Search -
What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life
What So Proudly We Hailed Francis Scott Key A Life Author:Marc Leepson 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? un... more »der 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.« less