Title: What so proudly we hailed
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.
Subjects: Star-spangled banner (Song), American Poets, American Patriotic poetry, Authorship, Biography, History, Key, francis scott, 1779-1843, Poets, biography, Authors, american, Patriotic poetry, Poetry, authorship, United states, history, war of 1812
Places: United States
People: Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)
Time periods: 19th century, War of 1812