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What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life Hardcover – June 24, 2014

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Marc Leepson (Author)
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Marc Leepson (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 18 customer reviews
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  • Star-Spangled Banner: The Unlikely Story of America's National Anthem
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 24, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1137278285
  • ISBN-13: 978-1137278289
  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.9 x 9.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsChambered
By Rudolph Gillespie on July 31, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Marc Leepson buries a gold nugget in this highly evolved biography of Francis Scott Key. He opens chambers long sealed and invites us to peruse the early years of America's 19th Century. Within these chapters we experience the dissonance of mind that allowed the highest human ideals of the Revolution to be partnered with slavery of African peoples: the necessary machinery of America's empire building period.

The youthful Key's soaring anthem takes root in in soil tended by people who are wholly owned; soil recently vacated of native peoples by presidential decree; soil that is rapidly giving its wealth to homesteads and businessmen.

In his maturity, the golden moment of truth, that we could change direction towards our ideal of human dignity is sacrificed in the turmoil that Key assails as a lawyer. He personally supports colonization of freed Northern slaves back to Africa while also battling abolitionists who seek to free all slaves.

His contention: That society, once freed of its patronizing ownership of slave labor, will be writhing with the misery of ignorant, dispossessed and angry people.
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5.0 out of 5 starsLeepson is particularly good at describing the American colonization movement
By Denis J. Cotter on October 2, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Marc Leepson’s new book, What So Proudly We Hailed, is the first full-length biography of Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) to be written in over seventy years. Key’s claim to fame is that he wrote the national anthem of the United States, “The Star-Spangled Banner” – a fact taught early in American elementary schools and embedded for a lifetime in the minds of the citizenry. Beyond that detail, knowledge of Key’s life, times, and works is not widespread among the population. Mr. Leepson’s new biography – whose title comes from the second line of the anthem – is a serious attempt to remedy that deficiency.

Leepson’s extremely well-researched book chronicles a man born during the American Revolution, who grew to manhood in the early decades of his independent country, contributed to the public life of the new republic, and died almost two decades before the American Civil War began. What is particularly interesting about the book is the author’s feeling – his attitude towards his subject – which comes across as quite a conflicted one.

Leepson clearly admires Key as a patriot and, all things considered, a decent, respectable human being. On the other hand, Leepson is definitely appalled that Key was a slave-owner. In many ways, the biography is less an account of Key’s life and more a detailed description of the slave-owning milieu of early 19th century America, particularly the intellectual milieu of a sincere, conscientious Christian such as Francis Scott Key. Leepson is particularly good at describing the American colonization movement, the repatriation of slaves to Africa, in which Key was a leading member.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsWorkmanlike Biography
By Bronx Book Guy on January 2, 2015
Format: Hardcover
I think a good label for this would be that it is a "workmanlike" biography. It provides the basics in an informative way that can appeal to both the general reader and those with special concern regarding the subject matter. It is a good straightforward biography of Francis Scott Key, best known for penning what later became the national anthem (though few know past the first stanza; no great loss), but has some other pretty interesting stories. A some bit dull at times, it is to praised for its workmanlike effort, including touching upon some of his less praiseworthy times such as hounding a botanist with abolitionist leanings.

Quick reading but still nutritious. I am a bit torn in such cases since it is basically a 3.5 star affair but I'll round up in part since I asked the author a question (check out his website) and he helpfully responded!

http://www.marcleepson.com/
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5.0 out of 5 starsAt Last--the book we've needed for decades!
By David A. Willson on July 17, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Leepson has written another brilliant book bringing alive history with his research and his clear prose style and his talent for telling a story, You learn everything you ever wanted to know about Frank Key and his song. There will be no need for another book on this subject as this is the one that will stand the test of time. This is the book I wish I had had available to me during the thirty years I was a reference librarian, to answer the million questions I got about what the story of America's national anthem was. Now we know. Thanks to Mr. Leepson.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Star-Spangled History Lesson
By Paul H. Belz on August 9, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This biography is quite revelatory and should be read by everyone who sings the National Anthem. According to this biography the author of the anthem knew nothing about music and never wrote a song, yet the melody and words mesh perfectly and it was published almost immediately in Baltimore. A mystery.

The book reveals that Francis Scott Key was raised in a slave household and he bought, sold, and owned slaves his entire life. At death he didn't free them but bequeathed them to his wife and she didn't free them either. She was raised on her family's huge Wye Plantation in Maryland where Frederick Douglass was born into slavery.

As a lawyer Key fought to return slaves to their masters. As a Washington prosecutor and member of Andrew Jackson's inner circle he tried to have a black man executed for threatening a white woman. The woman did not want the man executed and President Jackson stopped it at the last moment. Key also prosecuted a white abolitionist for distributing abolitionist literature. He hated the abolitionists and they obviously disliked him. He was a lifelong colonizationist and one of the founders and enthusiastic promoters of that movement, which means he wanted freed slaves deported to Africa. Author Leepson notes that American blacks colonized to Africa slaughtered the natives, who weren't enamored about losing their land. Key feared the mixing of the races. He believed blacks were inferior to whites.

Key began his law practice under the tutelage of his uncle who fought on the side of the British during the American Revolution, was branded a traitor, but eventually returned to the U. S. and became a leading Washington attorney and politician.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

My husband loves this book.

Published 16 months ago by Mary D. Reeves
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent terrifically researched biography

Excellent terrifically researched biography. If you thought all Francis Scott Key ever did was write the Star Spangled Banner and then fade away, Marc Leepson fills in what was a... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Spousal Unit
5.0 out of 5 starsWhat so Proudly We Haile: Francis Scott Key by Marc Leeson

It was a gift for my son and being the history buff that he is, he learned a lot from this book.

Published 22 months ago by Beverly H. Rutledge
5.0 out of 5 starsFinally A Complete and Accurate Account of Our National Anthem

This book gives the history of FSK including some lineage, which I was looking for. Checked one out from the library but wanted one for my own library. Read more

Published 23 months ago by sixtzgrl
5.0 out of 5 starsThrough this book the reader can learn a great deal about the life of...

Through this book the reader can learn a great deal about the life of Francis Scott Key and his life beyond writing the Star Spangled Banner.

Published on February 10, 2015 by Phil Horning
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Made a great gift.

Published on January 2, 2015 by gina K graves
5.0 out of 5 starsProudly Haild This Country

Excellent book. We grow up knowing one or two great things a person did in their lifetime and really nothing else about them. Read more

Published on November 16, 2014 by Janet Gunter
4.0 out of 5 starsFine Biography

And interesting book full of the real story of a fascinating historical figure. It was good to learn a good bit about Francis Scott Key.

Published on November 15, 2014 by Stephen Nelson
5.0 out of 5 starsthat an author can convey a great deal of compelling information...

A smooth and engaging read all the way through. Mr. Leepson does a masterful job of blending personal detail and
historical context. Read more

Published on October 26, 2014 by Hunter
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Delivered as expected

Published on September 24, 2014 by Just Me

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