As part of President James Monroe’s 7th annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823, the Monroe Doctrine became a cornerstone of future United States foreign policy [1]. It warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas), and if they did, that would be seen as a threat…

Merchant raiders have been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. However, it wasn’t until World War I that they became more prevalent. During World War II, a German ship by the name of Kormoran [1], sank the Australian Cruiser Sydney in one of the most well-known battles involving merchant raiders. But…

I grew up in a middle-class home in northern Illinois and then later Wisconsin in the 1980s and 90s. I was also homeschooled back before it was cool and before we had the internet and online learning tools. When I was 18, I was clueless about what I wanted to do with my life. I…