Enlightened by the Rockets’ Red Glare:
The Meaning of the “Star-Spangled Banner”
An Online Professional Development
Seminar
WELCOME
We will begin promptly on the hour.
The silence you hear is normal. If you do not
hear anything when the images on the screen
change, e-mail Caryn Koplik for assistance.
(ckoplik@nationalhumanitiescenter.org)
GOALS
 To deepen your understanding of the “Star-Spangled Banner’s” meaning as
a work of literature
 To use the national anthem to explain the historical moment of early
nineteenth century America
 To place it within the broader cultural context of the American Enlightenment
 To enhance its use as an instructional tool
Robert A. Ferguson
George Edward Woodberry Professor in
Law, Literature, and Criticism
Columbia University
National Humanities Center Fellow
1994-95
2007
The Federalist Papers (ed.)
2006
Reading the Early Republic
(2004)
The American Enlightenment 1750-1820
(1997)
Law and Letters in American Life
(1987)
Anacreontic Society
Written by Ralph Tomlinson, Esq.
To Anacreon in Heav'n where sat in full Glee,
A few Sons of Harmony sent a Petition,
The He their Inspirer and Patron wou'd be,
when this Answer arriv'd from the Jolly Old Grecian
"Voice Fiddle and Flute no longer be mute
I'll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot
And besides I'll instruct you like me to Intwine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine The news
through Olympus immediately flew;
When old Thunder intended to give himself airs-If these mortals are suffer'd their scheme to pursue,
The devil's goddess will stay above stairs.
Hark! already they cry,
In transports of joy,
A fig for Parnassus! to Rowley's we'll fly;
And there, my good fellows, we'll learn to intwine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.
The yellow-hair'd god, and his nine fusty maids,
To the hill of old Lud will incontinent flee,
Idalia will boast but of tenantless shades,
And the biforked hill a mere desert will be.
My thunder, no fear on't
Will soon do its errand,
And, dam'me! I'll swinge the ringleaders, I warrant.
I'll trim the young dogs, for thus daring to twine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.
Apollo rose up; and said, Pr'ythee ne'er quarrel,
Good king of the gods, with my vot'ries below!
Your thunder is useless--then, shewing his laurel,
Cry'd, Sic evatbile fulmen, you know!
Then over each head
My laurels I'll spread;
So, my sons from your crackers no mischief shall dread,
Whilst snug in their club-room, they jovially twine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.
Next Momus got up, with his risible phiz,
And swore with Apollo he'd cheerfully join-The full tide of harmony still shall be his,
But the song, and the catch, and the laugh shall be mine:
Then, Jove, be not jealous
Of these honest fellows.
Cry'd Jove, We relent, since the truth you now tell us;
And swear, by Old Styx, that they long shall intwine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.
Ye sons of Anacreon, then, join hand in hand;
Preserve unanimity, friendship, and love.
'Tis your's to support what's so happily plan'd;
You've the sanction of gods, and the fiat of Jove.
While thus we agree,
Our toast let it be.
May our club flourish happy, united and free!
And long may the sons of Anacreon intwine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.
(London, 1778)
EIGHT BASIC PREMISES
In 1812, most Americans believed that:
1. The discovery of the New World only after the Protestant Reformation is part
of God’s plan for a dramatic shift in human history within an unspoiled natural
world. America, in consequence, will become either the new promised land or,
if blemished, hell on earth. There is no middle alternative, and God’s promise
is only as good as the capacity of a virtuous people to make it come true.
2. Europe is a place of tyranny, corruption, sin, ignorance, and failed
expectations. Only the New World has the chance to make a new kind of
government that will bring happiness through liberty to its people, and that will
only happen if the New World keeps its distance from the Old World. The
march of history is westward, where the true advance of human civilization will
take place.
EIGHT BASIC PREMISES
In 1812, most Americans believed that:
3. No one knows the geographical shape of the new American republic or its
ultimate extent, and there is great anxiety over what that extent will be. Every
border except the East coastal one is disputed and up for grabs both between
the states and against Mexico (Spain) in the South and West and Canada
(England and France) in the North. Very few Americans assume a continental
American republic is possible, but most of them nonetheless assume that
Canada belongs in the United States or will become a separate republic exactly
like the United States. (Territorial expansion will continue to rip the nation apart
politically into the sixth decade of the nineteenth century.)
4. The answer to every anxiety is a universally educated people. An enlightened
people, once properly informed, will agree about the essential conditions
EIGHT BASIC PREMISES
In 1812, most Americans believed that:
5. The identification of most Americans remains with their separate states. Any
concerted effort by the federal government is viewed with grave suspicion,
and it is very difficult to get the state governments to support a federal military
effort.
