What is the meaning of hireling and slave in the national anthem?

What is the meaning of hireling and slave in the national anthem?

Taylor: This part isn’t meant as pro-slavery language. It’s referring to the British-poisoned ground – their polluting presence on American soil. No refuge could save the hireling and slave. Clague: Hirelings were the professional British troops.

Who are the hireling and slave?

Like Key, the poet uses the words hirelings and slaves to describe the British soldiers employed by the King. (Newspapers.com) We are presented with at least three possible answers regarding why Key used the words slave and hireling in his poem.

Did Francis Scott Key have slaves?

Key was a devout Episcopalian. Key owned slaves from 1800, during which time abolitionists ridiculed his words, claiming that America was more like the “Land of the Free and Home of the Oppressed”. As District Attorney, he suppressed abolitionists and did not support an immediate end to slavery.

Why is only the first verse of the national anthem sung?

Although “The Star-Spangled Banner” and all of its verses were immediately famous, Key’s overt racism prevented it from becoming the national anthem while he was alive, Morley wrote. In the early 20th Century, all but the first verse were cut — not for their racism, but for their anti-British bent.

Who is a hireling?

Definition of hireling : a person who serves for hire especially for purely mercenary motives. Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More About hireling.

Was Francis Scott Key a prisoner when he wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?

Myth #1: Francis Scott Key was held prisoner aboard a British ship during the bombardment of Baltimore. Correction: Key was aboard his own American truce ship during the battle.

What is Francis Scott Key referring when he mentions hirelings and slaves in the third stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner?

So when Key references the “foul footstep’s” of the “hireling and slave” who “no refuge could save” from “the gloom of the grave” in the third verse, he’s referring to the killing of Colonial Marines.

What is the true story of The Star-Spangled Banner?

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort M’Henry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812.

What does “hireling and slave” mean in the national anthem?

The article cited by journalist Radley Balko in the above tweet quotes the rarely sung third stanza of the anthem (see below), noting that the phrase “hireling and slave” refers to black slaves hired to fight on the side of the British during the War of 1812: And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,

What is the difference between “hireling” and “slave”?

Thus, “hireling” refers to the mercenaries who fought for the British (typically German hessians), and “slave” most likely refers to the American sailors impressed by the British navy and forced to fight for it.

Is slavery in ‘the Star-Spangled Banner’?

‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and Slavery Is the legacy of black slavery enshrined in a lesser-known stanza of the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”? Some historians say yes.

Who were the hirelings and slaves of 1812?

It refers to the British who fought against the United States in the War of 1812. The “hirelings” were foreign mercenaries in British service; the “slaves” were British sailors who were pressed into service against their will.