What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life

Marc Leepson

Palgrave Macmillan, Jun 24, 2014 - History - 256 pages

What So Proudly We Hailed is the first full-length biography of Francis Scott Key in more than 75 years. In this fascinating look at early America, historian Marc Leepson explores the life and legacy of Francis Scott Key. Standing alongside Betsy Ross, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, and John Hancock in history, Key made his mark as an American icon by one single and unforgettable act, writing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Among other things, Leepson reveals:
• How the young Washington lawyer found himself in Baltimore Harbor on the night of September 13-14, 2014
• The mysterious circumstances surrounding how the poem he wrote, first titled "The Defense of Ft. M'Henry," morphed into the National Anthem
• Key's role in forming the American Colonization Society, and his decades-long fervent support for that controversial endeavor that sent free blacks to Africa
• His adamant opposition to slave trafficking and his willingness to represent slaves and freed men and women for free in Washington's courts
• Key's role as a confidant of President Andrew Jackson and his work in Jackson's "kitchen cabinet"
• Key's controversial actions as U.S. Attorney during the first race riot in Washington, D.C., in 1835.

Publishing to coincide with the 200th anniversary of "The Star Spangled Banner" in 2014, What So Proudly We Hailed reveals unexplored details of the life of an American patriot whose legacy has been largely unknown until now.

Contents

• 1 A Family of Lawyers: 1
• 2 Annapolis Frederick Town and George Town: 11
• 3 Nil Desperandum: 25
• 4 Piety and Patriotism: 37
• 5 A Citizen of the Highest Respectability: 47
• 6 A Beautiful and Animating Effusion: 55
• 7 A Useless Pernicious Dangerous Portion of the Population: 71
• 8 A Class of Very Dangerous People: 85
• 9 A Stormy Tumult of Feeling: 95
• 10 A Vigorous and WellCultivated Intellect: 103
• 11 A Friend of Peace: 113
• 12 A Particular Friend of the President: 123
• 13 A Rank Jackson Man: 133
• 14 The Prosecutor: 141
• 15 Minister to Alabama: 151
• 16 An Incorruptible Patriot: 159
• 17 An Alarming State of Disorder: 169
• 18 A Friend of Men of Color: 187
• Epilogue One of the Best Men Who Ever Lived: 197
• Appendix Selected Francis Scott Key Family Genealogy: 201
• Acknowledgments: 203
• Notes: 207
• Bibliography: 225
• Index: 229

About the author

Marc Leepson is the author of eight books, including Lafayette, Desperate Engagement, Saving Monticello, and Flag. Former staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, his work has appeared in Smithsonian, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today among others. He has been interviewed on the Today show, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, BBC's Newshour, and the History Channel. He lives in Middleburg, Virginia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life
• Author: Marc Leepson
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014
• ISBN: 1137464313, 9781137464316
• Length: 256 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Cultural Heritage; History / United States / 19th Century