Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America by Leeming David;Page Jake; & Jake Page

Author:Leeming, David;Page, Jake; & Jake Page
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 1999-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Patriotic Heroes

Patriotic heroes have always been important to Americans. These are actual political figures whose lives have been endowed with legendary dimensions that express what are popularly seen as American values. In several cases the people have immortalized them in the kinds of monuments associated in ancient times with hero-kings and gods. Statues of Lincoln and Jefferson are housed in classical temples; Washington is represented by a gigantic obelisk reminiscent of the gods and heroes of ancient Egypt and Rome; huge heads of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt are carved into the side of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, dominating a landscape that has always been sacred to the Sioux (a rival statue of Chief Crazy Horse is in process nearby).

The list of patriotic heroes is long. Betsy Ross (1752–1836) is said to have been commissioned by George Washington to sew the first American flag. John Hancock, because of his signature on the Declaration of Independence, is remembered still when we say “put your John Hancock on the dotted line.” Many legends are told about Ben Franklin and about Patrick Henry, who proclaimed the famous words “Give me liberty or give me death.” We have our modern patriotic heroes as well. John Kennedy’s presidency was compared to King Arthur’s Camelot, and his assassination and funeral were nothing if not mythic in tone.

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