeted in the aftermath of the 1855 Portland Rum Riot, with blame falling on the mayor for the entire fracas as a result of his overzealous enforcement of Prohibition. He went on trial, but was acquitted. The following year, the Maine legislature repealed the 1855 strengthening of the Maine Law and passed a licensing measure that increased alcohol accessibility. Many other states followed suit. Though Prohibition in Maine remained in effect until it was repealed by the Constitution in 1934, enforcement was minimal after this time. The Father of Prohibition, Neal Dow, stuck to his values and remained a temperance activist until his death at 93.

The era commonly known as the Wild West lasted a short while, from about 1865-1890 – the end of the American Civil War to the general end of the westward expansion of the railroads. In Tombstone, Arizona, conflicts emerged between rival factions: Wyatt Earp and his brothers and friends versus the Cochise County Cowboys, a group of cattle rustlers stirring up trouble. The two sides represented common issues in the Old West: townspeople trying to run their businesses, while rural people wanted a freer lifestyle. Neither side was entirely within the law, but the Cowboys were definitely outlaws, stealing cattle and raiding stagecoaches.

30 Seconds, 30 Shots: The Real Story Behind the OK Corral Shootout

In October 1881, the situation came to a head, and it led to the first major conflict. The Earp brothers, Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan, and their friend Doc Holliday sought to enforce a gun ban in the town on a group of Cowboys. At the lot next to C.S. Fly’s photography studio (not the actual OK Corral, which was nearby), the Earps approached a group of Cowboys. The Earps claim the Cowboys drew their weapons instead of turning them over, resulting in a shootout. In 30 seconds, 30 shots were fired, and three of the Cowboys were killed. It only exacerbated the feud between the two factions. The gunfight was the beginning of the violence between the groups, which lasted for about six months.

How Wyatt Earp and Hollywood Built the Ultimate Wild West Legend

The person most responsible for the popularity of the gunfight may be Wyatt Earp himself.  Concerned about his reputation, he pressed for his (sanitized) story to be told from his perspective. In 1931, two years after Wyatt Earp’s death, the book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal was published by Stuart Lake (an authorized, poorly written biography by John Flood, Earp’s personal secretary, was never published). 

The account popularized the gunfight, and the popularity grew as it was made into several movies and television shows. Frontier Marshal presented Wyatt Earp as heroic and noble, a view that has carried on for decades and appears in various films ever since. While Wyatt Earp may have exaggerated his moral character, he was part of several major events that occurred within a few years of the gunfight and are reasonably well documented.

Why Hollywood Westerns Outlasted the Real Wild West Era

The brevity of the gunfight – a mere 30 seconds – and the ensuing romanticization of the incident (promoted by Wyatt Earp himself) – serve as a microcosm of the entire Wild West period. The period of the Old West was brief, rapid, and more legendary than fact. While outlaw incidents certainly were abundant, most people in the Old West were common folk simply trying to make a new life for themselves in a new environment.  

What we see in movies and other popular media tends to be either oversimplified or exaggerated experiences made for entertainment. Interestingly, the time period when westerns were most popular lasted longer than the Old West itself. Beginning with the Great Train Robbery in 1910 and ending with John Wayne’s final movie, The Shootist in 1976, the era of the Western lasted over 50 years… and the era of the Old West did not even reach 40 years.

And Tombstone, Arizona?  During its boom years in the 1880s, 7,000 people lived in the town.  Now, under 2,000 reside there, and it exists primarily as a tourist destination, preserving an important part of the history of the Wild West.

In the postwar years, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game found itself in crisis with its wild beaver population. In 1948, as human development spread, suburban beavers became problematic. The friction between the citizens and beavers living side-by-side reached a breaking point, and state officials found they had no choice but to step in. Hoping for a non-lethal option but facing roadblocks, conservationists got creative, moving beavers in a measure that proved effective and reshaped the local ecosystem.

Postwar Expansion Triggered Human-Beaver Conflict in McCall

Idaho in the late 1940s, like many other parts of America, was experiencing major expansion with the conclusion of World War II just a few years earlier. New homes were springing up in the town of McCall, Idaho, particularly around the shores of Payette Lake. The catch? The lakefront was already home to some furry residents–-beavers. Unfortunately, the new human residents didn’t get along with their neighbors.

Locals and beavers clashed when the large rodents, their large teeth, and creative damming caused issues with orchards, irrigation systems, farms, and water systems. Idaho’s Fish & Game Department was soon recruited to step in and address the turmoil.

Mule Transport Failures Forced a Creative Aerial Solution

The Fish and Game Department’s solution seemed simple: relocate the beavers. Unlike some other species, beavers had thrived in past relocation efforts and even demonstrated benefits in their new homes, including reduced risks of flash floods and erosion. The Department’s scientists favored a non-lethal approach, as conservationists and wildlife agencies had come to recognize the essential role beavers play in the American landscape. 

An area of the Idaho backcountry was selected to serve as the beavers’ new home. However, selecting the area was the easy part. The challenge was getting the rodents there. The area was too rugged for even trucks to access. The use of pack mules was considered, as it had been done before. However, transporting beavers by mule or horse had its own dilemmas. The water-bound creatures struggled in direct sunlight, and heat exhaustion often claimed their lives on the trip. The stress of the journey could cause the beavers to lash out at their handlers or refuse to eat. The mules and horses were not big fans of the ordeal, either. Elmo Heter, an employee of the Department of Fish and Game, proposed a creative solution: carry the critters by plane. 