6. There is still no sense of a loyal opposition within the party system that is
evolving in the United States. Accusations of treason, malice, corruption, and
bad faith dominate political exchange.
EIGHT BASIC PREMISES
In 1812, most Americans believed that:
7. Most established leaders of the still new republic assume that it is a fragile
experiment in great danger of failing altogether, an attitude mirrored in
England, where established leaders assume that the United States will fall
into disunion within their lifetimes.
8. Everywhere in the language of the period, light and sight are the controlling
metaphors of advancement.
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Francis Scott Key
September 13-14, 1814
Stanza 1
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twlight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is the viewpoint of the speaker of this poem? What does the speaker actually see and how does
he see it?
Why is it so significant that during the Battle of Fort McHenry, the American speaker is in the harbor on
a British ship?
Grammatically speaking, this entire first stanza is in the interrogatory mode. Why, then, do we never
sing it as questions asked? What is the predicament that requires the speaker to ask questions here?
The poem is spontaneously popular to the tune of the English drinking song, “To Anacreon in Heaven,”
to which it is almost immediately attached. Why is it popular at the time and why has it survived so well
even though the song itself is difficult to sing well?
Why, in the continuous refrain of each stanza, are “the free” understood to be also “the brave”? Why is
this the refrain?
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Stanza 2
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream.
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Discussion Questions
1. The poem tells a story. How does this second stanza advance the story?
2. Why is the speaker so anxious and on two separate counts?
3. What has the speaker learned and what does it allow him to claim?
4. How do we know that the actual battle over Fort McHenry is over?
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Stanza 3
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A Home and a country, shall leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps pollution;
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Discussion Questions
1. This stanza is rarely sung today. Why not? Is it just bad poetry?
2. What anxiety does this third stanza present, and what does it tell us about our country today?
3. How has the story of the poem advanced?
4. What is the speaker of the poem seeing here?
5. Both the third and fourth stanza talk, for the first time, of “triumph.” Does “triumph” means
the same thing in both stanzas?
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Stanza 4
O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d home, and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—”In God is our Trust”;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Discussion Questions
1. This stanza is the second most popular in the national anthem. Why?
2. What has happened to “seeing” in this stanza?
3. There are major claims in this stanza. What are they?
4. What is the end of the story that the poem tells and how does it properly conclude the anthem?
5. Now, that you have studied the whole poem, why does this poem and song become the national
anthem, and why does it only happen, after considerable controversy, on March 3, 1931?
6. What difference does it make that our National Anthem is so fixated on the national flag?
7. What difference does it make that our National Anthem is based upon a wartime experience?
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 1
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twlight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
Philip Freneau, “On the Uniformity and Perfection of Nature” [1815]
Who looks through nature with an eye
That would the scheme of heaven descry,
Observes her constant, still the same,
In all her law, through all her frame.
No imperfection can be found
In all that is, above, around,—
All nature made, in reason’s sight
Is order all and all is right.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 1
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twlight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
Thomas Jefferson to Roger Weightman, June 24, 1826.
May it be to the world, what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later,
but finally to all), the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which
monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves….All
eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. The general spread of the light
of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of
mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted
and spurred, to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of
hope for others.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 1
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twlight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
Thomas Jefferson on Education, 1813.
[H]e who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening mine.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 1
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twlight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions, (1787).
A prospect into futurity of America is like contemplating the heavens
through the telescopes of Herschel. Objects stupendous in their
magnitudes and motions strike us from all quarters, and fill us with
amazement!...that mind must be hardened into stone that is not melted into
the reverence and awe.”
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 1
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twlight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
John Adams to William Cunningham, January 3, 1809
The humor of it [the French octagonal powder room with eight sides and the
ceiling all covered with mirrors] is that when the lady of the house is out of
temper, when she is angry, or when she weeps without cause, she may be
locked up in this chamber to pout, and to see in every direction how
beautiful she is….Such a Boudoir is the Defence [of the Constitutions]. Our
States may see themselves in it, in every possible light, attitude and
movement. They may see all their beauties, and all their deformities. Happy
they who are made cautious by others’ dangers.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 2
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream.
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Thomas Jefferson to William Duane, March 28, 1811.
The last hope of human liberty in this world rests on us. We ought, for so
dear a state, to sacrifice every attachment and every enmity….even if we
think we are wiser than [those in power], honester than they are, or
possessing more enlarged information of the state of things. If we move in
mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break
into squads, every one pursuing the path he thinks most direct, we become
an easy conquest to those who can now barely hold us in check.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 2
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream.
