Narratives that reference expansion west during the second half of the nineteenth century often focus on the rugged landscape, untamed wilderness, and hearty men who took control of the untamed Great Plains. Missing from these narratives, however, are the vital contributions by women of all ages. While the works of Willa Cather and Laura Ingalls Wilder were written in the early twentieth century, they reflect upon common experiences amongst young people that merits considerat

On 4 August 1964, as the USS Maddox was conducting reconnaissance in the Gulf of Tonkin, it was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Two days later, while sailing through stormy weather, the ship’s crew reported they had been attacked for a second time. While Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was aware that the Maddox’s captain did not believe the vessel had been attacked a second time, he and President Lyndon Johnson, using the attacks as justification, requested