Aug. 4, 2022

Episode 95 - Francis Scott Key and the American National Anthem

Jennie and Dianne learn about Francis Scott Key and his gravesite at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland. Francis Scott Key was a complicated man who opposed war, but believed in the freedom of the nation. He fought for the freedom of black people while at the same time owning slaves himself that he never intended to offer freedom. He was a poet, a father, a lawyer. In an Ordinary Extraordinary moment of jubilation after witnessing a victorious battle in the war of 1812, Key penned a poem that would one day become America's national anthem.

(Painting: Percy Moran's painting depicting Francis Scott Key the morning after the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
Library of Congress * Photo: Shared from www.visitfrederick.org)

Show Notes

Resources used to research this episode include:
Editors, Biography.com. "Francis Scott Key Biography." https://www.biography.com/. 23 Apr. 2021. www.biography.com/writer/francis-scott-key. Accessed 31 July 2022.

Service, National Park. "Fort McHenry." https://www.nps.gov/. 30 July 2020. www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/francis-scott-key.htm. Accessed 31 July 2022.

Gelb, Norman. "Francis Scott Key, the Reluctant Patriot ." https://www.smithsonianmag.com/. 1 Sep. 2004. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/francis-scott-key-the-reluctant-patriot-180937178/. Accessed 31 July 2022.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/. www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/ex-parte-bollman. Accessed 31 July 2022.

Editors , History.Com. "War of 1812." https://www.history.com/. 6 Oct. 2021. www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/war-of-1812. Accessed 31 July 2022.

, Battlefields.Org. "Fort McHenry ." https://www.battlefields.org/. www.battlefields.org/learn/war-1812/battles/fort-mchenry. Accessed 31 July 2022.

"Baltimore to repair defaced Francis Scott Key monument ." https://mahdc.org/. 16 Sep. 2017. mahdc.org/baltimore-to-repair-defaced-francis-scott-key-monument/. Accessed 31 July 2022.

Goldberg , Barbara, and Nathan Frandino. "‘Reckoning’ with slavery: toppled Francis Scott Key statue replaced by African figures ." https://www.reuters.com/. 12 June 2021. www.reuters.com/world/us/reckoning-with-slavery-toppled-francis-scott-key-statue-replaced-by-african-2021-06-11/. Accessed 31 July 2022.

Baker-Katz, Ben. "A HISTORY OF TREASON LAW IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE QUESTIONS IT FAILS TO ANSWER," Rice Historical Review , 2022, pp. 71-82, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/francis-scott-key-the-reluctant-patriot-180937178/ . Accessed 31 July 2022.