Patrick, 1

Taylor Patrick

Professor Lynn Raymond

UWRT 1104

12 March 2017

Writing Prompt 6

This has been a long and frustrating journey concerning my roots and where I truly came from. It

was hard to go back further than the United States when looking for my country of origin. The

family members that I could talk deeply about this with (great grandparents) have passed away. It

is very difficult to pinpoint exactly where my ancestors came from because they were all slaves

and much of that information is lost since millions of African-Americans were brought at once.

My entire family has always said that the United States is their country of origin and we all know

that we descended from Africans but we are not sure which exact country. The United States is

all we have ever known. Of course someone had to discover this land to make it possible for all

of us to be here.

This land was found in 1492 by Christopher Columbus and from then on, colonies were

established and destroyed due to sickness and death. For a while, Europeans and Native

Americans would fight over territory until ultimately, the Native Americans were left with little

land while Europeans expanded their territory. Slaves were also brought here to work from

several different countries for no pay and many suffered abuse and unfair treatment. Abraham

Lincoln did not want to expand slavery or abolish it in the states it was already in. He was a very

important and influential man in history concerning slavery. This led to the Civil war during the

1860s where states were divided by the north who wanted to stop slavery (Union States) and the

south who did not (Confederate states). The Union was victorious (Lambert) Years and years
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later, we were involved in world wars and issues within the U.S.A. like segregation and

immigration. Through all our difficulties, the United States grew rapidly and became one of the

most powerful countries in the world. Even though this country has had its fair share of ups and

downs, one symbol has withstood everything and thats the flag.

The United States of America has a beautiful flag and it is one of the most recognizable.

Our flag has thirteen red and white stripes and fifty white stars against a navy-blue background.

The thirteen stripes represent the thirteen colonies and the fifty white stars represent the fifty

states. Between 1777 when the flag was established to a more recent 1960, the flag has been

through several changes. These changes range from how many stars to the orientation of the stars

(A Capitol Fourth: The History of the American Flag). Alaska was the first state added after the

original 48 states which brought the number of stars from 48 to 49. Then, Hawaii was the last

state added which meant they went from 49 stars to 50 stars and the flag had to be redesigned yet

again. To obtain one of these flags, they could be purchased online or in stores. They are not hard

to obtain here. It is custom to have the flag is flown while we sing our beautiful national anthem.

The national anthem for the United States is titled: The Star-Spangled Banner. This

song was inspired by the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during The War of 1812. Francis

Scott Key watched the battle that took place that night of September 13, 1814. He saw red

erupting in the sky and bombs exploding. He thought that America would lose the battle but by

the dawns early light he saw the American flag in the air which represented the victory

(Lineberry). His experience was originally written as a poem that was published in newspapers

across America, then he applied the words to a tune and that is how the song was made. Many

citizens of this country sing that song with pride and I am proud to say that, as a citizen, I have

done just that.

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I was born in this country and my parents were born here so I am automatically a citizen

because my parents were as well. We did not migrate here. If we were not citizens, there would

be a lengthy process that we would have to go through. According to the US Government, we

would have to be able to read, write, and speak basic English, be of good moral character, be a

continuous, permanent resident for at least 5 years, have a basic understanding of the U.S.

history and government, and take an oath of allegiance to the United States. This process is

called naturalization. You must take a test to prove that you have a basic understanding of how

this country works and that will take some studying. The process could take from 6 months to

years depending on the individuals situation.

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Bibliography
"The History of the American Flag." PBS, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
Lambert, Tim. "A Short History of the United States." Local Histories. Local Histories, n.d. Web.
12 Mar. 2017.
Cate Lineberry. "The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian
Institution, 01 Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
"How to Become a U.S. Citizen." How to Become a U.S. Citizen | USA.gov. USA Gov, 1 Mar.
2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.