The history of tattoos is a long one dating back all the way to Bronze Age, 3750 BCE, and even possibly the Stone Age, 2.6 MYA. Even with the history of tattoos in general is a long one its history in the United States is short and more recent. Tattooing started out as a way to mark yourself as a military man in the United States. "Martin Hildebrandt set up a permanent tattoo shop in New York City in 1846 and began a tradition by tattooing sailors and military servicemen from both sides of the Civil War" (Tradition Unbound: Tattoos beyond Polynesia). Starting in the 1940s is when tattoos truly became popular among military men as the United States was filled with high moral from the end of World War II. 

Even with this new popularity of tattoos among servicemen, these tattoos were still not popular among the general population. By the 1950s tattooing had established itself as a norm among military men and even some of the general population. Tattoos were still looked down upon though as parlors were being opened in back alleys and boardwalks. Having a tattoo was still fairly unusual for the general population during this time period especially among women. The tattoo parlors would refuse to tattoo a woman unless she was, "twenty-one, married and accompanied by their spouse, to spare tattoo artists the wrath of a father, boyfriend or unwitting husband" (Tradition Unbound: Tattoos beyond Polynesia). 

Today tattoos can be seen everyday on both men and women of all kinds of ages. The use of a tattoo in the United States has been used to honor a memory, show off a piece of artwork, or be a physical reminder of something on a person's body. People get tattoos for all kinds of reasons but one that has remained popular are tattoos inspired by nature. The beauty of nature and spiritual and emotional impacts that nature has on people constantly inspires tattoos. One of the examples of this is the Appalachian Trail. This 2,000 mile trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine has been a huge source of inspiration for tattoos. People will hike the entire trail or even just a small portion of it and get a tattoo commemorating the event. These tattoos serve as reminders and an inspiration for everyday life or a challenge that person might be facing.