9781422287552

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This etching shows Francis Scott Key as a young man. Key was born during the American Revolution and grew up in the early days of the United States.After years of study, he became a lawyer, practicing in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Young Francis

T he author of the national anthem was born into a wealthy colonial family. In 1720, his great- grand- father Philip Key had traded the known comforts of life in England for the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the English colony of Maryland, where he became a successful lawyer. John Ross Key, Francis’ father, fought in the American Revolution. He was also a judge and a farmer. At the time of his son’s birth in 1779, he owned a 3,000-acre plantation in Frederick, Maryland known as Terra Rubra. The name of Francis Scott Key’s first home means “red land” and refers to the rich red clay found in the ground of the plantation. The Key plantation was spectacular. Surrounded by rolling fields, shaded woods, quiet streams, and breath-

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