Working With
Primary Sources
S
uppose that you have been asked to write
a report on changes in your community
over the past 25 years. Where would you
get the information you need to begin writing?
You would draw upon two types of information—primary sources and secondary sources.
Definitions
Primary sources are often first-person
accounts by someone who actually saw or
lived through what is being described. In other
words, if you see a fire or live through a great
storm and then write about your experiences,
you are creating a primary source. Diaries,
journals, photographs, and eyewitness reports
are examples of primary sources. Secondary
sources are secondhand accounts. For instance,
if your friend experiences the fire or storm and
tells you about it, or if you read about the fire
or storm in the newspaper, and then you write
about it, you are creating a secondary source.
Textbooks, biographies, and histories
are secondary sources.
Checking Your Sources
When you read primary or secondary
sources, you should analyze them to figure out
if they are dependable or reliable. Historians
usually prefer primary sources to secondary
sources, but both can be reliable or unreliable,
depending on the following factors.
Time Span
With primary sources, it is important to consider how long after the event occurred the
primary source was written. Chances are the
longer the time span between the event and
the account, the less reliable the account is. As
time passes, people often forget details and fill
in gaps with events that never took place.
Although we like to think we remember things
exactly as they happened, the fact is we often
remember them as we wanted them to occur.
Reliability
Another factor to consider when evaluating a
primary source is the writer's background and
reliability. First, try to determine how this person
knows about what he or she is writing. How
much does he or she know? Is the writer being
truthful? Is the account convincing?
Opinions
William Clark’s
log book
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When evaluating a primary source, you should
also decide whether the
account has been influenced by emotion, opinion, or exaggeration.
Writers can have reasons
to distort the truth to suit
their personal purposes. Ask yourself: Why did
the person write the account? Do any key words
or expressions reveal the author’s emotions or
opinions? You may wish to compare the account
with one written by another witness to the event.
If the two accounts differ, ask yourself why they
differ and which is more accurate.
• Reread the document.
Difficult ideas are not always easily understood
on the first reading.
• Use a variety of resources.
Form the habit of using the dictionary, the
encyclopedia, and maps. These resources are
tools to help you discover new ideas and
knowledge and check the validity of sources.
Interpreting Primary Sources
To help you analyze a primary source, use the
following steps:
• Examine the origins of the document.
You need to determine if it is a primary source.
• Find the main ideas.
Read the document and summarize the main
ideas in your own words. These ideas may
be fairly easy to identify in newspapers and
journals, for example, but are much more
difficult to find in poetry.
George Washington’s
compass
Classifying Primary Sources
Primary sources fall into different categories:
Printed publications include books such as
autobiographies. Printed publications also
include newspapers and magazines.
Songs and poems include works that express
the personal thoughts and feelings, or political
or religious beliefs, of the writer, often using
rhyming and rhythmic language.
Visual materials include a wide range of forms:
original paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, film, and maps.
Oral history collects spoken memories and personal observations through recorded interviews. By contrast, oral tradition involves
stories that people have passed along by word
of mouth from generation to generation.
Personal records are accounts of events kept by
an individual who is a participant in, or witness
to, these events. Personal records include
diaries, journals, and letters.
Artifacts are objects such as tools or ornaments.
Artifacts present information about a particular
culture or a stage of technological development.
Primary Sources Library
591
For use with Unit 1
Different
Worlds Meet
Until the arrival of Christopher
Columbus, the lifestyle and culture
of Native Americans had endured
for centuries. They told stories,
sang songs, and recited tales that
recounted their past and their close
relationship with the natural world.
These stories and songs survived
through oral tradition. This means
that each generation passed down its
stories and songs to its young people
by word of mouth. As you read, think
about how oral history, folklore, and
tradition connect us to the past.
Reader’s Dictionary
Lakota: a member of the Sioux people of
central and eastern North America
prophecy: a prediction about the future
Black Hills: mountains in the western
Dakotas and northeast Wyoming
elder: a person who is honored for his or
her age and experience
Pinta: one of the three ships under
Columbus’s command during his
first trip to the Americas
White Buffalo
Calf Woman Brings
the First Pipe
Joseph Chasing Horse of
the Lakota people tells the story of
the White Buffalo Calf Woman.
