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\u201cI only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country\u201d were the last words of 21-year-old American patriot\u00a0Nathan Hale,<\/strong>\u00a0who was hanged by the British without a trial on September 22, 1776.<\/p>\n A Yale graduate, 1773,\u00a0Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0almost became a Christian minister, as his brother Enoch did, but instead became a teacher at Union Grammar School.<\/p>\n When the Revolutionary War began in 1775,\u00a0Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0joined a Connecticut militia and served in the siege of Boston.<\/p>\n On July 4, 1775,\u00a0Hale<\/strong>\u00a0received a letter from his Yale classmate,\u00a0Benjamin Tallmadge,<\/strong>\u00a0who became General Washington\u2019s chief intelligence officer:<\/p>\n \u201cWas I in your condition \u2026 I think the more extensive service would be my choice. Our holy Religion, the honour of our God, a glorious country, & a happy constitution is what we have to defend.\u201d<\/p>\n Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0accepted a commission as first lieutenant in the 7th Connecticut Regiment under Colonel Charles Webb of Stamford.<\/p>\n Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0was as pious as he was courageous.<\/p>\n American Heritage Magazine\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0article,\u00a0\u201cThe Last Days and Valiant Death of Nathan Hale\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(April 1964), gave fellow soldier Lieutenant Elisha Bostwick\u2019s description of\u00a0Nathan Hale:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHe was undoubtedly pious; for it was remark\u2019d that when any of the soldiers of his company were sick he always visited them and usually prayed for and with them in their sickness.\u201d<\/p>\n Tradition has it that\u00a0Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0was part of daring band of patriots who\u00a0captured an English sloop\u00a0<\/strong>filled with provisions from right under the guns of British man-of-war.<\/p>\n Following the\u00a0Battle of Brooklyn Heights,\u00a0<\/strong>August 27, 1776, the British went from\u00a0Staten Island<\/strong>\u00a0across\u00a0Long Island<\/strong>\u00a0and were intent on capturing\u00a0New York City.<\/strong><\/p>\n General Washington<\/strong>\u00a0was desperate to know British plans and wrote on September 6, 1776:<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not been able to obtain the least information on the enemy\u2019s plans.\u201d<\/p>\n Washington<\/strong>\u00a0sought a spy to penetrate the British lines to get information.\u201d<\/p>\n On September 8, 1776,\u00a0Nathan Hale\u00a0<\/strong>stepped forward as the only volunteer.<\/p>\n Knowing that\u00a0the act of spying on the British, if caught, would be punishable by death,\u00a0<\/strong>his fellow officer Captain William Hull attempted to talk Hale out it.<\/p>\n Hale<\/strong>\u00a0responded:<\/p>\n \u201cI wish to be useful, and every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary.<\/p>\n If the exigencies of my country demand a peculiar service, its claim to perform that service are imperious.\u201d<\/p>\n On September 12, 1776,\u00a0Hale<\/strong>\u00a0was ferried behind enemy lines to Long Island to discover British troop movements.<\/p>\n On September 15, 1776,\u00a04,000 British\u00a0<\/strong>troops landed at Kip\u2019s Bay at the east end of 33rd Street and\u00a0proceeded to capture New York City.<\/strong><\/p>\n General Washington<\/strong>\u00a0retreated to Harlem Heights on\u00a0Manhattan Island\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>north end.<\/p>\n On September 21, 1776,\u00a0Hale was captured\u00a0<\/strong>by the \u201cQueen\u2019s Rangers\u201d commanded by a loyalist British Lieutenant\u00a0Colonel Robert Rogers.<\/p>\n British General William Howe\u00a0<\/strong>ordered\u00a0Hale<\/strong>\u00a0to be hanged the next morning.<\/p>\n Hale<\/strong>\u00a0wrote a letter to his mother and brother, but the British destroyed them, not wanting it known a man could die with such firmness.<\/p>\n Hale\u00a0<\/strong>asked for a Bible, but was refused. He requested a clergyman, but was denied.<\/p>\n Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0was marched out and hanged from an apple-tree in Rutgers\u2019 orchard, near present-day 66th Street and Third Avenue in New York City on September 22, 1776.<\/p>\n Because the British insisted on hanging\u00a0captured American spy<\/strong>\u00a0Nathan Hale, General Washington<\/strong>\u00a0later insisted on hanging\u00a0captured British spy John Andre.<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Essex Journal<\/em>\u00a0stated of\u00a0Nathan Hale,\u00a0<\/strong>February 13, 1777:<\/p>\n \u201cAt the gallows,\u00a0he made a sensible and spirited speech<\/strong>; among other things, told them they were shedding the blood of the innocent, and that\u00a0if he had ten thousand lives, he would lay them all down,<\/strong>\u00a0if called to it,\u00a0in defense of his injured, bleeding Country.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Nathan Hale<\/strong>\u00a0may have drawn inspiration for his last words\u00a0\u201cI only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0from the well-known English play\u00a0\u201cCato.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The play\u00a0\u201cCato\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0was written by Joseph Addison in 1712, as\u00a0Hale\u00a0<\/strong>had been involved in theater while a student at Yale:<\/p>\n \u201cHow beautiful is death, when earn\u2019d by virtue!