America the Beautiful

Almost our National Anthem

One of the perks of being a visiting professor was a carriage ride up Pikes Peak. The horse-drawn carriage could go no further than the Halfway House (Glen Cove), so they switched to burros for the remaining six miles of the trip.

After reveling in the views after only a half hour on the summit of Pikes Peak, they descended again. On the way down, she wrote in her diary:

...we stood at last on that Gate-of-Heaven summit…and gazed in wordless rapture over the far expanse of mountain ranges and the sea-like sweep of plain.

After she returned to her room in the Antler's Hotel that night, she remarked to friends that countries such as England had failed because, while they may have been "great", they had not been "good" and that "unless we are willing to crown our greatness with goodness, and our bounty with brotherhood, our beloved America may go the same way."

Based on her experiences on that trip, she later wrote a poem which has now become our classic anthem "America The Beautiful."

The original four stanzas were printed on July 4, 1895 in an issue of The Congregationalist newspaper. After several revisions, the final poem was published in the Boston Evening Transcript nine years later.

Samual Ward's hymn, "Materna" was selected as the music behind the lyrics. However, Ward died in 1903 and never knew how popular Bates' lyrics and his music would become.

A strong push was made to adopt the hymn as the national anthem in 1926. However, President Hoover chose the "Star-Spangled Banner" instead.

In 1993, 100 years after Bates ascended Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs' businessman Costas Rombocos donated an "America the Beautiful" monument that was placed atop Pikes Peak. The monument can be seen on the observation platform to the south of the Summit House.

While Bates retained the copyright on her poem to protect it, she never sought any payment of royalties. It was her personal gift to the country.

from pikespeak.us.com