with her invention. Her innovative way of weaving straws with silk to create these hats was so revolutionary for the time as the hats she produced with it were sturdier, as her method of using silk instead of straws in the seam held the cross-hatching together. Also, the hat-making method she introduced was highly cost-effective, thus a lot of businesses in the hat-manufacturing market adopted it , after her patent was sadly burned in the fire of the Patent Office in 1836. Economy Mary Dixon Kies, with her invention, managed to help remarkably New Englands’ economy, in which she was situated and sold her designs. At that time there was a big setback for the economy from the ban of imported products from Europe. For this contribution, Kies was praised in a public manner by the then First Lady Dolly Madison, wife of President James Madison. At this time there were conflicts going on between Napoleon and some European countries, so President Madison was trying to avoid getting the US involved and thus made an effort to cut imports and make American businesses, such as Kies hat making business, thrive. Even after the start of World War 1 in 1812, the hat industry was one that predominated. Even though there was an estimated profit of $500,00 (now worth $ 4.7 million) made from straw hat manufacturing, Mary Dixon Kies made a profit that was close to nothing from her inventions and sales. Patents: being the first woman to receive one in the US One fact about this innovator that is not as widely discussed as her inventions is that she was the first woman to receive a patent in the US, in May 5, 1809. Even though the Patent Act of 1790 allowed women to use a patent on their inventions, it was illegal for women to own property in many states. This ended up forcing women to either not place a patent on their inventions at all or place it under their husbands’ names, and consequently their husbands getting all the praise for their inventions. Mary Kies decided that since she her invention of the method of weaving straw with silk was so successful that she would patent it in order to have all the rights to this method and it wouldn’t be available to anyone else to copy and use. Legacy In 1965, a monument was erected in