WWII Surplus Parachutes and Wooden Crates Saved the Mission

With a team of fellow Fish and Game scientists, Heter set to work designing the vessel that would safely transport the beavers to their new home. The team settled on a wooden box, designed with rubber fasteners that remained locked in midair but released to open the container once it hit the ground. The devices would be dropped from planes midair, fitted with surplus World War II parachutes. 

The boxes were tested with dummy weights, then with a live test subject, an elderly male beaver dubbed “Geronimo” by the team. Geronimo survived multiple trial runs and was later one of the first beavers released in their new home. 

The Aerial Drop Reshaped the Chamberlain Basin Ecosystem

76 beavers were dropped from the planes, and 75 survived to establish a new population in the Chamberlain Basin backcountry. One subject perished after suffering a fall upon exiting his box. Within two weeks of the drops, scientists were already seeing signs of beaver impacts on the area, including dam-building. 

Due to the success and stability of present-day populations, the Department of Fish and Game does not currently keep population counts, and it is unknown whether modern beavers may be descendants of the flying 1948 travelers. However, the experiment and relocation were considered “wildly successful.”

The US state of Hawaii is one of the few states to have been an independent country before joining the union, and one of only two states whose national flag as an internationally recognized independent republic became its official state flag, alongside Texas. The flag includes a British Union Jack prominently displayed in the top left corner. It was created during the War of 1812 to show that Hawaii was still friends with both the US and Britain.

Hawaii’s First Contact With Europe

In January 1778, British Captain James Cook landed in Hawaii, becoming the first documented European to set foot on the islands. Captain Cook named the Hawaiian archipelago the Sandwich Islands after his patron, the Earl of Sandwich. Cook’s arrival was met with curiosity from the natives regarding not only these strange new people but also their massive ships and metal tools. There are conflicting accounts that Cook was welcomed by the Hawaiians as a returning god, and while this is debated, it is known that he was received with reverence and ceremonies.

During Cook’s second visit in 1779, tensions between the British and the natives began to rise, with many accounts of natives stealing from the European ships. When Cook finally left, they were quickly forced to return to the islands due to a storm. This further increased the tension and confusion among the natives.

As the British waited out the storm, some of the natives stole a small boat from the fleet, leading Cook to go to shore to retrieve it. Events did not go to plan for Cook as violence broke out and he was killed at the age of 50 by the Hawaiians.

Although Cook was dead, the Old World now knew about these Sandwich Islands. Hawaii sat almost perfectly in the middle of trade routes that connected China and North America, making it an effective spot for resupply. Furthermore, Hawaii had the correct climate for high-demand crops, such as sugar, bananas, and pineapples, making it an important agricultural exporter throughout its history.

The main export during this era that changed the Hawaiian economy was lumber from the sandalwood tree. Chinese merchants in Canton paid high prices for the wood as it was of high quality for creating incense and furniture.

By the 1830s, the Hawaiian sandalwood forests were heavily exhausted. In exchange for their wood, Hawaiians could satisfy their newfound demand for cloth, metal tools, weapons, iron, and luxury goods like mirrors or alcohol. Of course, like many other stories of first contact, the Hawaiians also received the Old World diseases that ran rampant among their unaccustomed immune systems and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Other Players

Britain was the first Western power to discover Hawaii, so it is not surprising that it became the Hawaiians’ first point of contact with the broader world. While the episode with Captain Cook ended poorly, the British enjoyed relatively strong relations with the Hawaiians, especially after they helped Kamehameha unite the islands into a single kingdom.

As might be expected, the Americans began operating in the region almost immediately after the British. Hawaii was off its soon-to-be coast, and many Americans were heavily involved in trade with China, making Hawaii a prominent region for American business interests in Asia. And while the British may have been first and closest with the Hawaiians, the Americans still gained a prominent position quickly on the islands.

Russia had a brief presence in the region when a Russian company agent, Georg Anton Schäffer, constructed forts on one of the islands in 1815. Schäffer acted outside of the authority Russia had given him, and when St. Petersburg refused to support his venture, he left the islands in 1817. France even had a presence in Hawaii beginning in the 1820s. Their presence was largely centered around Catholic missionary work, although there still were French economic interests in the region.

A Friend in Britain

Captain George Vancouver made three voyages to Hawaii in 1792, 1793, and 1794. Vancouver sought to strengthen the British position with Kamehameha, the most prominent chief at the time, who would first unite the Hawaiian Islands. Vancouver brought Kamehameha gifts; famously, he introduced sheep and cattle to the islands, which led to the Hawaiian cowboy culture, known as the paniolo tradition. He also provided Kamehameha with military counsel and even brought over craftsmen who built the Hawaiians a small Western-style ship, which Kamehameha named the Britannia. 

In 1794, one of the more confusing and academically debated episodes occurred in Hawaiian history. Kamehameha and the chiefs of the Big Island ceded the island to King George III. When Vancouver made his report to the empire about the cession, Britain did not seem interested in annexing the island or making it a protectorate, and did not ratify the treaty, resulting in little change in the relationships of the two island nations.

It is debated what Kamehameha hoped to achieve with this move, as he was a highly competent political actor with large ambitions. It would not make sense for him to simply give his territory away.

An important cultural link between the British and Kamehameha came from the sailor John Young. Young served on the Eleanora, which engaged in combat with Hawaiian sailors and civilians. Young was taken prisoner and given the option to serve Kamehameha and integrate into Hawaiian society.

