Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means. “The Star Spangled Banner” emphasizes America’s perseverance and its unwillingness to surrender to adversity. The prime example of this “American attitude” traces back to the dawn of America. Harsh European laws during the Colonial Period allot little to no rights to its own subjects in America. American colonists’ penurious lives are in constant peril of taxation through means such as the mercantilist system and selfish laws like the Navigation Acts. However, American colonists refuse to remain under control of such an oppressive government. In the eyes of the Europeans, they are rapacious rebels who are oblivious of the supremacy of their mother country. Yet, in the eyes of the colonists, they are merely humans asking, and eventually fighting, for simple rights that–according to their tenets–belong to everyone. Although their adversary is the seemingly invincible England, the colonists are able to endure and emerge as the victor. “The Star Spangled Banner” clearly demonstrates the perseverance and audacity in this cl... ... middle of paper ... ...o captivating. Additionally, it does make an extensive number of appearances at various ceremonies and great events, such as the opening ceremonies of sporting events and national holidays such as Independence and Memorial Day. However, “The Star Spangled Banner” embodies a much broader and more abstruse, cryptic connotation. It illustrates America’s attitude of perseverance when facing seemingly indomitable adversities or unachievable ambitions. It represents America’s unfaltering faith, traditional values, and ethical laws that have come to characterize America’s individuality. It signifies America’s past, a historic reminder that unites the people and instills, in their hearts, a profound sense of patriotism and glory. Most of all, “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes the truth of what America truly means–“the land of the free and the home of the brave”.
They were attacking some of America’s forts. Instead of fighting back, the American's hung the American flag out to symbolize their freedom. All night, the British bombs, guns, and cannons exploded in the night, giving off enough light to illuminate the night sky and see that the flag was still proudly standing. The British had failed to tear down the fort’s wall, exemplifying that Great Britain could not suppress the idea of freedom for the United States. After that, a patriot by the name of Francis Scott Key, who was a lawyer and public servant wrote The Star-Spangled Banner. In it, he included “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” He wrote those words in 1814, but it still took almost a century to input it into the making of the Star-Spangled Banner. The Star-Spangled Banner has a special place in American's hearts because it shows how brave the United States was and still is. It shows that when we are united, nothing can break us
The American Revolution has too often been dominated by the narrative of the founding fathers and has since been remembered as a “glorified cause.” However, the American Revolution was not a unified war but a civil war with many internal disputes that wreaked havoc and chaos throughout America. In his book, The Unknown American Resvolution, Gary B. Nash attempts to unveil the chaos that the American Revolution really was through the eyes of the people not in power, including women, African American slaves, and Native Americans. In his book, Gary B. Nash emphasizes their significance in history to recount the tale of the American Revolution not through the eyes of the privileged elite but through the eyes of the people who sacrificed and struggled the most, but were left forgotten, in their endeavors to reinvent America.
If the soldiers who fought in the American Revolution were alive today to see what our nation has accomplished, they would cry tears of joy. These people defined their freedom as having an independent country where everyone would reunite and live under a set of laws where they all have equal rights. The novel, 1776, emphasizes the emotions that Americans had when the Declaration of Independence was signed through the following lines, “The year 1776, celebrated as the birth of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence forward a year of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear, as they would never for...
Accessed April 3, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41420902. Rozbicki, Michal Jan. Culture and Liberty in the Age of the American Revolution. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2011. Accessed April 3, 2014.
American freedom is personified as a strong “Queen of empires and nurse of arms,” (344) bringing hope and prosperity to a nation trapped under the darkness of British rule. Her “bold heroes mark their glorious way, Arm’d for the fight and blazing on the day !” (344). These bold heroes will go on to show both Britain and the world its hidden strength and ferocity, presenting America as a force to be reckoned with. All of this imagery and personification comes together to showcase the patriotism that existed during the Age of Reason. The Age of Reason in America was well known for its political writings and points of view. This work is no exception. With vivid and heroic figurative language that paints America in its best light, Trumbull succeeds in being one of the few true American poets as well as possessing the ability to capture the heart of the Age of Reason.
The Star Spangled Banner is currently America’s National Anthem which says a lot about its importance. During the time that this song was written, America was at war with the British in 1812 at the Battle of Baltimore. Francis Scott Key wrote this song after seeing the American flag still standing after the battle in which the British had failed. The inspiration this song brings to the United States proves it to be extremely patriotic and nationalistic. The first verse of the song is what most Americans are familiar with. The Star Spangled Banner provides a visual image of the war and how the flag symbolized America’s independence from Britain. I believe that Francis Scott Key was trying to communicate the importance of America’s independence through symbolism, and provide a sense of nationalism by using description of the war that America had won. The American Flag symbolizes freedom that was fought for while trying to gain independence. It states in the Star Spangled banner that America is “Land of the free and home of the brave”. This signifies nationalism in the sense that in the battle for our independence, we fought for a country that we believed in and
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
The Statue of Liberty is one of the most well know symbols of the United States, across the world. For this reason I chose to analyze the dramatic effect it creates, and what methods it implores to invent this "universal" meaning. It is one of the strongest visual representations of the ideals which our country is founded upon. I intend to defend the argument that the Statue of Liberty posses the power of persuading human thought using the terms encompassed in Kenneth Burke's Pentad, shaping the definition of "America" for people through out the world.
