Farmer to Hero

       “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a poem written in honor of those who fought for freedom of the colonies in the American Revolutionary War. In Emerson’s eyes, without these men we would still be slaves of England. The image he creates of these soldiers leaves the biggest impression. They were “farmers” who started something that affected the entire world; their shots were “heard round the world.” Those who fought for their independence from England were not wealthy or highly educated, they were not even real soldiers; they were blacksmiths, farmers, even beggars who were all suffering at the hands of England. They all came together to fight the most powerful military in the world. These men were able to do so without fear because they knew what they were fighting for: not themselves, but for future generations. They were fighting for our freedom, for all Americans today and in the future. Without their sacrifice who knows where we would be. Unfortunately we sometimes forget what these men did for us, Emerson tells us in this poem we must honor these men for their sacrifice, they must never be forgotten. The soldiers who fought in the war are dead, but the freedom they gave to all Americans lives on. Emerson first refers to the soldiers as “farmers” but at the end of the poem he calls them what they really are: “heroes.” These heroes were willing to die for the freedom of America, and they did not die in vain. These simple colonists fired a shot that was not only heard around the world, but changed the world. Without them there would be no United States of America. The United States of America is the greatest country on the face of the earth and if it were not for those men in the Revolutionary War, it would not exist. These soldiers must never be forgotten because even though they are no longer alive, the impact they made will never die.