History's Greatest Thought Experiment
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The idea that the best way to beat the Soviets wasn’t with the military but by accomplishing a miracle was far from obvious. In fact, it was brilliant.
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Frederick Jackson Turner, Spaceman
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In 1893, the historian Frederick Jackson Turner wrote an influential paper declaring that American-style democracy, a radical reinvention of the classically inspired republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers, had been created by the expanding frontier. Turner could not realize that, ten years after he wrote his thesis, the Wright brothers would enter a new frontier of an entirely different dimension: the air.
Read MoreWhat Freedom Meant to Our Ancestors
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Today, when we talk about America as a land of freedom, we tend to think about freedom (or the lack of it) from taxes and regulation, or we celebrate our Bill of Rights. The early settlers in America—those who came voluntarily—sought freedom of a more literal nature.
Read MoreThe New World Was an Escape Hatch
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America offered more than a place to explore. France, Germany, and England lost thousands of civilians to terrorism by religious zealots. On top of that, overpopulation in some areas, degradation of farmland in others, and deep economic divisions between rich and poor caused misery, disease, and mass starvation. Europe needed an escape hatch.
Read MoreWe Were Supposed to Keep Going
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After we landed on the Moon, few people suspected that we wouldn't keep going.
Read MoreIt's in Our DNA
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Thousands of years ago, a man left the fire and risked all. Thousands of years later, a whole people crossed a bridge to an unknown land. What would happened if we ever stopped?
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