The sailor took the offer and learned to speak Hawaiian fluently, married a high-ranking native wife, and was granted positions of political power; a notable feat for a foreigner. His position came from his service to Kamehameha through his technical expertise with firearms and artillery, which allowed the chief to conquer and unite the archipelago in 1810. Young also served as a point of contact for Western merchants and facilitated weapons sales along with other trade.

There was another sailor who had a similar position to Young, Isaac Davis; however, Davis was likely poisoned in 1810 while defending Kamehameha from rival chiefs. So, Davis wasn’t able to have as long a political legacy as Young, who lived till 1835.

The Creation of the Flag

During Captain Vancouver’s last trip to the islands in 1794, he gave Kamehameha a British flag which contained the Union Jack. Kamehameha, now on friendly terms with the British, flew this flag on ships, at his court, and even in his own palace. While it may have been strange for an independent country to fly the flag of another country, it didn’t become a substantial issue until 1812. The War of 1812 broke out between America and Britain, which complicated things for Hawaii since the Americans also had a strong presence in the country.

American sailors were understandably unhappy docking and conducting trade under the flag of the country they were at war with. Kamehameha wanted to remain neutral in the conflict and maintain good relations with both nations. So, a solution came with the modern Hawaiian flag, which has eight stripes, symbolizing the eight major islands while also adopting a similar pattern to the American flag. The Union Jack in the top left corner played multiple roles: first, it reassured Britain of Hawaii’s commitment to their friendly relations while also signaling to other powers that the Hawaiians had powerful friends. In the era of colonialism, Kamehameha knew his country was at risk; history would prove him correct.

Who actually designed the flag is uncertain, with some historians claiming it was Alexander Adams, a Scottish captain and ally of Kamehameha. Others claim it was created through joint negotiations between Kamehameha, his court, including John Young, and the British. It is also unclear when the flag was first formally in use, with accounts ranging from 1812 to 1816. Furthermore, there were different variations of the Hawaiian flag, and the official version we know today wasn’t adopted until 1845.

So, despite the Union Jack in the Hawaiian flag, Britain never controlled the islands, at least not up until the point of the flag’s adoption.

The Paulet Affair

In February 1843, Lord George Paulet, captain of the British warship Carysfort, arrived in Honolulu to investigate complaints of mistreatment of British subjects by the Hawaiian government. Paulet made a list of unreasonable demands to Kamehameha III, the then-ruler of Hawaii. The captain threatened to bombard Honolulu if these demands were not met, giving Kamehameha III little opportunity to speak to Britain.

Kamehameha III had no weapons capable of fighting Paulet’s warship, so he agreed to Paulet’s requests, though under official protest. For the next few months, Paulet raised the British flag over the country and ruled as de facto governor.

The issue was resolved in July 1843, when Rear Admiral Richard Thomas, commander of British Pacific naval forces, arrived in Hawaii and deemed Paulet’s actions unauthorized and against British policy. In that same month, Thomas restored Hawaiian sovereignty to the islands and was celebrated by Kamehameha III. July 31 also became a Hawaiian holiday, known as Sovereignty Restoration Day. Later that same year, Britain and France jointly recognized Hawaiian sovereignty, with the US following suit.

Old Friends

While the Paulet affair ended positively between the two nations, the British began to drift away from Hawaii. American Protestant missionaries and immigrants had become increasingly influential in Hawaiian politics and society. Hawaii left its old religion and its kapu and human sacrifice for mana and embraced Christianity. Furthermore, American business interests were what invested in the next big Hawaiian industries after the sandalwood was depleted, those being whaling and sugar cultivation.

American-Hawaiian relations further increased with the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, which allowed Hawaii to export sugar to America duty-free. Furthermore, the 1887 renewal treaty made Pearl Harbor an American naval base. By this time, the Union Jack that sat proudly in the corner of the Hawaiian flag seemed to mean little as Hawaii was falling more and more under the influence of Washington.

With America as the most prominent power on the island, it wasn’t long before powerful people began calling for American annexation; in fact, many had been calling for it since the 1850s. In 1887, in what is known as the Bayonet Constitution, wealthy American and Western landowners presented a new constitution for the then monarch, Kalakaua, to sign under threat of violence. This new constitution gave the cabinet, which was largely made up of Western landowners, independence from royal authority and greatly weakened the powers of the monarch.

Kalakaua died in 1891 and was succeeded by his sister Liliuokalani. Queen Liliuokalani sought to undo the constitution and restore royal authority. The planter class opted for a full-scale coup, and the American minister to Hawaii, John Stevens, ordered 162 US Marines from the USS Boston to land.

On January 17, 1893, the landowners proclaimed an overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the creation of a provisional government. The Republic of Hawaii sought annexation into the United States, and while there was debate in Congress about the topic, the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 convinced the country that having a strong presence in the Pacific would be useful. So, in July 1898, Congress passed the Newlands Resolution, which annexed Hawaii as a territory of the United States.

It wouldn’t be until over 60 years later, in 1959, that Hawaii received full statehood, making it the 50th and youngest state in the union.

In the few years preceding the American Civil War, and continuing throughout it, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was instrumental in providing the Union with intelligence. One of its most important agents was the first woman detective, Kate Warne.

How Kate Warne Cracked a $2M Heist—and Sparked America’s First Female Detective Bureau

When Allan Pinkerton opened his detective agency in 1850, he began a search for meticulous individuals with high moral character, as bribery was a common problem with police. In 1856, 23-year-old Kate Warne walked into his office, responding to an ad in the newspaper. She convinced Pinkerton of her usefulness as a detective, arguing that a woman could obtain information in ways men could not. She soon proved her value.

