“It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.”
– President George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, November 15, 1781
In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs here, here, and here on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this one focuses on:
Celebrating American Boats, Ships, & Their Captains.
“Don’t give up the ship,” were the famous dying words of Commander James Lawrence in 1813 aboard the USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. From Native American canoes to the Mayflower, slave ships, the USS Constitution, Lewis and Clark’s keelboat, Mississippi River boats, the Civil War ironclads, the Great White Fleet, aircraft carriers, and the nuclear navy, on the high seas and rivers and lakes – boats, ships, and their leaders have shaped and defined our country. After all, we’re a country with a total of 95,471 miles of shoreline living on a planet that’s 71 percent water. So naturally, since antiquity, people have known that sea power is central to the human experience and national strength.
The United States has produced a variety of talented and accomplished sailors, privateers, sea captains, commodores, and admirals, who have led the country to its current, unchallenged naval superiority. These titans of the high seas include: John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur, Isaac Hull, Matthew Perry, David Farragut, George Dewey, Chester Nimitz, and Hyman Rickover.
Citizens and schoolchildren alike should know and honor these names and their accomplishments. Victory at sea requires not only running a ship and its crew, but knowledge of intricate navigational skills. In addition, naval leaders must manage the elements and the nearly unlimited power of nature, while also defeating foes with equal, or superior, vessels, firepower, and abilities. All of these are no small tasks on their own, but combined are astonishingly difficult and complicated. Simply put – adults and children need heroes and heroines, and our naval history offers plenty of them.
Regrettably, knowledge of military history, and especially basic naval history, have long since been neglected in K-12 schooling. For decades, American education has prioritized soft-skills driven curricular fads and discarded historical facts and coherent national narratives. It is these facts and background knowledge that can truly help students from all ZIP codes understand and navigate the wider world, and the rough waters that oftentimes define the human experience. So that as a society and as educators we too “don’t give up the ship” on this important nautical knowledge, we’re offering a variety of resources to help parents, teachers, and high schoolers:
![Native American Canoe](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image002-705x469.png)
Native American Canoe
![Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War, by Nathaniel Philbrick](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image003-18.jpg)
Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War, by Nathaniel Philbrick
![The Slave Ship: A Human History, by Marcus Rediker](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image004-15.jpg)
The Slave Ship: A Human History, by Marcus Rediker
![Washington’s Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History Series, by David Hackett Fischer](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image005-17.jpg)
Washington’s Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History Series, by David Hackett Fischer
![John Paul Jones: A Sailor’s Biography, by Samuel Eliot Morison](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image006-14.jpg)
John Paul Jones: A Sailor’s Biography, by Samuel Eliot Morison
![The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860, by Samuel Eliot Morison](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image007-14.jpg)
The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860, by Samuel Eliot Morison
![Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy, by Ian W. Toll](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image008-17.jpg)
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy, by Ian W. Toll
![Old Ironsides, Eagle of the Sea: The Story of the USS Constitution, by David Col. Fitz-Enz](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image009-14.jpg)
Old Ironsides, Eagle of the Sea: The Story of the USS Constitution, by David Col. Fitz-Enz
![Silas Talbot: Captain of Old Ironsides, by William M. Fowler](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image010-16.jpg)
Silas Talbot: Captain of Old Ironsides, by William M. Fowler
![Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image011-16.jpg)
Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
![Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero, 1779-1820, by Robert J. Allison](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image012-15.jpg)
Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero, 1779-1820, by Robert J. Allison
![Lewis and Clark’s Keelboat](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image013-13.jpg)
Lewis and Clark’s Keelboat
![The Naval War of 1812: A Complete History, by Theodore Roosevelt](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image014-15.jpg)
The Naval War of 1812: A Complete History, by Theodore Roosevelt
![The Captain from Connecticut: The Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull, by Linda M. Maloney](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image015-15.jpg)
