“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
America the Beautiful
By Shannon Pederson
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
This story begins in 1893 when Katharine Lee Bates, then a young Wellesley professor, headed west to teach a summer course at Colorado College. She was 33 and the trip was quite an adventure for a young, single woman.
Miss Bates did not squander the opportunity, taking in everything along the way from Massachusetts to Colorado. She was stirred by the "amber waves of grain" she saw in the Kansas wheat fields during the train trip. Chicago's Colombian Exposition moved her to say the buildings made her think that "thine alabaster cities gleam." Later, on a trip to the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado, she saw what she later described as the "purple mountains' majesty." There, the poem America the Beautiful was inspired. The poem was originally published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist, in 1895.
Exactly when Bates' poem was paired with the music by church organist Samuel Augustus Ward is a mystery that has never been solved. The two authors of the lyrics and the music never met or corresponded about the collaboration that became one of the nation’s most famous and beloved anthems. Ward died before the music he wrote, which was a church hymn, became a piece of the national fabric.
The humble Bates, who casually referred to the poem as "A the B," made only $5 profit from its initial publication in The Congregationalist. Ward's family never attempted to receive additional payment for her poem/song, wanting only to give the song to America as a gift and fitting tribute.
The song was considered a main contender for the national anthem, along with My Country 'Tis of Thee and The Star Spangle Banner. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law making the national anthem The Star Spangled Banner, upsetting many people. In the decades since, many have continued to lobby for the anthem to be changed to the more peaceful, easier to sing America the Beautiful.
By the way, America the Beautiful leads the list of the top five patriotic songs, followed by these other wonderful tributes to our great nation:
2. God Bless America
3. This Land is Your Land
4. Star Spangled Banner
5. My Country ‘Tis of Thee
Miss Bates did not squander the opportunity, taking in everything along the way from Massachusetts to Colorado. She was stirred by the "amber waves of grain" she saw in the Kansas wheat fields during the train trip. Chicago's Colombian Exposition moved her to say the buildings made her think that "thine alabaster cities gleam." Later, on a trip to the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado, she saw what she later described as the "purple mountains' majesty." There, the poem America the Beautiful was inspired. The poem was originally published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist, in 1895.
Exactly when Bates' poem was paired with the music by church organist Samuel Augustus Ward is a mystery that has never been solved. The two authors of the lyrics and the music never met or corresponded about the collaboration that became one of the nation’s most famous and beloved anthems. Ward died before the music he wrote, which was a church hymn, became a piece of the national fabric.
The humble Bates, who casually referred to the poem as "A the B," made only $5 profit from its initial publication in The Congregationalist. Ward's family never attempted to receive additional payment for her poem/song, wanting only to give the song to America as a gift and fitting tribute.
The song was considered a main contender for the national anthem, along with My Country 'Tis of Thee and The Star Spangle Banner. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law making the national anthem The Star Spangled Banner, upsetting many people. In the decades since, many have continued to lobby for the anthem to be changed to the more peaceful, easier to sing America the Beautiful.
By the way, America the Beautiful leads the list of the top five patriotic songs, followed by these other wonderful tributes to our great nation:
2. God Bless America
3. This Land is Your Land
4. Star Spangled Banner
5. My Country ‘Tis of Thee
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1