Kate’s first big case was in the investigation into the Adams Express Company Embezzlements. An expressman, Nathan Maroney, had embezzled $50,000 (over $2 million in modern funds) from Adams, and Warne was able to befriend his wife and gain evidence to convict Maroney. Her success led Pinkerton to create a new division, the Female Detective Bureau, with Warne in charge.

Infiltrating Southern High Society to Stop the Baltimore Assassination Plot

When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, he was determined to take a train tour on the way to his inauguration on March 4, 1861. One of the planned stops was in Baltimore, Maryland, a hotbed of opposition to Lincoln. Warne, disguised as a Southern belle, was able to work her way into the good graces of Southern society and obtain information that an attempt on Lincoln’s life was probable and imminent.

Lincoln traveled disguised as an invalid on a train trip through Maryland, accompanied by both Pinkerton and Warne. Warne was disguised as Lincoln’s caretaker and sister, and may have spent that night awake – possibly inspiring Pinkerton’s slogan, “We Never Sleep.”

Kate was heavily involved in intelligence gathering for the Union during the Civil War, continuing her infiltration of Confederate social circles. She and Pinkerton often traveled together, posing as husband and wife.

Murder, Fortune-Telling, and Undercover Heists: Kate Warne’s Wildest Post-War Cases

Kate continued her detective work following the Civil War, serving as Supervisor of Women Agents and working various cases. She once again went undercover to gain the confidence of a suspect’s wife, obtaining evidence for a murder and theft of over $130,000 (about $5 million in today’s currency). She also went undercover in a large, dramatic role as a famous fortune teller to draw out a possible poisoner, a story told in Allan Pinkerton’s book The Murderer and the Fortune Teller. While much of the story is likely exaggerated and may have even taken place before the Civil War (Pinkerton was a notorious self-promoter), Kate’s exploits as a detective were generally true.

The Tragic Death and Vanishing Legacy of America’s First Female Detective

Kate did not live long after the Civil War ended. She died in early 1868 of pneumonia at the age of 25. She is buried near Allan Pinkerton, who held her in high regard and provided a burial plot for many of his agents, often called “operatives.”

Outside of the several sensational novels written by Pinkerton, not much more is known about Kate Warne and the exploits of her short life. No known photographs exist of her, just a single painting. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed most of the early records of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, erasing much of the company’s early work from the historical record.

Mary Chesnut, a wealthy plantation wife in South Carolina, began her diary around the time her state seceded from the Union. Over the subsequent years, through major Civil War battles and the eventual collapse of the Confederacy, Chesnut diligently wrote down what she saw and what she felt. Her diary, a rare surviving first-hand account from a Southern civilian, reflects Southern attitudes and the odd juxtaposition of daily life in the South—elaborate meals, courtship rituals, and social calls with friends—continuing against a backdrop of a devastating war.

A View From the Top

“These memories… may at some future day afford facts about these times and prove useful to more important people than I am. I do not wish to do any harm or to hurt any one. If any scandalous stories creep in they can easily be burned… Now that I have made my protest and written down my wishes, I can scribble on with a free will and free conscience.” – March 10, 1862

From the moment of her birth in 1823, Mary Boykin Chesnut belonged to the upper echelons of Southern slaveholder society. Her father, Stephen Decatur Miller, was a prominent South Carolina statesman who served as governor and then as a US Senator. Her early childhood was spent in fashionable Charleston, amongst its columned mansions, ornate carriages, and palmetto trees. There, Mary received the education of a proper southern lady, with the associated manners and fine dress. But she also spent much of her youth in Mississippi, on a family plantation filled with cotton and hundreds of enslaved peoples, forced to pick the cash crop in the humid Mississippi climate. Reportedly, Mary much preferred Charleston.

In 1840, at the age of 17, she married James Chesnut, another prominent member of South Carolina’s elite class. Throughout their marriage, she and James spent much of their time at his family’s plantation, called Mulberry, near Camden. There, hundreds of enslaved people toiled to generate wealth and a life of ease for the Chesnuts, whose fortune, like so many other wealthy plantation owners, was based in the cotton trade.

In 1858, James Chesnut was elected to the US Senate. But just two years later, after Abraham Lincoln won the presidency, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union, and James the first southerner to resign his seat in Congress. Back to South Carolina he and Mary went, where they joined the social circles of an emerging Confederate leadership. James Chesnut soon became an aide to the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis. And around this time, Mary Chesnut picked up her pen and began writing a diary.

Mary’s diary, spanning the length of the Civil War, is a rare account from the perspective of someone who witnessed many of its key events. She was there when Jefferson Davis was sworn in as the President of the Confederacy on the marble steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. She was in Charleston during the standoff at Fort Sumter, the event that officially launched the Civil War. She moved through the social circles of the Confederacy’s most powerful, heard news and gossip related to battle movements, political appointments, and the quarreling amongst generals. Politicians and military leaders would sit next to her at dinner parties, lean in to divulge the latest happenings, or bestow on her their expert opinions.

Her husband wrote Mary letters from the front, detailing army conditions, along with the political maneuverings of the president’s cabinet. Mary also drank tea, attended balls, and took walks with other Confederate women. Together, they grieved husbands and sons killed or wounded in battle, they tended to soldiers in hospitals, they derided crass Yankees, and tried to make sense of the South’s eventual loss. Mary wrote about it all, in vivid detail and with sometimes acid-tongue observations about those around her. She could be brutally self-deprecating but also unflinching in her expectations of others.