W
e Lakota people have a prophecy about
the white buffalo calf. How that
prophecy originated was that we have
a sacred bundle, a sacred pipe, that was brought
to us about 2,000 years ago by what we know as
the White Buffalo Calf Woman.
The story goes that she appeared to two warriors at that time. These two warriors were out
hunting buffalo . . . in the sacred Black Hills of
South Dakota, and they saw a big body coming
toward them. And they saw that it was a white
buffalo calf. As it came closer to them, it turned
into a beautiful young Indian girl.
[At] that time one of the warriors [had bad
thoughts] and so the young girl told him to step
forward. And when he did step forward, a black
cloud came over his body, and when the black
cloud disappeared, the warrior who had bad
thoughts was left with no flesh or blood on his
bones. The other warrior kneeled and began
to pray.
And when he prayed, the white buffalo calf,
who was now an Indian girl told him to
go back to his people and
warn them that in four
days she was going to
bring a sacred bundle.
So the warrior did as he
was told. He went back
to his people, and
he gathered all the
elders, and all the
Kiowa animal hide calendar
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leaders, and all
the people in a
circle and told
them what she
had instructed
him to do. And sure
enough, just as she
Astrolabe
said she would, on the
fourth day, she came.
They say a cloud
came down from the
sky, and off of the cloud stepped the white
buffalo calf. As it rolled onto the earth, the
calf stood up and became this beautiful
young woman who was carrying the sacred
bundle in her hand.
As she entered into the circle of the nation,
she sang a sacred song and took the sacred
bundle to the people who were there to take
[it from] her.
. . . And she instructed our people that as
long as we performed these ceremonies we
would always remain caretakers and
guardians of sacred land. She told us that as
long as we took care of it and respected it that
our people would never die and would
always live.
The sacred bundle is known as the White
Buffalo Calf Pipe because it was brought by
the White Buffalo Calf Woman. . . .
When White Buffalo Calf Woman
promised to return again, she made some
prophecies at that time. One of those prophecies was that the birth of a white buffalo calf
would be a sign that it would be near the
time when she would return again to purify
the world. What she meant by that was that
she would bring back [spiritual] harmony. . . .
Columbus Crosses
the Atlantic
Christopher Columbus reached the new world
on October 12, 1492. At sea for over two
months, his sailors worried that they would not
find land before their food and water ran out.
Columbus’s entries in his logs show the mood of
his crew, and their impressions of the natives.
October 11:
he crew of the Pinta spotted some . . .
reeds and some other plants; they also
saw what looked like a small board or
plank. A stick was recovered that looks manmade, perhaps carved with an iron tool . . .
but even these few [things] made the crew
breathe easier; in fact the men have even
become cheerful.
T
October 12:
The islanders came to the ships’ boats,
swimming and bringing us parrots and balls
of cotton thread . . . which they exchanged
for . . . glass beads and hawk bells . . . they
took and gave of what they had very willingly, but it seemed to me that they were
poor in every way. They bore no weapons,
nor were they acquainted with them,
because when I showed them swords they
seized them by the edge and so cut themselves from ignorance.
1. What did the Indian girl tell the Lakota warriors?
2. What prophecy did the White Buffalo Calf Woman make to the people?
3. What does the use of the animal hide tell you about the people who
made the calendar?
4. Why were the members of Columbus’s crew cheerful when they spied
the objects at sea?
Primary Sources Library
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For use with Unit 2
What is an
American?
Colonial
Settlement
Early America was a nation of people unafraid to experiment. Because
colonists often had to learn new ways
of obtaining food and shelter in a
primitive country, they grew to appreciate ingenuity. Because of the need to
cooperate—for companionship, and
even for survival—they overlooked the
differences in cultures that separated
them in the old country. As you read
these primary source selections, think
about how the necessity to adapt
affected the way the colonists
approached everyday situations.