<\/p>\n Who would not be that youth? What pity is it<\/p>\n That we can die but once to serve our country.\u201d<\/p>\n Cato the Younger,\u00a0<\/strong>95-46 B.C., was a leader during the\u00a0last days of the Roman Republic<\/strong>\u00a0who championed:<\/p>\n Cato<\/strong>\u00a0attempted to prevent\u00a0Julius Caesar from becoming a dictator.<\/strong><\/p>\n Cato\u00a0<\/strong>was known for his immunity to bribes,\u00a0his moral integrity,<\/strong>\u00a0and his distaste for corruption.<\/p>\n George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0had the play\u00a0\u201cCato\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>performed for the\u00a0Continental Army\u00a0<\/strong>while they were encamped at\u00a0Valley Forge.<\/strong><\/p>\n Nathan Hale\u00a0<\/strong>exemplified\u00a0patriotism,\u00a0<\/strong>a virtue shared by Americans.<\/p>\n In dissolving the Newburgh Conspiracy,\u00a0George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0stated March 15, 1783:<\/p>\n \u201cLet me conjure you, in the name of our common country \u2026 to express your\u00a0utmost horror and detestation of the man<\/strong>\u00a0who wishes \u2026 to\u00a0overturn the liberties of our country,<\/strong>\u00a0and who wickedly attempts to open the\u00a0flood gates of civil discord<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n By thus determining \u2026 you will defeat the\u00a0insidious designs of our enemies,<\/strong>\u00a0who are compelled to resort from open force to\u00a0secret artifice.<\/strong>\u00a0You will give one more distinguished proof of unexampled\u00a0patriotism.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0warned in his Farewell Address, September 19, 1796:<\/p>\n \u201cOf all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,\u00a0Religion and Morality<\/strong>\u00a0are indispensable supports.<\/p>\n In vain would that man claim the tribute of\u00a0Patriotism,<\/strong>\u00a0who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness \u2026<\/p>\n Real Patriots,<\/strong>\u00a0who may resist the intrigues \u2026 are liable to become suspected and odious; while its\u00a0tools and dupes usurp<\/strong>\u00a0the applause and\u00a0confidence of the people,<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0surrender their interests.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Abigail Adams,<\/strong>\u00a0wife of President John Adams, wrote November 5, 1775:<\/p>\n \u201cA\u00a0patriot<\/strong>\u00a0without religion in my estimation is as great a paradox as an honest man without the fear of\u00a0God.<\/strong><\/p>\n Is it possible that he whom no\u00a0moral obligations<\/strong>\u00a0bind, can have any real good will towards men? \u2026<\/p>\n Can he be a\u00a0patriot<\/strong>\u00a0who, by an openly vicious conduct, is undermining the very bonds of society,\u00a0corrupting the morals of youth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n After the British burned the Capitol,\u00a0President Madison<\/strong>\u00a0declared September 1, 1814:<\/p>\n \u201cAn occasion which appeals so forcibly to the \u2026\u00a0patriotic devotion<\/strong>\u00a0of the American people, none will forget.<\/p>\n The glory acquired by \u2026\u00a0fathers<\/strong>\u00a0in establishing the independence \u2026 is now to be maintained by\u00a0their sons<\/strong>\u00a0with the \u2026 strength and resources \u2026\u00a0Heaven had blessed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaker of the House\u00a0Henry Clay<\/strong>\u00a0stated in 1841:<\/p>\n \u201cPatriotism,<\/strong>\u00a0which, catching its\u00a0inspiration<\/strong>\u00a0from the\u00a0immortal God<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026 prompts to deeds of\u00a0self-sacrifice,<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0valor,<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0devotion,<\/strong>\u00a0and of\u00a0death itself<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 that is\u00a0public virtue,<\/strong>\u00a0that is the\u00a0noblest,<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0sublimest<\/strong>\u00a0of all\u00a0public virtues.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Abraham Lincoln<\/strong>\u00a0stated in his Inaugural, March 4, 1861:<\/p>\n \u201cIntelligence,\u00a0patriotism,<\/strong>\u00a0Christianity,<\/strong>\u00a0and a firm reliance on\u00a0Him<\/strong>\u00a0who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust in the best way\u00a0all our present difficulty.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to John Wayne,\u00a0President Jimmy Carter<\/strong>\u00a0stated May 26, 1979:<\/p>\n \u201cI have today approved \u2026 a specially struck gold medal to John Wayne.<\/p>\n For nearly half a century, the Duke has symbolized the American ideals of integrity, courage,\u00a0patriotism,<\/strong>\u00a0and strength and has represented to the world many of the deepest values that this Nation respects.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald J. Trump<\/strong>\u00a0stated in his Inaugural, January 20, 2017:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you open your heart to\u00a0patriotism,<\/strong>\u00a0there is no room for prejudice.<\/p>\n The Bible tells us, \u2018How good and pleasant it is when God\u2019s people live together in unity\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n Whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of\u00a0patriots,<\/strong>\u00a0we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag.