Symbols of Freedom
Symbols of Freedom

Author: Matthew J. Clavin

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2023-06-13

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1479823252

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How American symbols inspired enslaved people and their allies to fight for true freedom In the early United States, anthems, flags, holidays, monuments, and memorials were powerful symbols of an American identity that helped unify a divided people. A language of freedom played a similar role in shaping the new nation. The Declaration of Independence’s assertion “that all men are created equal,” Patrick Henry’s cry of “Give me liberty, or give me death!,” and Francis Scott Key’s “star-spangled banner” waving over “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” were anthemic celebrations of a newly free people. Resonating across the country, they encouraged the creation of a republic where the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was universal, natural, and inalienable. For enslaved people and their allies, the language and symbols that served as national touchstones made a mockery of freedom. Deriding the ideas that infused the republic’s founding, they encouraged an empty American culture that accepted the abstract notion of equality rather than the concrete idea. Yet, as award-winning author Matthew J. Clavin reveals, it was these powerful expressions of American nationalism that inspired forceful and even violent resistance to slavery. Symbols of Freedom is the surprising story of how enslaved people and their allies drew inspiration from the language and symbols of American freedom. Interpreting patriotic words, phrases, and iconography literally, they embraced a revolutionary nationalism that not only justified but generated open opposition. Mindful and proud that theirs was a nation born in blood, these disparate patriots fought to fulfill the republic’s promise by waging war against slavery. In a time when the US flag, the Fourth of July, and historical sites have never been more contested, this book reminds us that symbols are living artifacts whose power is derived from the meaning with which we imbue them.

Mermaid Myths
Mermaid Myths

Author: Cynthia O'Brien

Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing LLLP

Published: 2017-12-15

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1538213737

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Are mermaids compassionate beings waiting to save drowning sailors or vindictive creatures hoping to lure people to their deaths? The answer depends on the lore, which is vast and varied. Through the centuries, people around the world have reported seeing real mermaids on rocks or bobbing in the sea. Even in the 21st century, people are drawn to the mystery of the mermaid. Readers, too, will find the many mermaid stories and hoaxes in this engaging book entertaining as well as educational. Folklore is a unique and entertaining window into studies of world culture.

Listening and Longing
Listening and Longing

Author: Daniel Cavicchi

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2012-01-01

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 0819571636

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Winner of the Northeast Popular Culture Association's Peter C. Rollins Book Award (2012) Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award (2012) Listening and Longing explores the emergence of music listening in the United States, from its early stages in the antebellum era, when entrepreneurs first packaged and sold the experience of hearing musical performance, to the Gilded Age, when genteel critics began to successfully redefine the cultural value of listening to music. In a series of interconnected stories, American studies scholar Daniel Cavicchi focuses on the impact of industrialization, urbanization, and commercialization in shaping practices of music audiences in America. Grounding our contemporary culture of listening in its seminal historical moment—before the iPod, stereo system, or phonograph—Cavicchi offers a fresh understanding of the role of listening in the history of music.