What So Proudly We Hail

What Makes You an American?

We hope that the materials found on WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org will inspire our visitors to become more thoughtful about what it means to be an American.  With the help of stories, speeches, and songs, we seek to educate hearts and minds about American ideals, American identity and national character, and the virtues and aspirations of our civic life.

This site strives to be a rich resource for educators, civic and service organizations, youth group leaders, home schoolers, and anyone interested in learning more about what it means to be an American citizen.

• Learn more about our free online curriculum, The Meaning of America, featuring stories from What So Proudly We Hail.
• Learn more about the anthology, What So Proudly We Hail: The American Soul in Story, Speech, and Song.
• See what people are saying about What So Proudly We Hail.

Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

George Washington was born 280 years ago today, on February 22, 1732. At an event on Friday sponsored by the AEI Program on American Citizenship, the WSPWH editors were joined by Richard Brookhiser (National Review), Harvey Mansfield (Harvard University), and Steven F. Hayward (AEI) to discuss Washington’s exemplary founding presidency, its lessons for the modern presidency (as well as for today’s aspiring presidential candidates), and the importance of preserving and perpetuating our political institutions. Below, editor Diana Schaub takes a close look at Washington’s Farewell Address. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Frederick Douglass, born into slavery circa February 1818, died on February 20, 1895. To remember the fascinating life of the runaway slave who became an abolitionist leader, take a moment to read WSPWH co-editor Diana Schaub’s essay “The Spirit of a Free Man,” which examines the life and writings of Douglass and their significance for Americans today. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Making its way around education circles is the idea of the “flipped classroom.” As the New York Times explains it, the flipped classroom is an “‘inverted’ teaching structure in which instructional content is delivered outside class, and engagement with the content–skill development and practice, project and the like–is done in class, under teacher guidance and in collaboration with peers. A flipped class swaps explanation and lecture, which are usually given in the classroom, with homework activities like math problem sets or writing practice activities. Homework becomes classwork and vice versa.” Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

As we get ready to celebrate George Washington’s birthday at the “First Among Equals: George Washington and the American Presidency” event tomorrow, we want to highlight his Farewell Address, which will serve as the foundation for tomorrow’s discussion. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

For our friends in the D.C. area, don’t forget that this Friday we will be honoring George Washington’s birthday at a public event at AEI titled “First Among Equals: George Washington and the American Presidency.” Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

In the latest issue of the Claremont Review of Books, William Gonch, a program associate at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), has penned a review of What So Proudly We Hail. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Yesterday was Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky, Lincoln first tried to enter politics at the age of 23 when he sought election to the Illinois General Assembly. He lost. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

WSPWH editor Leon Kass spoke with Joy Pullmann of School Reform News about the importance of George Washington’s birthday and the upcoming panel discussion to celebrate the occasion: “First Among Equals: George Washington and the American Presidency.” Check out the podcast at the Heartland Institute. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

The Atlantic has a special issue out commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, for which they’ve filled their pages with writings by early contributors like Mark Twain, Oliver Wendell Holmes (who gave the magazine its name), and Edward Everett Hale, among others. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February of 1862. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

In the latest issue of the Claremont Review of Books, WSPWH editor Diana Schaub has an essay about the life of Malcolm X. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Born on February 7, 1867, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote stories about her childhood growing up in a family of homesteaders in her famous Little House book series. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born this day, February 6, in 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Norman Rockwell, born today, February 3, in 1894, depicted the American soul not through stories, speeches, or songs, but through art. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

In February of 1885, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn hit bookstores in the United States. (It had been published the previous December in England.) Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

In one of a series of events and conversations about the meaning of the American calendar, Amy A. Kass (Hudson Institute) and Leon R. Kass (AEI) seek to restore America’s fading national memory with a celebration of the holiday by its original and proper name: Washington’s Birthday. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born this day, January 30, in 1882 to a privileged family in New York. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

On January 27, 1838, the 28-year-old aspiring politician Abraham Lincoln gave a speech on “the perpetuation of our political institutions,” in which he worried that Americans were increasingly inclined to take the law into their own hands. Continue reading →

Posted by: Barrett Bowdre

February is Black History Month, and our friends over at NEH’s EDSITEment have compiled a list of teaching resources for the occasion. Continue reading →