The founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette (Daisy) Gordon Low, was a quirky, remarkable woman with ideas that were ahead of her time. A sensitive child, she grew up in Savannah, Georgia, where she developed what was to become a lifetime interest in the arts. As a young woman, Daisy suffered from chronic ear infections and lost most of her hearing in one ear. She lost hearing in her other ear after a grain of rice lodged inside it at her wedding, puncturing her eardrum. Daisy's life spanned an important era in U.S. history, and her story is chock full of curriculum connections, from the Civil War and reconstruction (her mother was a northerner who believed in abolition, her father was a Confederate soldier), to westward expansion and Native American studies, women's studies and early feminism, and later, World War I. She made her own valuable contribution to history by founding the first national organization that brought girls from all backgrounds into the out-of-doors, giving them the opportunity to develop self-reliance and resourcefulness.

She created controversy by encouraging girls to prepare not only for traditional homemaking, but also for possible future roles as professional womenin the arts, sciences, and businessand for active citizenship outside the home. Girl Scouting also welcomed girls with disabilities at a time when they were excluded from many activities and groups.