Reader’s Dictionary
enlightened: informed
haughty: proud, vain
indigence: poverty
habitation: home
phial: small bottle
blunder: mistake
tolerable: satisfactory
J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur of France
traveled widely in the American colonies and
farmed in New York. His Letters from an American
Farmer was published in 1782.
I
wish I could be acquainted with the feelings
and thoughts which must . . . present themselves to the mind of an enlightened Englishman, when he first lands on the continent. . . . If
he travels through our rural districts he views
not the hostile castle, and the haughty mansion,
contrasted with the clay-built hut and miserable
cabin, where cattle and men help to keep each
other warm, and dwell in meanness, smoke, and
indigence. A pleasing uniformity of decent competence appears throughout our habitations.
The meanest of our log-houses is dry and
comfortable. . . . What then is the American, this new man? He is either a European, or the descendant of a European,
hence that strange mixture of blood,
which you will find in no other country.
I could point out to you a family whose
grandfather was an Englishman,
whose wife was Dutch, and whose
son married a French woman,
and whose present four
sons have now four wives
of different nations. . . .
There is room for everybody in America; has he
particular talent, or industry? He exerts it in order
to produce a livelihood,
and it succeeds. . . .
Butter churn
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Ben Franklin
Penn’s Colony
We often think of Benjamin Franklin as a
successful diplomat and inventor. In 1750,
Franklin wrote to a friend about an experiment
that did not go as well as he had planned.
In a letter written in 1683, William Penn
describes the growth of his colony.
I
have lately made an experiment in electricity, that I desire never to repeat. Two
nights ago, being about to kill a turkey by
the shock from two large glass jars, containing
as much electrical fire as forty common phials,
I . . . took the whole [charge] through my own
arms and body, by receiving the fire from the
united top wires with one hand, while the
other held a chain connected with the outsides
of both jars. The company present (whose
talking to me, and to one another, I supposed
occasioned my inattention to what I was
about) say, that the flash was very great, and
the crack as loud as a pistol; yet, my senses
being instantly gone, I neither saw the one nor
heard the other. . . . Nothing remains now of
this shock, but a soreness in my breast-bone,
which feels as if it had been bruised. I did not
fall, but suppose I should have been knocked
down, if I had received the stroke in my head.
The whole was over in less than a minute.
You may communicate this to Mr. Bowdoin,
as a caution to him, but do not make it more
public, for I am ashamed to have been guilty
of so notorious a blunder;. . . . I am yours . . .
B. Franklin
P.S. The jars hold six gallons each.
O
ur capital town is advanced to about
150 very tolerable houses for wooden
ones; they are chiefly on both the navigable rivers that bound the ends or sides of
the town. The farmers have got their winter
corn in the ground. I suppose we may be 500
farmers strong. I settle them in villages, dividing 5,000 acres among ten, fifteen, or twenty
families, as their ability is to plant it. . . .
Hornbook from
colonial school
1. How does de Crevecoeur describe the typical home in the colonies
in the late 1700s?
2. What do you think Franklin was trying to learn with his experiment?
3. During what season of the year did Penn write this letter?
How can you tell?
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For use with Unit 3
Common Sense
Creating
a Nation
In settling North America, the
colonists developed a sense that they
were taking part in the birth of a new
society, where people had the opportunity to better themselves. As you read
these primary source selections, think
about the reasons the colonists began
to find fault with Great Britain. What
words would you use to describe the
American “spirit” that made them
determined to fight for independence?
In Common Sense, written in January 1776,
patriot Thomas Paine called upon the colonists
to break away from Great Britain.
E
very thing that is right begs for separation
from [Great] Britain. The Americans who
have been killed seem to say, ‘TIS TIME TO
PART. England and America are located a great
distance apart. That is itself strong and natural
proof that God never expected one to rule over
the other.
The Bold Americans
Reader’s Dictionary
sovereign: king or leader
destitute: lacking
procure: gain or obtain
gall: to become sore by rubbing
Broadside ballads—emotionally-charged story poems
printed on a single sheet of paper—were distributed
widely and helped fuel colonists’ passion for freedom.
