When European settlers arrived in what is now the Americas, scholars estimate that upwards of 50 million native inhabitants occupied the land, including 3 to 7 million in present-day Canada and the United States. Those numbers were quickly decimated by disease, enslavement, and slaughter; within a century, experts estimate the native population dropped by 80%. Yet, despite colonizers’ efforts to displace Natives from their ancestral lands and resources, Indigenous groups prevailed. Today, the country is home to an estimated 3 to 8 million people of Indigenous heritage, belonging to more than 500 tribes, including these 10 largest*.

10. Lumbee

Located in North Carolina, the Lumbee tribe is a young group by Indigenous standards, having been formed in the late 17th or early 18th century. Fleeing the coast and settling around the isolated Lumbee River, the original Lumbee families were descendants of other peoples, including Algonquian and Iroquois, who had occupied the region for thousands of years. Over time, the tribe incorporated others seeking refuge from the new colonizers and their diseases, including some whites and free Blacks.

Though the Lumbee were recognized by North Carolina in 1885, they have not gained federal recognition as a sovereign tribe, unable to fulfill the requirements, which include proving distinct ancestry from previously recognized tribes. The tribe’s ongoing efforts to win federal recognition through alternative means have drawn criticism from other tribes as well. Today, the Lumbee number over 55,000, the largest tribe remaining east of the Mississippi.

9. Iroquois (Haudenosaunee)

The Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee (“people of the long house”), tribe is a confederacy that likely formed before European contact, bringing together different bands of Iroquoian-speaking peoples, including the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. When the Tuscarora later joined, it became known as the Six Nations. Historically, its members lived in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada, including parts of New York and Pennsylvania, and governed themselves democratically—the constitution of the Confederacy has been cited as a source of inspiration for the US Constitution. At its peak, the Six Nations conquered or held sway over Indigenous tribes as far south as the Chesapeake Bay and as far west as the Mississippi.

Estimates for Iroquois populations ranged from 20,000 to 70,000 in the 17th century; by the early 20th century, the number had dropped below 10,000. Because it is a confederation, the Iroquois are not federally recognized as an individual tribe, but over 110,000 respondents identified as Iroquois in the most recent census, primarily residing in New York and Wisconsin.

8. Apache (Indé)

The Apache of the Southwest included numerous smaller bands of Indigenous peoples who traveled from the northwest and settled in the area between 1000 and 1500 CE. The origin of the name “Apache” is unclear, but it was the term used by the first Spanish settlers to encounter them and has largely been used since, though the Apache themselves also use the term “Indé,” meaning “people” in their language. Renowned for their fighting skill and, later, horsemanship, the Apache’s struggles against colonization were largely with the Spanish at first, due to their distance from English settlers.

It was not until after the Mexican-American War in 1848, in which the US gained ownership over a large swath of Mexican territory, including Apache lands, that they had to deal with the US government. The Apache battled against US encroachment on their lands and attempts to move them onto reservations for several decades until they were forced to surrender. From a possible high of 60,000 members in the early 18th century, Apache numbers dwindled to below 10,000 by the turn of the 20th century. Today, nearly 150,000 US citizens claim Apache heritage, primarily in Arizona and New Mexico.

7. Blackfeet (Niitsitapi)

The Blackfeet were once a nomadic tribe that, according to recent DNA evidence, has existed for 18,000 years. Hunters whose primary food source was buffalo, they ranged over the Great Plains, largely in present-day Montana, which is where their largest reservation is today. With the introduction of horses, they were able to follow the herds more efficiently, expanding their numbers and territory. By the early 1800s, there were an estimated 15,000 members, and they were the dominant power in the northern Great Plains, pushing smaller tribes further west.

Though the tribe resisted colonization and displacement, the decimation of the buffalo population by settlers ultimately drove the tribe to starvation and forced them to sign a treaty ceding much of their territory. Today, their 1,525,712-acre Montana reservation is home to 56% of tribal members. The tribe has a current total enrollment of approximately 17,000 members, with many more claiming Blackfeet heritage—nearly 300,000 in the 2020 census.