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Moreau de St. Méry [French lawyer], American Journey, 1793-1798
American men, generally speaking, are tall and thin…but they seem to
have no strength. They are listless, those in the towns even more than the
others. Neither sex can boast a complexion. They are brave, but they lack
drive. Indifferent toward almost everything, they sometimes behave in a
manner that suggests real energy; then follow it with a ‘Oh-to-hell-with it’
attitude which shows that they seldom feel genuine enthusiasm.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 3
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A Home and a country, shall leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps pollution;
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, January 16, 1787
Among [European Governments] under pretence of governing, they have
divided their nations into two classes, wolves and sheep. I do not
exaggerate. This is the true state of Europe. Cherish, therefore, the spirit of
our people and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their
errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become
inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies,
Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of
our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions; and experience
declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind; for I can
apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey
of the rich on the poor.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 3
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A Home and a country, shall leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps pollution;
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Thomas Jefferson to George Wythe, August 13, 1786
If all the sovereigns of Europe were to set themselves to work, to
emancipate the minds of their subjects from their present ignorance and
prejudices, and that, as zealously as they now endeavor the contrary, a
thousand years would not place them on that high ground, on which our
common people are now setting out….I think by far the most important bill
in our whole code, is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 3
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A Home and a country, shall leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps pollution;
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, February 26, 1788
I have lived long enough, and seen enough of the world, to check
expectations, and to bring my mind to my circumstances, and retiring to our
own little farm feeding my poultry and improving my garden has more
charms for my fancy, than residing at the court of Saint James’s, where I
seldom meet with characters so inoffensive as my Hens and chickings, or
minds so well improved as my garden. Heaven forgive me if I think too
hardly of them. I wish they had deserved better at my Hands.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 4
O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d home, and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—”In God is our Trust”;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776
You and I, my dear friend [George Wythe], have been sent into life at a time
when the greatest lawgivers of antiquity would have wished to live. How few
of the human race have ever enjoyed an opportunity of making an election
of government, more than of air, soil, or climate, for themselves or their
children! When, before the present epocha, had three millions of people full
power and a fair opportunity to form and establish the wisest and happiest
government that human wisdom can contrive?
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 4
O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d home, and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—”In God is our Trust”;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
John Adams to H. Niles, February 13, 1818
The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people, a change in their
religious sentiments of their duties and obligations….The people of America
had been educated in an habitual affection for England, as their mother
country; and while they thought her a kind and tender parent (erroneously
enough, however, for she never was such a mother), no affection could be
more sincere. But when they found her a cruel beldam, willing like Lady
Macbeth to “dash their brains out,” it is no wonder if their filial affections
ceased, and were changed into indignation and horror. This radical change
in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the
real American Revolution.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 4
O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d home, and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—”In God is our Trust”;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Frequent Refrain from both pulpit and podium throughout the Early Republic.
“If God be with us, who can stand against us?”
“The Star-Spangled Banner” Stanza 4
O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov’d home, and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto—”In God is our Trust”;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
William Bartram, “A Camp on the Altamaha,” Travels (1791)
[On recovery from a violent storm while in Nature] The waters are purified, the waves subside,
and the beautiful river regains its native calmness: so it is with the varied and mutable scenes of
human events on the stream of life….at the very point when we vainly imagine ourselves to have
attained [the summit of terrestrial glory and happiness], some unforeseen accident intervenes,
and surprises us; the chain is violently shaken, we quit our hold and fall: the well contrived system
at once becomes a chaos; every idea of happiness recedes; the splendour of glory darkens, and
at length totally disappears; every pleasing object is defaced, all is deranged, and the flattering
scene passes quite away, a gloomy cloud pervades the understanding, and when we see our
progress retarded, and our best intentions frustrated, we are apt to deviate from the admonitions
and convictions of virtue, to shut our eyes upon our guide and protector, doubt of his power, and
despair of his assistance. But let us wait and rely on our God, who in due time will shine forth in
brightness, dissipate the envious cloud, and reveal to us how finite and circumscribed is human
power, when assuming to itself independent wisdom.
Now that you have studied the poem,
What is the end of the story that the poem tells and how does it properly
conclude the anthem?
Why does this poem and song become the national anthem, and why does it
only happen, after considerable controversy, on March 3, 1931?
What difference does it make that our National Anthem is so fixated on the
national flag?
What difference does it make that our National Anthem is based upon a
wartime experience?
Final slide.
Thank You.