Come all you bold young Bostonians, come
listen unto me:
I will sing you a song concerning liberty.
Concerning liberty, my boys, the truth I will
unfold,
Of the bold Americans, who scorn to be
controlled.
We’ll honor George, our sovereign, on any
reasonable terms,
But if he don’t grant us liberty, we’ll all lay down
our arms.
But if he will grant us liberty, so plainly
shall you see,
We are the boys that fear no noise!
Success to liberty!
Powderhorn
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Surviving at
Valley Forge
Below are excerpts from the personal
records of two different people who served
at Valley Forge. The first selection is by
Albigence Waldo, a surgeon who tended
the sick and injured.
kept my feet (while they lasted) from the
frozen ground, although, as I well remember,
the hard edges so galled my ankles, while on
a march, that it was with much difficulty and
pain that I could wear them afterwards; but
the only alternative I had was to endure this
inconvenience or to go barefoot, as hundreds
of my companions had to, till they might be
tracked by their bloods upon the rough
frozen ground.
Immigrant Life
in America
I
am sick—discontented . . . Poor food—
hard lodging—cold weather—fatigue—
nasty cloathes—nasty cookery. . . . I can’t
endure it—Why are we sent here to starve
and freeze? . . .
In this selection, soldier Joseph Plumb
Martin, age 16 at the time, remembers the
hardships on the way to Valley Forge.
T
he army was not only starved but
naked. The greatest part were not only
shirtless and barefoot, but destitute
of all other clothing, especially blankets. I
procured a small piece of rawhide
and made myself a pair of
moccasins, which
Military drum
of the American
Revolution
A German immigrant wrote this
account of his experiences.
B
ut during the voyage there is on board
these ships terrible misery, stench,
fumes, horror, vomiting, many kinds of
sea-sickness, fever . . . all of which comes from
old and sharply salted food and meat, also
from very bad and foul water, so that many
die miserably. . . .
Many parents must sell and trade away
their children like so many head of cattle. . . .
[I]t often happens that such parents and children, after leaving the ship, do not see each
other again for many years, perhaps no more
in all their lives.
1. What is the main point that Thomas Paine makes in the excerpt
from Common Sense?
2. What do the bold Americans scorn?
3. What might have kept the soldiers from leaving Valley Forge, under
such horrible conditions?
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6:17 PM
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For use with Unit 4
Washington’s First
Inaugural
The New
Republic
The Constitution established a completely new framework of government
that was meant to be flexible and lasting. Along with the excitement of
starting a new nation came challenges
and growing pains. Many people, both
American-born and foreign-born,
wondered: Can this new kind of government last? As you read these primary source selections, think about
how well the government served the
people as the nation grew.
Reader’s Dictionary
gallery: outdoor balcony
proclamation: announcement
agitated: upset and nervous
ungainly: awkward, clumsy
plainest manner: in a simple way
discord: disagreement, conflict
rapture: joy
marsh: soft, wet land
corduroy-road: a road made of logs laid
side by side
Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay was
one of the many witnesses to the nation’s first
presidential inauguration.
T
he President was conducted out of the
middle window into the gallery [overlooking Wall Street], and the oath was administered by the Chancellor [the highest judicial
officer in the state of New York]. Notice that the
business done was communicated to the crowd
by proclamation . . . who gave three cheers, and
repeated it on the President’s bowing to them.
As the company returned into the Senate
chamber, the President took the chair and the
Senators and Representatives their seats. He
rose, and all arose also, and [he] addressed them.
This great man was agitated and embarrassed
more than ever he was by the leveled cannon or
pointed musket. He trembled, and several times
could scarce make out to read, though it must be
supposed he had often read it before. . . . When
he came to the words all the world, he made a
flourish with his right hand, which left rather
an ungainly impression. I sincerely, for my part,
wished all set ceremony in the hands of the
dancing-masters, and that this first of men had
read off his address in the plainest manner,
without ever taking his eyes from the paper, for
I felt hurt that he was not first in everything.
