Almost immediately after the Francis Scott Key Bridge fell into the Baltimore Harbor, the vulturous left began circling the wreckage, seeing the tragedy as an opportunity to disparage America’s past.
The bridge’s namesake, famous lawyer-poet Francis Scott Key, has been a target of ridicule for anti-American revisionist historians for several years now. With the destruction of the bridge, the left all-too-gladly resumed its effort to erase Key’s memory from our national consciousness as a part of its endless crusade against notable figures in American history.
“Who was Francis Scott Key, the controversial poet the bridge is named after?” The Washington Post breathlessly asked. After summarizing Key’s life and begrudgingly recounting the inherent heroism of how Key authored “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the Battle of Baltimore amid the War of 1812, the article descends into baseless accusations unmoored from fact.
The Post alleged that “The Star-Spangled Banner” did not become the national anthem until 1931 “because of controversy” surrounding the poem, “partly over Key’s racist views.” The third stanza’s reference to “the hireling and slave,” the author claimed, “was intended to mock or threaten African Americans who escaped slavery to join the British forces, after being promised land in exchange for their service.”
Indeed, some activists have demanded that the rebuilt bridge drop the Francis Scott Key name altogether, claiming that since Key owned slaves, renaming it after him would be another of America’s “spit-in-the-face insults to Black Americans.” Similarly, Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins suggested that Baltimore’s current leaders would undoubtedly rename the bridge when
