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第一夫人朵丽．麦迪逊会对美国现在的独创性感到讶异，光1999年一年，就有超过169154项发明得到美国专利
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玛丽．凯斯 (Mary
Kies) 在1809年5月5日成为第一个得到美国专利权的女性
玛丽．凯斯并不是第一位改善制帽方式的美国妇女。在1798年，住在新英格兰的贝西．麦卡佛 (Betsy
Metcalf) 发明了编织麦秆的方法。她的方法相当受到欢迎，她也雇用了许多妇女来帮她制造帽子，但是她并没有为她的编织方法申请专利。人们问她为什么不去申请专利，麦卡佛说她不想让自己的名字被送到国会去审查。但是凯斯却有不一样的想法，而且当时是保障她发明的最好时机，因为美国政府停止进口欧洲货物。 (拿破仑当时与许多国家交战，而他赢得战争的方法之一就是封锁贸易，使敌人的经济受创。美国当时并不想被牵连进冲突之中。) 麦迪逊总统当时也想找寻企业来替换欧洲货物无法进入美国的缺口。第一夫人朵丽．麦迪逊 (Dolley
Madison) 曾向玛丽．凯斯致敬，因为她帮美国做到了这点。
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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