\u201d<\/p>\n The opposite of\u00a0patriotism<\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0\u201cidentity politics.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n This\u00a0tactic<\/strong>\u00a0is to\u00a0stop citizens<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0identifying<\/strong>\u00a0with the\u00a0nation<\/strong>\u00a0and instead get them to\u00a0identify with various subgroups.<\/strong><\/p>\n A recent division introduced is\u00a0vaccinated<\/strong>\u00a0versus\u00a0unvaccinated.<\/strong><\/p>\n These subgroups are then\u00a0pitted against each other<\/strong>\u00a0to bring\u00a0division, disunity,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0domestic instability.<\/strong><\/p>\n When enough citizens become overwhelmed with\u00a0feelings of insecurity for life and property,<\/strong>\u00a0they quickly\u00a0surrender their independence\u00a0<\/strong>to a government leader who promises to\u00a0restore order,<\/strong>\u00a0but then usurps power to become a\u00a0tyrant.<\/strong><\/p>\n Washington<\/strong>\u00a0warned in his Farewell Address of citizens identifying with and having allegiance to subgroups called \u201cparties\u201d or \u201cfactions\u201d:<\/p>\n \u201cI have already intimated to you\u00a0the danger of parties<\/strong>\u00a0in the State \u2026<\/p>\n The spirit of party<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026 is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the\u00a0strongest passions of the human mind.<\/strong>\u00a0It exists under different shapes in all governments \u2026 and is truly their\u00a0worst enemy.<\/strong><\/p>\n The alternate\u00a0domination of one faction over another,<\/strong>\u00a0sharpened by the\u00a0spirit of revenge,<\/strong>\u00a0natural to\u00a0party dissension,<\/strong>\u00a0which in\u00a0different ages and countries<\/strong>\u00a0has perpetrated\u00a0the most horrid enormities \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n This leads at length to a \u2026\u00a0permanent despotism.<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0disorders and miseries<\/strong>\u00a0which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in\u00a0the absolute power of an individual;<\/strong><\/p>\n and sooner or later\u00a0the chief of some prevailing faction<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026 turns this disposition to \u2026\u00a0his own elevation,<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0ruins of public liberty.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Franklin D. Roosevelt\u00a0<\/strong>warned Congress, January 3, 1940:<\/p>\n \u201cDoctrines that set group against group, faith against faith,\u00a0race against race,<\/strong>\u00a0class against class,<\/p>\n fanning the fires of hatred<\/strong>\u00a0in men too despondent, too desperate to think for themselves, were used as rabble-rousing slogans on which\u00a0dictators could ride to power.<\/strong><\/p>\n And once in power they could\u00a0saddle their tyrannies on whole nations.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Theodore Roosevelt<\/strong>\u00a0addressed the Knights of Columbus, New York City, October 12, 1915<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0one absolutely certain way<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0bringing this nation to ruin<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026 would be to permit it to become a\u00a0tangle of squabbling nationalities,<\/strong>\u00a0an\u00a0intricate knot<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English- Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian- Americans,<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0Italian-Americans<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roosevelt<\/strong>\u00a0added:<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>There is no room in this country for\u00a0hyphenated Americanism<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026 The man who puts\u00a0German<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0Irish<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0English<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0French<\/strong>\u00a0before the\u00a0hyphen<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026\u00a0Our allegiance<\/strong>\u00a0must be\u00a0purely<\/strong>\u00a0to the\u00a0United States.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Senator Henry Cabot Lodge<\/strong>\u00a0addressed the New England Society of Brooklyn, December 21, 1888:<\/p>\n \u201cLet us have done with British-Americans<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Irish-Americans<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0German-Americans,<\/strong>\u00a0and so on, and\u00a0all be Americans<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n If a man is going to be an\u00a0American<\/strong>\u00a0at all let him be so\u00a0without any qualifying adjectives;<\/strong>\u00a0and if he is going to be something else, let him drop the word American from his personal description.\u201d<\/p>\n History has many examples of\u00a0democracies<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0republics<\/strong>\u00a0which fell because citizens\u00a0abandoned patriotism<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0divided\u00a0<\/strong>their allegiances into\u00a0competing groups.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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