Copy of letter written by
President Washington
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Primary Sources Library
Song of Liberty
On the Road
The following song is one of the hundreds
of anonymous patriotic songs written, printed,
and distributed in little song books during
the early 1800s.
David Stevenson described a journey by stagecoach along a typical route of the time.
The fruits of our country, our flocks and
our fleeces,
What treasures immense, in our mountains
that lie,
While discord is tearing Old Europe to
pieces,
Shall amply the wants of the people
supply;
New roads and canals, on their bosoms
conveying,
Refinement and wealth through our forests
shall roam,
And millions of freemen, with rapture
surveying,
Shall shout out “O Liberty! this is thy home!”
S
ometimes our way lay for miles
through extensive marshes, which we
crossed by corduroy-roads. . . . At others the coach stuck fast in mud, from which
it could be [moved] only by the combined
efforts of the coachman and passengers; at
one place we traveled . . . through a forest
flooded with water, which stood to a height
of several feet. . . . The distance of the route
from Pittsburgh to Erie is 128 miles, which
was accomplished in forty-six hours . . .
although the [stagecoach] by which I traveled carried the mail, and stopped only for
breakfast, dinner and tea, but there was
considerable delay by the coach being once
upset and several times “mired.”
A woman named Elizabeth Smith Geer
wrote about winter travel in her diary:
My children gave out with cold and fatigue
and could not travel, and the boys had to
unhitch the oxen and bring them and carry
the children on to camp. It was so cold and
numb I could not tell by feeling that I had
any feet at all. . . . I have not told you half
we suffered.
Flag flown at
Fort McHenry
during War of
1812
1. What was it about Washington’s public speaking manner that
Maclay criticized?
2. In the song, what does the phrase “treasures immense” mean?
3. How did roads of the early 1800s differ from roads that we
travel on today?
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For use with Unit 5
Trail of Tears
The Growing
Nation
In the early 1800s, the United
States had a firmly established democracy, but the freedoms it guaranteed
did not extend to everyone. Native
Americans were forced from their
lands, while African Americans were
enslaved—torn from their homelands
and often separated from their families.
As you read these primary source
selections, think about how long these
conditions existed before ideas of
reform began to take hold.
Reader’s Dictionary
detachment: group or body of people
inclemency: harsh conditions
auction block: site where enslaved people
were bought and sold
piteous: sad, distressed
vociferously: loudly
battery: a grouping of weapons
rent: opened or parted
Map of Georgia in 1826 showing
Cherokee land (left) and seal
of Cherokee Nation (right)
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Although recognized as a separate nation by several
U.S. treaties, the Cherokee people were forced to
leave their lands because white people wanted it for
farming. Thousands died before they reached Indian
Territory, the present-day state of Oklahoma. This
forced journey came to be called the Trail of Tears.
A newspaper published this account.
O
n Tuesday evening we fell in with a
detachment of the poor Cherokee Indians . . . about eleven hundred Indians—
sixty wagons—six hundred horses, and perhaps
forty pairs of oxen. We found them in the forest
camped for the night by the road side . . . under
a severe fall of rain accompanied by heavy
wind. With their canvas for a shield from the
inclemency of the weather, and the cold wet
ground for a resting place, after the fatigue of
the day, they spent the night . . . many of the
aged Indians were suffering extremely from the
fatigue of the journey, and the ill health consequent upon it . . . several were then quite ill, and
one aged man we were informed was then in
the last struggles of death.
Delicia Patterson
Delicia Patterson provided this look at life
under slavery. She was 92 years old when
she was interviewed.
“Old Judge Miller, don’t you bid for me,
‘cause if you do, I would not live on your
plantation. I will take a knife and cut my
own throat from ear to ear before I would
be owned by you. . . .”
So he stepped back and let someone else
bid for me. . . . So I was sold to a Southern
Englishman named Thomas Steele for fifteen
hundred dollars. . . .
I
was born in Boonville, Missouri, January 2,
1845. Mother had five children but raised
only two of us. I was owned by Charles
Mitchell until I was fifteen years old. They
were fairly nice to all of their slaves. . . .