6. Sioux (Oceti Sakowin)

The Sioux, a tribe believed to have existed for nearly 3,000 years, historically occupied the northern Mississippi River Valley and Great Lakes region before moving westward to settle in the Great Plains following conflict with the Iroquois. As with many Indigenous groups, the name “Sioux” was not one the people themselves used but came instead from foreigners, in this case, early French fur traders. The Oceti Sakowin Oyate, or People of the Seven Council Fires, are divided into three smaller subsets, the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota, based on the dialect of the language they speak.

The most widely accepted estimates for mid-17th-century Sioux populations, extrapolated by historians based on explorers’ encounters, fall between 25,000 and 30,000 members, a number that may or may not have been impacted by disease. It is estimated that over 100,000 Sioux live in the US today, primarily in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Minnesota. South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, home to nearly 40,000 members of the Great Sioux Nation, is the second largest in the country.

5. Creek (Muscogee)

Descended from the Mississippian culture, the “mound builders,” the Muscogee, sometimes called Creek, tribe was actually a confederation of several tribes that occupied what are today Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Because of their location, they were among the first Indigenous groups on the mainland to encounter Europeans, and, as a result, early victims of their many diseases. Eighteenth-century estimates suggested a population of around 50,000 Muscogee living in autonomous tribal towns. The Muscogee practiced a form of centralized government in which each town had a chief, deputy chief, and a council, which elected the chief for life. Chiefs were then part of a General Council, where issues that impacted the whole tribe were debated and decided.

Following the Revolutionary War, the Muscogee and other southeastern tribes were ultimately forced off their land and moved west of the Mississippi on the Trail of Tears. They settled in Oklahoma, where their numbers rapidly declined, dropping below 10,000 by some estimates by the late 19th century. Today, the Muscogee population is over 100,000, most of whom remain in Oklahoma.

4. Chippewa (Ojibwe or Anishinaabeg)

Historically located around the Great Lakes, the Chippewa were early allies of the French fur traders who arrived in that part of the country in the 17th century. Their traditional subsistence practices included hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild rice, but little agriculture. They traversed waterways in birch bark canoes, migrating with the seasons, and introduced numerous other goods and words to the Europeans as well—including toboggans, moccasins, moose, and maple syrup.

The Ojibwe developed a turbulent relationship with the Dakota as they pushed farther west seeking furs for the lucrative trade they had developed with the French, leading to over a century of conflict between the two tribes. Ultimately, the expanding United States brought an end to the conflict by filling disputed lands with its own settlers. As their lands shrank and the fur trade collapsed, the Ojibwe were forced to accept life on reservations and transition to agriculture. Over 130,000 US citizens claimed Chippewa heritage in the 2020 census.

3. Choctaw

Occupying the Southeast United States for centuries, the Choctaw were skilled farmers and, as such, developed settlements rather than maintaining a nomadic lifestyle. The first records of them appear in French documents from the 17th century, but they likely encountered Spanish explorers even earlier. The Choctaw were a matrilineal society that honored women and venerated Nanih Waiya in present-day Mississippi as “mother mound” and their spiritual origin point.

Early 18th-century estimates put the Choctaw population at 15-25,000. The Choctaw were the first tribe relocated from their ancestral homelands through the Trail of Tears. An estimated 10,000+ were forced to migrate to Oklahoma, with thousands dying along the way, while approximately 5,000 remained in Mississippi and became citizens, but faced ongoing harassment and loss of land. By the early 20th century, censuses reflected a population of around 15,000. As of the most recent census, over 250,000 people in the US claimed Choctaw heritage.

2. Navajo (Diné)

Settling in the Southwest by the 16th century, evidence suggests the Diné people migrated from the Northwest, like the Apache. They were originally hunter-gatherers who learned agricultural techniques from the Pueblo people who preceded them into the southwest. The Diné maintained a strong relationship with the Pueblo, helping them to resist Spanish conquest and enslavement, at least for a time. They had a more turbulent relationship with other tribes in the region, including the Comanche and Ute.

As settlers expanded into the southwest, first from Mexico and then from the United States after the Mexican-American War, the Navajo fought fiercely to retain their territory and way of life. Ultimately, following a “scorched earth” campaign in which villages were burned and livestock slaughtered, 9,000 Navajo were forcibly removed from their lands and marched hundreds of miles to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, essentially an internment camp. Today, members of the Navajo Nation reside primarily in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. As of 2021, there were nearly 400,000 members enrolled.