The Captain from Connecticut: The Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull, by Linda M. Maloney
![1812: The Navy’s War, by George C. Daughan](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image016-15.jpg)
1812: The Navy’s War, by George C. Daughan
![Gibbons v. Ogden: John Marshall, Steamboats, and Interstate Commerce (Landmark Law Cases & American Society), by Herbert A. Johnson](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image017-13.jpg)
Gibbons v. Ogden: John Marshall, Steamboats, and Interstate Commerce (Landmark Law Cases & American Society), by Herbert A. Johnson
![Whale Ships and Whaling, by Albert Cook Church](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image018-13.jpg)
Whale Ships and Whaling, by Albert Cook Church
![Captain Ahab (Moby-Dick), by Herman Melville](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image019-13-503x705.jpg)
Captain Ahab (Moby-Dick), by Herman Melville
![Pequod (Moby-Dick), by Herman Melville](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image020-13-705x397.jpg)
Pequod (Moby-Dick), by Herman Melville
![Clipper Ships](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image021-13-705x479.jpg)
Clipper Ships
![Historic Photos of Steamboats on the Mississippi, by Dean M. Shapiro](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image022-13.jpg)
Historic Photos of Steamboats on the Mississippi, by Dean M. Shapiro
![Life on the Mississippi, by Mark Twain](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image023-13.jpg)
Life on the Mississippi, by Mark Twain
![United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image024-13-705x469.jpg)
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland
![Old Bruin Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, by Samuel Eliot Morison](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image025-13-465x705.jpg)
Old Bruin Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, by Samuel Eliot Morison
![War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865, by James M. McPherson](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image026-10.jpg)
War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865, by James M. McPherson
![Secrets of A Civil War Submarine: Solving The Mysteries Of The H. L. Hunley, by Sally M. Walker](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image027-7.jpg)
Secrets of A Civil War Submarine: Solving The Mysteries Of The H. L. Hunley, by Sally M. Walker
![IRONCLAD: The Monitor & the Merrimack, by Arthur Mokin](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image028-7.jpg)
IRONCLAD: The Monitor & the Merrimack, by Arthur Mokin
![Mississippi River Gunboats of the American Civil War 1861–65, by Angus Konstam](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image029-6.jpg)
Mississippi River Gunboats of the American Civil War 1861–65, by Angus Konstam
![Lincoln’s Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut, by James P Duffy](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image030-6.jpg)
Lincoln’s Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut, by James P Duffy
![A Ship to Remember: The Maine and the Spanish-American War, by Michael Blow](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image031-6.jpg)
A Ship to Remember: The Maine and the Spanish-American War, by Michael Blow
![Autobiography of George Dewey: Admiral of the United States Navy, and Hero of the Spanish-American War, by George Dewey](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image032-6.jpg)
Autobiography of George Dewey: Admiral of the United States Navy, and Hero of the Spanish-American War, by George Dewey
![Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, by Alfred Thayer Mahan](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image033-6.jpg)
Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, by Alfred Thayer Mahan
![Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet, by James R. Reckner](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image034-6.jpg)
Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet, by James R. Reckner
![The Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War, by Samuel Eliot Morison](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image035-6.jpg)
The Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War, by Samuel Eliot Morison
![Nimitz, by E. B. Potter](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image036-6.jpg)
Nimitz, by E. B. Potter
![Bull Halsey, by Elmer Belmont Potter](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image037-6.jpg)
Bull Halsey, by Elmer Belmont Potter
![PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy, by William Doyle](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image038-6.jpg)
PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy, by William Doyle
![Rickover: Controversy and Genius – A Biography, by Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image039-6.jpg)
Rickover: Controversy and Genius – A Biography, by Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen
![USS Nautilus (SSN-571), first nuclear-powered submarine](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image040-6.jpg)
USS Nautilus (SSN-571), first nuclear-powered submarine
![USS Nimitz](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/image041-6.jpg)
USS Nimitz
![Click here to learn more.](https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Click-here-to-learn-more-about-these-MA-Buildings.-2.png)