For more than two centuries, the term “Yankee ingenuity” has stood for inventiveness and the practical approach to problem solving that first characterized New England in the early 1800s and has since been a hallmark of the American spirit.
That ingenuity, coupled with the world’s largest market and a federal government that a generation ago invested more in scientific research and development than the rest of the world combined, explains why the United States once led the world in innovation.