1. Cherokee

Located in the Southeast, at the time of first contact, Cherokee territory included, in part or whole, present-day West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Unlike most other tribes in southern Appalachia, the Cherokee spoke a language belonging to the Southern branch of the Iroquoian language family, suggesting that the tribe had split from the Great Lakes tribes in the distant past.

The Cherokee were first encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century. For hundreds of years after Europeans first set foot on the continent, the Cherokee struggled to maintain their ancestral lands while also trading and coexisting with settlers. By the early 19th century, significant land loss as well as unrelenting pressure to abandon what territory remained drove some Cherokee west of the Mississippi. The majority of those left were forced out after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Over 16,000 Cherokee traveled the Trail of Tears, as many as a quarter dying along the way. A small band managed to evade government forces and remain in North Carolina.

In the 2020 census, over 1.5 million respondents claimed Cherokee heritage; the Cherokee Nation, however, has 450,000 registered members.

*Numbers throughout are approximations. It is difficult to estimate populations of tribes prior to Europeans’ arrival; disease spread faster than colonizers themselves, meaning many Indigenous groups had already been impacted by European illnesses long before they physically encountered settlers. Since European settlement, disputes over who “counts” as Indigenous have resulted in varying numbers reported by different entities, through to the present day.

In the 1840s, Scottish cooper Allan Pinkerton arrived in Illinois, seeking to create a new life for himself and his wife. A gifted investigator, he soon became a lawman and moved from barrel-building to crime-solving, creating a legendary detective agency and pioneering many crime-fighting methods still used today.

From Scottish Barrel-Maker to Chicago’s Very First Detective

Allan Pinkerton was born in Scotland in 1819. The son of a policeman and a cooper (barrel-builder) by trade, he was involved in the Scottish Chartist movement in the 1830s, pushing for more rights for commoners. He and his wife came to America in 1842 because of his involvement with the movement, settling first in Detroit and moving to Illinois shortly afterward. Pinkerton continued his trade as a cooper when he took on an independent investigation – including going undercover in disguise – of some counterfeiters in the local woods, leading to their eventual arrest.

Pinkerton gradually became more involved in police work and investigations. He became a deputy sheriff in Kane County, Illinois, and then eventually in Cook County, Illinois, and the fast-growing city of Chicago. Through his work that led to the arrest of the counterfeiting ring, he was appointed as Chicago’s first police detective in 1849. Shortly afterward, he established the North-Western Police Agency with attorney Edward Rucker, which then became Pinkerton and Company.

Undercover Mail Traps and Counterfeiter Hunts That Launched Pinkerton to Fame

In addition to his undercover work in capturing the counterfeit ring, Pinkerton became a Special Agent with the United States Postal Service. He undertook an investigation into stolen mail, where he put decoy packages containing money where a suspect could find them.

He caught two brothers, Perry and Theodore Denniston, who were stealing mail and pocketing the cash they found. The mail case and other similar stories, where Pinkerton would use meticulous methods and ingenious ideas to catch criminals, brought him and his agency to national prominence. Much of Pinkerton’s work also involved the railroads.

How Pinkerton Built the Predecessor to the Secret Service During the Civil War

Allan Pinkerton was a staunch abolitionist, and his home was a “stop” on the Underground Railroad. A few months before his failed raid on Harpers Ferry, John Brown escorted 12 escaped slaves and stopped at Pinkerton’s house on his way north.

Pinkerton also encountered two other Union giants in his work for the railroads – George McClellan, President of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company, and the railroad’s attorney – Abraham Lincoln.

When the Civil War began, Pinkerton went to work for McClellan, establishing the United States Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Secret Service. Pinkerton not only sent agents throughout the South to infiltrate the Confederacy, but he also served as an agent himself, posing as Major E.J. Allen.

The Secret Train Disguise That Saved President Lincoln’s Life

In 1861, Pinkerton uncovered what became known as the Baltimore Plot. On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president and had planned to go on a train tour before his planned inauguration the following February. Pinkerton had been hired to provide security for Lincoln, as many threats from the South were coming against Lincoln’s life.