Mary’s diary, initially published under the title A Diary from Dixie, reflects how Southerners viewed themselves and the war, its causes, its meaning, and its aftermath. It is a historical record that illuminates how Southern women in general participated in the Civil War, and how one woman in particular felt about it all. In her diary, Mary expresses conflicting emotions about the institution of slavery, all the while benefiting enormously from it. She often scorns the foolhardiness of secession and the petty grievances of the Confederate government, while revering the bravery of its soldiers. She loathes the war but ardently defends her romantic image of the South’s way of life. A general sense of dread permeates her entries, an awareness that the South has crossed some rubicon by separating from the North. And as the diary goes on, that vague dread morphs into a slow-burning, dire realization that the South is going to lose.

In the years after the war, Mary made edits and changes to the diary with the intention of eventually publishing it. She seems to have had a sense of its importance. It is impossible to say how much she edited or rewrote after the fact, with the gift of hindsight illuminating which events were important and which individuals mattered more than others. The diary was eventually published in 1905, nearly twenty years after Mary’s death. Subsequent versions have been published, but the excerpts in this exploration are taken from the original 1905 text.

The Beginning: Bombardment of Fort Sumter

The first shots of the Civil War occurred in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. Fort Sumter, located at the harbor’s entrance, was occupied by a US Army garrison led by Major Robert Anderson. For months, leaders in South Carolina had demanded that US troops evacuate the fort. South Carolina had seceded from the Union, and so they saw the federal troop presence as a threat to their sovereignty. On Thursday, April 11, Mary’s husband, James Chesnut, was among the aides sent by Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard to Fort Sumter to demand Anderson’s surrender. When Anderson refused, Chesnut ordered the state’s militia to fire on the fort. Mary was there and captured the mood of the moment:

“I do not pretend to go to sleep. How can I? If Anderson does not accept terms at four, the orders are, he shall be fired upon. I count four, St. Michael’s bells chime out and I begin to hope. At half-past four the heavy booming of a cannon. I sprang out of bed, and on my knees prostrate I prayed as I never prayed before.”

Over a 34-hour period, Confederate troops shot some 3,000 rounds of ammunition at the fort, which ultimately caught fire. Major Anderson and his troops were completely cut off from any kind of support or supplies from the rest of the Union Army. He had no choice but to surrender. The firing on Fort Sumter was viewed by both sides as the official start to a long-brewing war.

Many in the South greeted the news of war with elation. There was a widely shared sense that at last the South had a chance to stand up for itself. They viewed the war as a freedom struggle over Southern identity, and the right to continue the institution of slavery, on which so much of Southern culture and identity was built.

James Chesnut’s involvement in the war soon brought Mary to Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. There, she watched soldiers train and prepare for battle.

“Noise of drums, tramp of marching regiments all day long; rattling of artillery wagons, bands of music, friends from every quarter coming in. We ought to be miserable and anxious, and yet these are pleasant days. Perhaps we are unnaturally exhilarated and excited.”

However, not everyone was jubilant or certain of Southern success.

“At Mrs. Toombs’ reception Mr. Stephens (Vice President of the Confederacy) came by me…. Today he was not cheerful in his views. I called him half-hearted, and accused him of looking back… He was deeply interesting, and he gave me some new ideas as to our dangerous situation. Fears for the future and not exultation at our successes pervade his discourse.”

The more somber and retrospective voices often included Mary herself, who sometimes discussed the war with exhilaration, sometimes with dread and an understanding that its ugly, devastating effects had yet to be taken into account.

“The war is making us all tenderly sentimental. No casualties yet, no real mourning, nobody hurt. So it is all parade, fife, and fine feathers… There is no imagination here to forestall woe, and only the excitement and wild awakening from everyday stagnant life are felt. That is, when one gets away from the two or three sensible men who are still left in the world.”

Keeping Up With the Davises

Mary’s diary often reads like a who’s who of Confederate society. In a culture and time when women were viewed as solely domestic creatures, a perhaps surprising number of men confided their thoughts and opinions to her, and seemed to take interest in her point of view.

As did Confederate women. Mary was particularly close with Varina Davis, the Confederacy’s First Lady. Throughout the war, the two exchanged letters, and Mary was there to comfort Varina when her young son died in a freak domestic accident. Mary’s husband was also a close friend of President Jefferson Davis. Such circumstances made Mary very loyal to the couple, unable to abide any nuance or criticism when it came to the couple.

“In Columbia I do not know a half-dozen men who would not gaily step into Jeff Davis’s shoes with a firm conviction that they would do better in every respect than he does. The monstrous conceit, the fatuous ignorance of these critics!”

Mary recounts a conversation she had with a gentleman who “profoundly” abused President Davis:

“I contented myself with a mild shake of the head when I disagreed with him, and at last I began to shake so persistently it amounted to incipient palsy. ‘Jeff Davis’, he said, ‘is conceited, wrong-headed, wranglesome, obstinate – a traitor.’ ‘Now I have borne much in silence,’ said I at last, ‘but that is pernicious nonsense.’”

Several times in her diary, Mary records direct interactions she has with Davis, describing a downtrodden and somewhat reluctant leader, filled with both affection and apprehension for the South.

“Nobody knows so well as he the difficulties which beset this hard-driven Confederacy. He has a voice which is perfectly modulated, a comfort in this loud and rough soldier world. I think there is a melancholy cadence in his voice at times, of which he is unconscious when he talks of things as they are now.”

