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第一夫人朵麗‧麥迪遜會對美國現在的獨創性感到訝異，光1999年一年，就有超過169154項發明得到美國專利
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瑪麗‧凱斯 (Mary
Kies) 在1809年5月5日成為第一個得到美國專利權的女性
瑪麗‧凱斯並不是第一位改善製帽方式的美國婦女。在1798年，住在新英格蘭的貝西‧麥卡佛 (Betsy
Metcalf) 發明了編織麥稈的方法。她的方法相當受到歡迎，她也僱用了許多婦女來幫她製造帽子，但是她並沒有為她的編織方法申請專利。人們問她為什麼不去申請專利，麥卡佛說她不想讓自己的名字被送到國會去審查。但是凱斯卻有不一樣的想法，而且當時是保障她發明的最好時機，因為美國政府停止進口歐洲貨物。 (拿破崙當時與許多國家交戰，而他贏得戰爭的方法之一就是封鎖貿易，使敵人的經濟受創。美國當時並不想被牽連進衝突之中。) 麥迪遜總統當時也想找尋企業來取代歐洲貨物無法進入美國的缺口。第一夫人朵麗‧麥迪遜 (Dolley
Madison) 曾向瑪麗‧凱斯致敬，因為她幫美國做到了這點。
Mary Kies was not the first American woman to improve hat making. In 1798, New Englander Betsy Metcalf invented a method of braiding straw. Her method became very popular, and she employed many women to make her hats, but she didn't patent her process. When asked why, Metcalf said she didn't want her name being sent to Congress. Kies had a different perspective, and she couldn't have picked a better time to secure her new product, because the U.S. government had stopped importing European goods. (Napolean was at war with many nations of Europe at the time, and one way he tried to win the war was to block trade and hurt his enemies economically. The U.S. did not want to be drawn into this conflict.) President Madison was looking for American industries to replace the lost European goods. First lady Dolley Madison said hats off to Mary Kies for providing just such an opportunity.
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