In America, one is free to live his or her life as one chooses, express faith in a chosen place of worship or not worship if that’s the choice, gather in an open assembly, decide truth from a free press unencumbered by a dictatorial government, or petition the government if that’s a need.Īmerica is the home of the brave. Nowhere on Earth is freedom more apparent or manifest than in this land whose boundaries are from sea to shining sea, but whose opportunities know no boundary at all.
Although it is only the first verse of his poem that is sung as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the poem actually has three verses and his religious leanings are particularly noted in the third stanza.Įach stanza ends with those enduring words, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Anyone who loves this country is touched when that phrase is spoken or sung.Īmerica is the land of the free. He also helped found two Episcopal seminaries. He was instrumental in founding several parishes around Baltimore and Washington. His writings were usually sprinkled with biblical references. Key was a devoutly religious man and almost became an Episcopal priest, rather than an attorney. Light from the unremitting bombardment of rockets and bombs gave Key a visual of the banner of broad stripes and bright stars that seemed embedded in his heart and soul. From his vantage point, when the sun’s rays first fell across the fort, to Key’s surprise and joy, the banner of stars and stripes, not the Union Jack, was still waving.Īs the son of a patriot in the Continental Army, the sight must have made his chest swell with pride. “It seemed as though Mother Earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone,” Key would write.įrom such a barrage he was certain the Union Jack would be flying over the fort come dawn. The light from the bursting rockets over the fort was conclusive the fort would fall. The sounds of the cannons were excruciating.
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