On the South’s “Peculiar Institution”

Early in her diary, Mary recounts an upsetting scene she witnesses in the street: a young woman being sold in a slave auction.

“I have seen a negro woman sold on the block at auction. She overtopped the crowd. I was walking and felt faint, seasick. The creature looked so like my good little Nancy, a bright mulatto with a pleasant face… I dare say the poor thing knew who would buy her. I sat down on a stool in a shop and disciplined my wild thoughts.”

Mary is clearly agonized by this scene, but when she mentions slavery in later entries, she describes it almost as a polite relationship between superior and inferior beings; an act of charity, in her framing, to provide food, shelter, and work to those who would otherwise starve or perish, she assumes. In her world, slaves are property, and to free them is to attack the livelihood, and even culture, of her community. To Mary and others in the slaveholder class, there is no doubt about why they are fighting this war—to maintain the South’s right to enslave Africans and Black Americans.

“I have excellent servants; no matter for their shortcomings behind my back… They must know what is at hand if Sherman is not hindered from coming here – “Freedom! My masters!” But these sphinxes give no sign, unless it be increased diligence and absolute silence, as certain in their action and as noiseless as a law of nature, at any rate when we are in the house.”

Changing Attitudes About the War

As the war drags on, Mary’s diary begins to reflect a shift in the mood. Initial elation and confidence dissolve into worry, agony, and blame.

“The Confederacy has been done to death by the politicians. What wonder we are lost. … Statesmen as busy as bees about their own places, or their personal honor, too busy to see the enemy at a distance … forgetting the interests of the people they represented.”

There’s a growing concern for specific details, like how to feed prisoners of war. On June 28, 1862, Mary wrote about Confederate success at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill in Virginia:

“Victory! Victory heads every telegram now; one reads it on the bulletin-board…The enemy went off so quickly, I wonder if it was not a trap laid for us, to lead us away from Richmond, to some place where they can manage to do us more harm. And now comes the list of killed and wounded. Victory does not seem to soothe sore hearts. Mrs. Haskell has five sons before the enemy’s illimitable cannon. Mrs. Preston two. McClellan (a Union general) is routed and we have twelve thousand prisoners. Prisoners! My God! And what are we to do with them? We can’t feed our own people.

The admiration Mary has for the Confederate army, and specifically its young soldiers, eventually takes on a tragic tone as more and more of them perish, and the cause they died for seems lost.

“When I remember all the true-hearted, the lighthearted, the gay and gallant boys who have come laughing, singing, and dancing in my way in the three years now past; how I have looked into their brave young eyes and helped them as I could in every way and then saw them no more forever; how they lie stark and cold, dead upon the battle-field, or moldering away in hospitals or prisons, which is worse … Is anything worth it – this fearful sacrifice, this awful penalty we pay for war?

A Mirror to Southern Life

Mary’s writing is not just a record of the Civil War, but a description of Southern identity and life at a specific point in time. Her entries reveal how the South’s elite spent their free hours on their plantations and in the cities—a varied, colorful, pleasant life, even against the backdrop of war. In one of her entries, Mary describes at length the social varieties of the South’s different cities:

“Columbia is the place for good living, pleasant people, pleasant dinners, pleasant drives. I feel that I have put the dinners in the wrong place. They are the climax of the good things here … In Washington, there was an endless succession of state dinners. I was kindly used. I do not remember ever being condemned to two dull neighbors: on one side or the other was a clever man; so I liked Washington dinners. In Montgomery, there were a few dinners – Mrs. Pollard’s, for instance, but the society was not smoothed down or in shape. Such as it was it was given over to balls and suppers. In Charleston, Mr. Chesnut went to gentlemen’s dinners all the time; no ladies present … Here in Columbia, family dinners are the specialty … The planters live “within themselves,” as they call it. From the plantations come mutton, beef, poultry, cream, butter, eggs, fruits, and vegetables.”

It is a world filled with plenty—with hardly a recognition of the slave labor that makes it all possible. In Mary’s world, each person has their proper role, which is particularly true when it comes to expectations of women. While so much of Mary’s writing is focused on the actions of men, the snippets of conversation she reveals with other women show a complex social web of mutual support, and sometimes mutual judgment. Women were primarily prized as nurturers; their role in the war was to serve as nurses, to knit clothes for soldiers, and to provide a fountain of encouragement to the men. And of course, to have children. Mary never had any children herself, and her sense of failure for that fact is hinted at on occasion.

“I did Mrs. Blank a kindness. I told the women when her name came up that she was childless now, but that she had lost three children. I hated to leave her all alone. Women have such a contempt for a childless wife. Now, they will be all sympathy and goodness. I took away her “reproach among women.”

The more light-hearted, even funny, entries in Mary’s diary involve descriptions of courtships between the young people in her life. It is a testament to the oddness of the times—young men and women continue to flirt and fall in love, despite the ever-looming threat of death, disease, poverty, etc.

“Isabella says that war leads to love-making. She says these soldiers do more courting here in a day than they would do at home, without a war, in ten years … The amount of courting we hear in these small rooms. Men have to go to the front, and they say their say desperately. I am beginning to know all about it. The girls tell me. And I overhear – I can not help it. But this style is unique, is it not? ‘Since I saw you – last year – standing by the turnpike gate, you know – my battle-cry has been: ‘God, my country, and you!’

Defeat at Last, and Its Aftermath

On September 2, 1864, Mary wrote the following:

The battle has been raging at Atlanta, and our fate hanging in the balance. Atlanta, indeed, is gone. Well, that agony is over… No hope; we will try to have no fear.”

