Over the last 250 years, America has been through a lot. But one thing has always been true of America — we are an innovative country.

Why? Maybe it’s because we are a nation of people descended from explorers. It could be because our forefathers set us up for success through a powerful constitution that empowered innovation. Or, it could just be dumb luck. In reality, the country’s 250-year history of innovation and progress is likely due to a mix of all three.

As we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day this week, it is a great time to look back and see how far we have come and how we can continue to pursue a path of innovation into the future.

With that in mind, one of the most mind-blowing facts about the history of the United States is that, for all of the rights that we often talk about, the only right specified in the original Constitution is actually the protection of intellectual property,

“To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

This single right set us on the path to the economy that we have today, an economy in which it feels like we are living in the future: walking down the street while scrolling Instagram, paying for goods with a tap of our phone, access to drugs and health care that nobody could have imagined 100 years ago, and AI agents powerful enough to help us make life altering decisions.

The patent system created the incentives to innovate that have truly helped our country grow and prosper.

The patent system, which lacks some of the biases that our society has had over these 250 years, has helped more than just economically.

For example, the first patent granted to a female, Mary Dixon Kies, was in 1809 — more than 100 years before women got the right to vote.

And, in 1821 a patent was granted to Thomas Jennings, the first African American to receive a patent, 40 years before African Americans were granted the right to vote and a full 140 years before that right could truly be claimed.

However, the patent system hasn’t always been celebrated. In fact, it was a source of debate during the Constitutional Convention. In fact, one opponent ended up being the first administrator: Thomas Jefferson. But, almost as soon as Jefferson took his role he changed his mind as he witnessed the patent applications and innovations that would catapult the United States into the forefront of world economies.

Many companies have opposed the patent system as well. This is ironic because most of these companies have used patents to gain their initial market advantage and are now attempting to raise the ladder behind them, so that future competitors can’t follow their lead.

Fortunately, Congress has stayed strong. They have largely defended small innovators from these large companies — although there have been some modern exceptions such as the American Invents Act. There are also groups like the Congressional Inventions Caucus that continue to provide valuable information and education about the importance of intellectual property to their peers.

We have had an amazing quarter millennium of innovation — with a little bit of luck, hope, hard work, and of course innovation, the next 250 years will be just as innovative.

Charles Sauer is the president of the Market Institute and the author of “Profit Motive” Sauer can be reached at charles@marketinstitute.org.

Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.