When I was fifteen years old, I was
brought to the courthouse, put up on the
auction block to be sold. Old Judge Miller
from my county was there. I knew him well
because he was one of the wealthiest slave
owners in the county, and the meanest one.
He was so cruel all the slaves and many
owners hated him because of it. He saw me
on the block for sale, and he knew I was a
good worker. So, when he bid for me, I spoke
right out on the auction block and told him:
Religious Camp
Meeting
The desire for self-improvement was closely
connected to a renewed interest in religion.
By the 1830s, the Second Great Awakening, the
second great period of religious revival in the
United States, was in full swing. The camp
meeting was especially important to isolated
frontier families. One preacher, James Finley,
described a revival meeting:
T
he noise was like the roar of Niagara. . . .
Some of the people were singing, others
praying, some crying for mercy in the
most piteous accents, while others were shouting most vociferously. . . . At one time I saw at
least five hundred swept down in a moment,
as if a battery of a thousand guns had been
opened upon them, and then immediately
followed shrieks and shouts that rent the
very heavens.
Anti-slavery
banner
1. Do you think the writer of the newspaper article feels sympathy
toward the Cherokee?
2. Why did Delicia, the formerly enslaved woman, not want to serve
on Judge Miller’s plantation?
3. What scene is James Finley describing?
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For use with Unit 6
Civil War and
Reconstruction
The American Civil War, or the
War Between the States, was a major
turning point for the American people.
When the fighting ended, 600,000
Americans had lost their lives, slavery
had been abolished, and most of the
South lay in ruin. Leaders argued over
how to reunite the shattered nation.
And even though slavery had been
abolished, African Americans quickly
discovered that freedom did not mean
equality. As you read these selections,
think about the changes that took place
during this era.
Reader’s Dictionary
exterminating: destructive
Swing Low, Sweet
Chariot
Spirituals—songs of salvation—provided
the enslaved African Americans who wrote and
sang them with not only a measure of comfort in
bleak times but with a means for communicating
secretly among themselves.
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
I looked over Jordan and what
did I see
Coming for to carry me home,
A band of angels coming after me.
Coming for to carry me home.
If you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home,
Tell all my friends I’m coming too,
Coming for to carry me home.
bondage: slavery
suffrage: the right to vote
musket: soldier’s rifle
I’m sometimes up and sometimes down,
Coming for to carry me home,
But still my soul feels heavenly bound,
Coming for to carry me home.
The Fisk Jubilee
Singers
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On the Plight of
African Americans
In 1867 Frederick Douglass appealed
eloquently to Congress on behalf of
African Americans.
. . . Yet the Negroes have marvelously survived all the exterminating forces of slavery,
and have emerged at the end of 250 years of
bondage, not [sad and hateful], but cheerful,
hopeful, and forgiving. They now stand
before Congress and the country, not complaining of the past, but simply asking for
a better future.
. . . It is true that a strong plea for equal
suffrage might be addressed to the national
sense of honor. Something, too, might be said
of national gratitude. A nation might well
hesitate before the temptation to betray its
allies. There is something . . . mean, to say
nothing of the cruelty, in placing the loyal
Negroes of the South under the political
power of their rebel masters. . . . We asked
the Negroes to [support] our cause, to be our
friends, to fight for us and against their masters; and now, after they have done all that
we asked them to do . . . it is proposed in
some quarters to turn them over to the political control of the common enemy of the government and of the Negro. . . .
What, then, is the work before Congress? . . .
In a word, it must [allow African Americans to
vote], and by means of the loyal Negroes and
the loyal white men of the South build up a
national party there, and in time bridge the
[gap] between North and South, so that our
country may have a common liberty and a
common civilization. . . .
The Fire of Battle
Union soldier George Sargent served in
the area west of Washington, D.C., throughout
the Shenandoah Valley. He wrote his
impressions of how soldiers react in battle.
