What so proudly we hailed
Subtitle: Francis Scott Key, a life
By: Marc Leepson
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 234
ISBN-13: 9781137278289
Subjects: Star-spangled banner (Song); American Poets; American Patriotic poetry; Authorship; Biography; History
Other titles: Francis Scott Key, a life
Description: "Francis Scott Key is enshrined in America?s iconography as a paragon of patriotism on par with Betsy Ross, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, and John Hancock - individuals who hold exalted places in early American history for performing one memorable act. For Francis Scott Key, that immortal moment was writing "The Star-Spangled Banner" under the most dramatic (and unlikely) of circumstances: while witnessing the all-night Battle of Baltimore onboard a British ship in that city?s harbor. In What So Proudly We Hailed, historian Marc Leepson reveals Francis Scott Key as a man of his time, full of contradictions, as a slave owner who fought slave trafficking and defended slaves for free. An influential confidant and advisor to Andrew Jackson and a close friend of Senator John Randolph, Key?s home in Georgetown was a frequent gathering point for the intellectual heavyweights of the day. He was a leader of the American Colonization Society, a national movement that worked to send freed slaves back to Africa - a movement that led to the creation of the West African nation of Liberia. The first full-length biography of Francis Scott Key in more than 75 years, this is a fascinating story of a forgotten American patriot that makes plain his important legacy." -- from publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: A family of lawyers; title: Annapolis, Frederick Town, and George Town; title: Nil desperandum; title: Piety and patriotism; title: A citizen of the highest respectability; title: A beautiful and animating effusion; title: A useless, pernicious, dangerous portion of the population; title: A class of very dangerous people; title: A stormy tumult of feeling; title: A vigorous and well cultivated intellect; title: A friend of peace; title: A particular friend of the president; title: A rank Jackson man; title: The prosecutor; title: U.S. Minister to Alabama; title: An incorruptible patriot; title: An alarming state of disorder; title: A friend of men of color; title: Epilogue: one of the best men that ever lived.