Ok so I never posted the collage, so here's the one I wrote for the class. lol I'll do the unabridged one at some point...I'm supposed to be job hunting right now (I'm actually revising and uploading my portfolio and this was in it so it isn't a far cry from my daily tasks)
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A Hero’s Impact
I hate subways. I cannot breathe underground, terrified the train will break down and I’ll be buried alive. Nevertheless, I rode two hours, from one end of Manhattan to the other, to see a statue at City Hall. If I wasn’t courageous enough to take the subway to “meet” one of the bravest men in American history, I was hopeless.
In the end, a police officer had to take a picture of the statue for me as it stands past the security checkpoint. He had one question for me:
Who was Nathan Hale, anyway?
Hero: a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities.
Nathan Hale is the State Hero of Connecticut.
Where do you find a hero?
Libraries:
Lora Innes was 25, researching for a historical web comic about the Revolutionary War, The Dreamer.
“I began researching the roots of 18th century espionage and all the trails lead back to a young man named Nathan Hale…I became so fascinated in this young man's life, and the impact his death had on espionage for the rest of the war, that I reworked my series to include three volumes of story about him!”
Amber Hammic was 14, studying the American Revolution.
“I was combing the library for books on the Revolutionary War, and I found a biography of Nathan Hale. I picked it up, checked it out, and took it home with me…When I finished reading, I was astounded.”
The living room floor:
Meredith Morrison was 6.
"I learned about Nathan lying on the floor of my family room, drawing and watching Liberty's Kids with my Grandma. I looked up when I heard the word spy. I basically forgot about the drawing and finished watching the episode.”
I was 5, sitting on the floor of the living room, learning my letters. My mum and brother sat on the couch, reading through a history book. They read about a man who had been spying for George Washington but was caught and executed by the British. He was so brave in the face of an ignominious death even the British were impressed with him.
I looked up as they read. My first thought was: "This was a good guy who didn't win? And he wasn't scared?"
The Internet:
Liz Tolleson was 22 when she began to read The Dreamer:
“From the moment he appeared, I fell in love with him and when I found out he was a real person I started grabbing all the books and sites I could find on him.”
School:
According to a docent at the Nathan Hale Homestead, every year the greatest numbers of tourists who visit are from China, where they learn about Nathan in school.
Spy:a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs.
Before the days of James Bond, espionage was considered despicable, low, ignoble.
“I wish to be useful, and every kind of service, necessary to the public good, becomes honorable by being necessary.”-Nathan Hale
Hanging: form of capital punishment carried out by suspending one by the neck from a gallows, etc. until dead.
In the 18th century, death by hanging was reserved only for the lowest of the low in society: murderers, traitors, and spies.
Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut in 1755. Raised as a gentleman and educated at Yale, he taught school before becoming a captain in the Continental Army.
Nathan was 21 when he volunteered to go behind enemy lines to retrieve information for Washington’s army, despite the danger and the shamefulness of the endeavor. He was captured by the British and hanged as a spy. Before his death, he reportedly gave a remarkable speech, preserved only in paraphrase in newspapers, journals and memories.
“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”-Nathan Hale
Nathan wanted to serve his country in whatever way possible. His mission as a spy failed but his mission to serve did not. Even now he serves. Today he is recognized for his courage, eloquence, and commitment, even when he could only have expected death, infamy, and eventually obscurity. Generations of Americans and even non-Americans have been inspired by his actions, and his last words.
Three locations in New York claim to be where Nathan died, one at city hall, one outside Grand Central, and one at 66th and 3rd.
Nathan regretted having but one life to lose for his country, yet he managed to die in three different places. I’m sure he appreciates the irony.
Impact: influence
The main character of the Resistance video games is named after Nathan Hale.
Meredith Morrison, 17:
“After I saw the episode, Nathan became one of my imaginary friends. He was the one that held my hand if I got scared when I was alone. I guess he kind of became my own personal symbol for bravery, and he helped me be strong.”
There are approximately 30 schools in the U.S. named after Nathan.
Amber Hammich, 17:
“Nathan Hale had everything: Education, Money, Youth, and Family. Yet he gave all this away because he wanted to do something for his new country. He did not have to go and spy, but he wanted to serve. He willingly gave his life and his future for the American Cause. This blew me away. What he did in his short life inspires me, and the story of his life and death is something that has stuck with me to this day.”
George Dudley Seymour, an admirer of Nathan Hale, located the homestead where he grew up, and helped make it a landmark.
Liz Tolleson, 24:
“Every day he means something to me, in that every day since finding out his real story, I've tried to emulate him by being more kind and noble, I think, I try to be the kind of person he'd be proud of.”
True Crime author and historian M. William Phelps grew up hearing about Nathan, publishing his biography in 2008.
Lora Innes, 30:
“Nathan Hale…changed the course of my life, literally. He's such a rich subject that he and the other members of Knowlton's Rangers gave me a story to tell... which has lead to being published, winning awards, and starting my career…I’m proud to say also that my story has helped bring Nathan's life back into focus, and introduce him to a whole new generation of young people who other wise would not have cared.
Now 22, I officially ‘outlived’ Nathan by the time I attended a symposium about him in Coventry last August.
We went on a tour of the Homestead, and the docent brought out his Bible for us to look at. I pulled on gloves to handle the aged, fragile book, reading Nathan’s lovely, faded handwriting.
Through a small hole in the glove, the sharp edge of the paper grazed my fingertip as I turned the pages. To think Nathan once turned these very leaves himself! Nothing but time separated our worlds in that instant. And I loved him across that time.
Everyone needs a hero like Nathan Hale.