Of particular concern were the planned stops in Baltimore, Maryland, where Pinkerton’s agents (including the first woman detective, Kate Warne) uncovered various possible assassination plots. Pinkerton and Warne arranged for Lincoln to travel the last part of the journey in disguise as an invalid, wearing a soft felt hat and overcoat instead of his trademark stovepipe hat.

Pinkerton’s Detective agency went on to become the most famous – and infamous – in the world, and still exists today as a large security company, performing many similar functions to those of its founder.

On March 8, 1965, America’s first official ground combat troops arrived ashore at Da Nang, coming not under fire, but to the welcome of young Vietnamese women tossing flower garlands. To most observers, it signaled a major show of strength by the United States. Beneath the strategy, however, lurked a lethal sequence of traps and blunders, historical blinders, and political paranoia that caught America in its own rationale.

Cold War Chess: The Fatal Trap of Containment

After World War II, the Truman Doctrine of 1947 set the tone for what became known as containment: the policy that the US should extend political, military, and economic aid to all democratic nations threatened by external or internal communist pressures. But policymakers in Washington soon faced a severe political crisis in 1949, when China fell to Mao Zedong’s communist forces in the Chinese Civil War. 

US leaders were convinced that any further spread of communism in Asia would be unacceptable and bring harm to US prestige and safety. Consequently, Vietnam was no longer seen as a nation trying to shrug off the yoke of colonialism, but rather as a pawn in a worldwide game of chess.

The Canceled Elections That Sealed Vietnam’s Division

In 1954, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower popularized what became known as the Domino Theory. As Eisenhower saw it, the communist conquest of Indochina would lead to other nations in Southeast Asia falling to communism like a string of dominoes, and he feared that even Australia and New Zealand would eventually be at risk. Confirming this risk, French forces were soundly defeated at Dien Bien Phu by Viet Minh forces led by General Vo Nguyen Giap in 1954. Following this defeat, the Geneva Accords were signed on July 21, 1954. They temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel into North and South Vietnam until national elections could reunify the country two years later, in July 1956. 

Under pressure from the US, a strongly anti-communist regime led by President Ngo Dinh Diem was established in South Vietnam in 1955. When it became apparent that communist nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh would win the scheduled 1956 election, the United States supported Diem’s decision to cancel the vote. Consequently, by 1960, over one billion dollars in aid and around 700 military advisors had been committed to South Vietnam.

Coups, Assassinations, and a ‘Blank Check’ for War

When John F. Kennedy assumed office in 1961, he increased the number of US military advisors in Vietnam from about 900 to more than 16,000 by late 1963. When Diem’s regime proved to be corrupt and oppressive toward the Buddhist majority, the US found itself tacitly backing a military coup in November 1963 that resulted in the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem. With political instability mounting in Saigon, Kennedy was himself assassinated mere weeks later, leaving successor President Lyndon B. Johnson with a deep level of commitment from which there was no backing down.

The metaphorical Rubicon was crossed on August 7, 1964, when Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution following clashes between US destroyers and North Vietnamese torpedo boats earlier that month. Although it was not an official declaration of war, it essentially provided Johnson with a blank check to use any means necessary to prevent further armed attack against American forces. Upon receiving authorization from Congress through the resolution, Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder on March 2, 1965. This action marked the start of a sustained aerial bombardment campaign against North Vietnam. By the end of 1965, approximately 180,000 American soldiers had been deployed to South Vietnam.

How Broadcast Television Instantly Turned Public Opinion

By 1967, the war had devolved into a war of attrition. Starting early on January 30, 1968, during the Lunar New Year celebration known as Tet, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, using weapons and supplies provided by the Soviet Union, attacked over a hundred cities and outposts in South Vietnam. Though US and South Vietnamese forces were eventually able to regain control, the Tet Offensive was a strategic victory for North Vietnam. Before the offensive, Americans had been hearing from officials that there was light at the end of the tunnel for years. Seeing the US Embassy in Saigon being breached on their televisions was enough for most to turn against the war.

Following the Tet Offensive, newly elected President Richard Nixon initiated Vietnamization in 1969, the gradual process of withdrawing US troops and placing combat responsibilities onto the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Yet the fighting and losses continued for about five years. About 58,000 American soldiers lost their lives fighting in Vietnam, and over $168 billion was spent waging the war. The United States withdrew its last combat troops from Vietnam on March 29, 1973.

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.