C
an you imagine a fellow’s feelings
about that time, to have to face thousands of muskets with a prospect of
having a bullet put through you? If you can,
all right; I can’t describe it. I’ve heard some
say that they were not scared going into a
fight, but I think it’s all nonsense. I don’t
believe there was ever a man who went into
battle but was scared, more or less. Some will
turn pale as a sheet, look wild and ferocious,
some will be so excited that they don’t know
what they are about while others will be as
cool and collected as on other occasions.
1. What does “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” show about the condition
and faith of the people who sang it?
2. What did Frederick Douglass urge Congress to do?
3. What does George Sargent say happens to all soldiers in battle?
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For use with Unit 7
Modern
America
Emerges
In the years following the Civil
War modern American was born.
The United States became an urban
industrial nation. Millions of immigrants came to the United States following the promise of freedom and
economic opportunity. As its society
became more diverse, Americans
struggled to end discrimination at
home and to preserve freedom overseas. In the twenty-first century,
Americans faced the challenge of
fighting terrorism to preserve freedom. As you examine these selections, think of the challenges and
opportunities facing the United
States today.
Reader’s Dictionary
extremism: the holding of unreasonable
views
humanitarian: committed to improving the
lives of other people
pluralism: society with different ethnic and
religious groups
tolerance: acceptance of and fairness
toward people who hold different views
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Primary Sources Library
Proud to Be
an American
“God Bless the USA,” by singer Lee
Greenwood, topped the country music charts in the
1980s. It was adopted as a theme song for President
Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign.
I’m proud to be an American
where at least I know I’m free,
And I won’t forget the men who died
who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you
and defend her still today,
’Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
Address to Congress
On September 20, 2001, President George W.
Bush addressed Congress, nine days after New
York City and Washington, D.C., were shaken
by suicide aircraft attacks.
On September the eleventh, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country.
Americans have known wars—but for the past
136 years, they have been wars on foreign soil,
except for one Sunday in 1941 [the attack on Pearl
Harbor]. Americans have known the casualties
of war—but not at the center of a great city on
a peaceful morning. Americans have known surprise attacks—but never before on thousands of
civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a
single day—and night fell on a different world,
a world where freedom itself is under attack. . . .
The terrorists [who carried out the
attack] practice a fringe form of
Islamic extremism that has been
rejected by Muslim scholars and the
vast majority of Muslim clerics—
a fringe movement that perverts
the peaceful teachings of Islam. . . .
This group [al-Qaeda] and its
leader, a person named Osama bin
Laden, are linked to many other
organizations in different
countries. . . . The leadership of
al-Qaeda has great influence in
Afghanistan and supports the
Taliban regime in controlling most
of that country. . . .
The United States respects the people of
Afghanistan—after all, we are currently its
largest source of humanitarian aid—but we
condemn the Taliban regime.
[The terrorists] hate what we see right
here in this chamber—a democratically
elected government. Their leaders are selfappointed. They hate our freedoms—our
freedom of religion, our freedom of speech,
our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. . . .
This is not, however, just America’s fight.
And what is at stake is not just America’s
freedom. This is the world’s fight. This is
civilization’s fight. This is the fight of all
who believe in progress and pluralism,
tolerance, and freedom. . . .
The civilized world is rallying to America’s
side. They understand that if this terror goes
unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror, unanswered, can not
President Bush thanks rescue workers
only bring down buildings, it can threaten the
stability of legitimate governments. And we
will not allow it. . . .
I ask you to uphold the values of America,
and remember why so many have come here.
We are in a fight for our principles, and our
first responsibility is to live by them. No one
should be singled out for unfair treatment or
unkind words because of their ethnic background or religious faith. . . .
Great harm has been done to us. We have
suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger
we have found our mission and our moment.
Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of
human freedom—the great achievement of
our time, and the great hope of every time—
now depends on us. Our Nation—this generation—will lift a dark threat of violence from
our people and our future. We will rally the
world to this cause, by our efforts and by our
courage. We will not tire, we will not falter,
and we will not fail.
1. What themes does Lee Greenwood express in his song?
2. To what other tragic event does President Bush compare the events of
September 11, 2001?
3. Why does the president believe other nations should help in the fight
against terrorism?
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