{"product_id":"voyage-of-mercy-autographed-copy-uss-constitution","title":"Voyage of Mercy: Autographed Copy - USS Constitution","description":"\u003cp\u003eMore than 5,000 ships left Ireland during the great potato famine in the late 1840s, transporting the starving and the destitute away from their stricken homeland. The first vessel to sail in the other direction, to help the millions unable to escape, was the \u003cem\u003eUSS Jamestown\u003c\/em\u003e, a converted warship, which left Boston in March 1847 loaded with precious food for Ireland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn an unprecedented move by Congress, the warship had been placed in civilian hands, stripped of its guns, and committed to the peaceful delivery of food, clothing, and supplies in a mission that would launch America's first full-blown humanitarian relief effort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaptain Robert Bennet Forbes and the crew of the \u003cem\u003eUSS Jamestown\u003c\/em\u003e embarked on a voyage that began a massive eighteen-month demonstration of soaring goodwill against the backdrop of unfathomable despair?one nation's struggle to survive, and another's effort to provide a lifeline. The \u003cem\u003eJamestown\u003c\/em\u003e mission captured hearts and minds on both sides of the Atlantic, of the wealthy and the hardscrabble poor, of poets and politicians. Forbes' undertaking inspired a nationwide outpouring of relief that was unprecedented in size and scope, the first instance of an entire nation extending a hand to a foreign neighbor for purely humanitarian reasons. It showed the world that national generosity and brotherhood were not signs of weakness, but displays of quiet strength and moral certitude.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Muze Merch","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46422915973350,"sku":"9781250200471","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0723\/0147\/8118\/files\/91odvluduxl-1_1.jpg?v=1777928843","url":"https:\/\/muzemerch.com\/products\/voyage-of-mercy-autographed-copy-uss-constitution","provider":"Muze Merch","version":"1.0","type":"link"}