There is much controversy surrounding the idea of patriotism and the iconography of the American flag in today’s society. Some believe patriotism is simply the act of supporting the decisions of the leaders of the country. Others say, to be patriotic, people should be outspoken and voice their oppositions to what is going on in the government. Opinions also differ on the idea of what the American flag represents. One opinion of the flags representation is that the flag represents our history, and the formerly mentioned idea of patriotism. Others believe the flag also represents our history as a nation, but these beliefs focus much more heavily on the negative aspects of our history; such as slavery and other injustices carried out by our nation. These people often believe we should find a new iconography for our country’s ideas of patriotism. As Barbara Kingsolver states in “And Our Flag Was Still There,” “Patriotism seems to be falling to whoever claims it loudest, and we’re left struggling to find a definition in a clamor of reaction” (Pg. 1). Therefore, every American’s duty is to define patriotism amongst the clamor of reaction, recapture the American flag’s representation, and create a new icon for the flag.
According to Key, “our flag was still there” surviving through the bombing over the ramparts. As a result, the American flag would bring about a fresh wave of patriotism by becoming the actual symbol of the nation and eliciting universal feelings of patriotism, courage, and resilience within the American people. By giving the flag the main role in this victorious war, Key’s song would establish a new prominence for the flag as an expression of national identity, unity, and pride. Thus, the poem would induce feelings of pride among the American people because the survival of the flag indicated that they were able to secure their freedom through their victory at Fort McHenry. For a moment, America’s future had seemed uncertain because it was hard to see if the American flag was still there, but when it was still there, the people felt relieved because it meant that America was still the land of the free. Therefore, the emblem that is the American flag became a symbol that the people could connect with because it became a representation of their values and ideals as to what it means to be
The United States flag bears three different unique and patriotic colors significant to the United States of America. These colors include; red, blue, and white. The stripes alternating between red and white. There are 13 stripes in total symbolizing the 13 British colonies that became free from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The red stripes also represent the 7 continents of the world. Moving onto the upper left side of the flag, you will see a blue square which symbolized the Union. Inside, there are 50 stars which exemplify the 50 states in the United States. The flag is used to show the patriotism shown in the United States of America. Recognizing the independence we had gained and the freedom and liberty we have created. Usually many American citizens will fly their flags year round inside their private homes, but its most widespread during holidays like Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, and President’s Day.
What is the American flag and what does it represent? For many Americans the flag represents freedom, pride, and justice. Our flag stands for freedom because of the many lives that had to be lost throughout history for us to be the nation we are today. The American flag stands for pride because of the many American soldiers men and women who lost their lives for us. Lastly, our flag stands for justice because in the United States no matter what crime we do we have the right to a fair trial.
Personally the flag means a lot to me and definitely means more to those who join the forces and give their life to protect what it stands for. To me the flag means I start with a leg up against the citizens of other countries and that there is an army to protect me and my way of life. The flag means I can sleep safe without worrying about the next country coming in to my house, land, or life. When I was born I started out better and will get more stability while I'm growing up. The only reason I can say that is because of the flag. The flag which me those freedoms. Being born under it gives me a chance for all the freedoms it represents and protects. The flag stands for all that but also when I think of the American flag the first thing I
The Flag is an object matters to me becomes represents something. When I look at the Flag I see my aunt and the people who went to war for us. Some people may not believe that the flag is the beast they may believe that glasses are better but I think that The U.S.A. Flag is because it represents a symbol of bravery and peace, and it has a song to prove that it is all of those things. In my opinion, I think that The U.S.A Flag has the greatest impact on society.
The National Anthem symbolizes one of the key moments in history. It started during the War of 1812 (Parrish). In the early stages of the war, the American Navy scored victories in the Atlantic and on Lake Erie while Britain concentrated its military efforts on its war with France (“Life During Wartime”). But with the defeat of Napoleon’s armies in 1814, Britain turned its attention to the war against the United States (“Life During Wartime”). Several months later, the most important battle just began. This battle was known as the Battle of Baltimore (“Life During Wartime”). The Americans were defending the Port of Baltimore from the British. The British Navy then unleashed a barrage of c...