Mary’s realization that the South was most likely going to lose the war is seemingly followed by a forced acceptance and a desire to move on. But the Civil War wouldn’t officially end until May 1865. In the span of those eight months, Union General William T. Sherman marched his troops through Georgia and part of South Carolina, burning and looting, and in doing so, hammering the final nail in the coffin of the Confederacy. Most plantation owners lost their homes, and often their access to food. Even before this, Mary began mentioning money more frequently in her diary:

“September 19th, 1864 – My pink silk dress I have sold for $600, to be paid for in instalments, two hundred a month for three months. And I sell my eggs and butter from home for two hundred dollars a month. Does it not sound well – four hundred dollars a month regularly. But in what? In Confederate money. Helas (alas)!”

By the time Sherman’s troops arrive, Mary feels there is hardly anything left for them to take.

“‘Somehow it is borne in on me that we will have to pay the piper,’ was remarked today. ‘No; blood can not be squeezed from a turnip … We have no money even for taxes or to be confiscated.’”

When the Confederacy finally surrenders, Mary is back at her husband’s family plantation in Camden. They are among the lucky few whose houses were not completely destroyed.

“Nothing but solitude, nothing but tall blackened chimneys, to show that any man has ever trod this road before. This is Sherman’s track. It is hard not to curse him. I wept incessantly at first … I shut my eyes and made a vow that if we were a crushed people, crushed by weight, I would never be a whimpering, pining slave.”

Those who led the Confederacy, the once wealthy and powerful, were those least likely to receive a pardon from the Union victors. Mary knew this. Towards the end of her diary, she writes about the fate of her friend, President Jeff Davis:

We knew that they had put him in a dungeon and in chains. Men watch him day and night. By orders of Andy [Andrew Johnson, the US President following Lincoln’s assassination], the bloody-minded tailor, nobody above the rank of colonel can take the benefit of the amnesty oath, nobody who owns over twenty thousand dollars, or who has assisted the Confederates. …Our turn will come next, maybe.”

Their turn never came, not really. They indeed struggled but ultimately survived, and Mary’s husband went on to practice law in Camden. But this is where Mary’s voice on matters ends—at least in terms of what she chose to share.

Why Mary Chesnut Matters

Mary Chesnut’s Civil War diary is a remarkable historical artifact, a history zoomed in on the details of events; the day-to-day minutiae of activity, big and small, among individual people. It is a story of a war as experienced by civilians.

The very nature of historical study is to consider a period or event after the fact, and often that means treating the unfolding of events as somehow inevitable or obvious. Mary’s diary is a reminder of how large-scale historical events are actually felt and lived on the ground by individuals, and how uncertain and unpredictable each day can feel. It is also a reflection of the attitudes, experiences, and perspectives of the South’s slaveholding class during one of America’s most consequential, and often contested (see the Lost Cause philosophy), periods in history. Mary’s diary forces us to confront the complexity of an era and culture that has so often been romanticized out of reality.

Over the course of the last sixty years, countless individuals have made crucial yet largely unacknowledged contributions behind the scenes at NASA. With sophisticated calculations and inventing ingenious engineering solutions, these unsung NASA heroes have directly influenced the direction of space exploration and contributed to some of the most outstanding events in human history. In this article, we explore the stories of eight of these figures, from behind-the-scenes trailblazers to skilled mathematicians, engineers, and true visionaries.

1. Katherine Johnson: The Human Computer

Creola Katherine Johnson, from West Virginia, was a highly talented mathematician who contributed significantly to the success of the American space program while working at NASA. During her thirty-three years there, Johnson calculated the precise orbital mechanics needed for the agency’s early space missions, including Project Mercury and the legendary Apollo 11. Her unparalleled expertise in calculating complex launch trajectories, orbital windows, and return schedules earned Johnson the nickname of the “human computer” as she possessed mechanical precision and reliability when calculating complex sums. After successfully working on the Apollo missions to the Moon, Johnson continued her career at NASA and contributed to the early plans for a manned Mars mission as well as the Space Shuttle program.

Johnson had to overcome significant barriers as one of the first African American women to work as a NASA scientist. She originally started her career while working at the government agency which eventually became NASA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. One of Johnson’s finest hours was working as part of the team that calculated the complex return trajectory for the ill-fated Apollo 13 crew after mission control aborted the mission. Despite her considerable contributions to the American space program, Johnson was a relatively unknown figure throughout much of her life. However, towards the end of her life, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2015 and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2021.

2. Mary Jackson: A Hidden Figure

In the same vein as Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson was an African American mathematician and aerospace engineer who contributed greatly to America’s space program while working at NASA. She began her career in 1951 while working as a literal human computer at the segregated West Area Computing division at Langley Research Center. Jackson went on to become the first Black female engineer at NASA in 1958 after she passed a series of stringent engineering exams. Jackson worked at the space agency for thirty-four years, during which time her considerable expertise contributed to the successful completion of a number of NASA projects. She eventually ended her career as one of the agency’s most senior engineers, enjoying the respect and recognition she deserved.

However, despite the fact that her work at NASA earned her a prestigious engineering position, Mary Jackson’s future prospects at the agency were limited due to the fact that she was an African American woman. As a result, Jackson decided to become a manager at NASA, where she advocated for a change in the hierarchical nature of the engineering department. As the manager of the Federal Women’s Program and Affirmative Action group within NASA, Jackson focused her energies on increasing employment opportunities for women and people of color within the science, mathematics, and engineering fields. Jackson’s efforts helped influence the hiring practices of countless government agencies, paving the way for the next generation of pioneering female engineers.

3. Margaret Hamilton: A Software Pioneer

Margaret Hamilton is one of the most influential computer scientists of the twentieth century and a key unsung figure who helped develop the onboard flight software for NASA’s Apollo program. While working as the director of Software Engineering at the Instrumentation Laboratory at MIT, Hamilton and her team were crucial to the success of the early Apollo missions including the historic moon landing. The software which Hamilton helped create even prevented an abort mission failure during the final descent by the lunar module as the handling computer reported an overload to the Apollo crew.

Margaret Hamilton was one of the first NASA scientists to refer to their work as software engineering, a distinction that set apart the emerging field of software from the traditional hardware engineering departments. This distinction helped the field to become recognized as a crucial part of a larger space engineering field. Hamilton’s innovative software includes a number of unique functionalities, such as error detection, which allows NASA astronauts to diagnose and respond to potential issues in real-time. This ensured the safe completion of countless lunar missions and laid the groundwork for modern software engineering practices.

4. John C. Houbolt: Pioneer of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous

John Cornelius Houbolt was a NASA aerospace engineer who pioneered the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous procedure vital to the success of America’s Apollo program. Houbolt’s proposed method involved the incorporation of a separate lunar module that would decouple from the command module while in the Moon’s orbit and subsequently land on the moon. The lunar landing module would then separate from the descent stage, and a smaller capsule would rendezvous again with the command module and return to Earth. The decision by NASA in 1962 to adopt Houbolt’s proposal saved NASA a considerable amount of time and human resources that allowed the Apollo 11 mission to be completed before the end of the decade.

Houbolt began his aerospace career while working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which later was restructured and became NASA. Throughout his career at the space agency, Houbolt received a number of accolades, including NASA’s own Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1963. However, Houbolt’s greatest contribution was the tenacious campaign and advanced calculations he undertook in order to convince NASA’s management that the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous could work. Houbolt was proven correct when, on July 20, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 successfully landed on the Moon using his calculations.

5. JoAnn Morgan: NASA Trailblazer

JoAnn Morgan is another unsung NASA hero who pioneered the role of women within the agency and worked as a trailblazing aerospace engineer. At the height of her career within the agency, Morgan became the first female engineer to work at the Kennedy Space Center and the first woman to serve in an executive capacity within the department. Morgan began her career in 1958 when she started work as an engineering assistant within the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. Morgan joined NASA soon afterward where she worked on building rockets for space exploration over a career spanning forty-five years. Notably, Morgan has gone down in history as the only female engineer to be present in the control room during the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969.

Following the success of the Apollo 11 launch, Morgan’s career within NASA took off. She was awarded a Master of Science degree from Stanford University in 1977 and was later promoted to the Chief of the Computer Services Division within NASA. Towards the end of her career, Morgan worked as both the NASA Director of External Relations and Business Development. Despite the significant challenges faced by women in the male-dominated arena of space exploration and engineering, Morgan paved her own way and set the stage for future generations to take the lead.

6. Jack Garman: The Unsung Hero of Apollo 11

Jack Garman was a pivotal figure and unsung hero during NASA’s race to the moon. Garman is best known for his work during the Apollo 11 lunar landing as a computer engineer at Mission Control, who helped to avert a catastrophic error during the landing on July 20, 1969. The error was caused by a design oversight within the Lunar Module’s guidance system, which set off computer alarms just minutes before the scheduled landing. With his detailed knowledge of the design behind the Apollo lander’s guidance computer, Garman advised the crew that the alarms were not critical and gave the go-ahead for the final descent.

Garman was hired by NASA at the age of just 21. He continued to work as a specialist in the onboard computers used by the Apollo mission as well as the Guidance Program. Before the moon landing, Garman had prepared in advance a comprehensive list of all possible program errors and alarms along with their correct response. This list proved vital as Apollo 11 approached the lunar surface, and Garman was able to give a decisive diagnosis of the computer errors.

7. Frances Poppy Northcutt: A Key Figure During Apollo 13

Frances Northcutt, also known as Poppy, is a NASA engineer who was the first female engineer to work in mission control during the Apollo program. Northcutt began her career working as a human computer at an aerospace agency contracted by NASA. Her work at the agency quickly earned her a promotion to the technical department, where she became the first woman ever to take on that role. While at NASA, Northcutt worked in the Mission Planning and Analysis Room and played a key role during the Apollo 8 mission. During her work within this department, Northcutt was responsible for the extensive calculations that were used to help determine the amount of fuel Apollo 8 could burn during maneuvers and return to Earth.

Northcutt was also an important figure during the Apollo 13 mission crisis. After an oxygen tank exploded on board the craft, putting the lives of the crew in danger, Northcutt and her fellow engineers were tasked with finding a solution to the problem. She worked around the clock to calculate the maneuvers that would be needed to slingshot Apollo 13 around the moon and back to Earth. For her role in solving the crisis, Northcutt and her team were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

8. Frank Malina: An Early Rocket Pioneer

One of the earliest unsung heroes of NASA history, Frank Malina was an engineer and rocket expert who contributed greatly to the early advances in space exploration. Malina studied mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, where he earned a doctorate degree in 1940. While studying at Caltech, Malina and a group of fellow students researched early rocket propulsion systems in the remote region of Arroyo Seco. This research group laid the foundations for what would become later NASA’s research and development team known as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Malina went on to serve as a director at the JPL where his team launched the first American rocket to enter space in 1945.