A nation’s people should have common cultural bonds
that unite a diverse citizenry. In the
past Americans had a corpus of poems, music, quotes, and fundamental historical
documents they easily recognized and could often recite by heart. This common bond contributed to the mortar
that cemented an American self-image.
Below find parts of poems, songs, quotations and documents from our
American heritage. Words or entire lines have been omitted. Can you fill in the
blanks? [Rating: fairly easy]
1 1) The
Preamble of the U. S. Constitution: We
the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
___?_____promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
2 2) First
stanza of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!”
O
Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done,
The
ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The
port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While
follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
______________?___________ (four
lines)
3 3) Theodore
Roosevelt: “In life, as in a football
game, the principle to follow is:____?____
4 4) Mark
Twain: “Man is the only animal that
blushes. ______?______
5 5) Abraham
Lincoln: Complete the first paragraph/sentence of the Gettysburg Address: Fourscore
and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
_______?________
6 6) In
his “First Annual Address” to Congress, George Washington said: To be prepared for war is _______?_________.
7 7) Finish
the first verse of the cowboy song, “Streets of Laredo”
As
I walked out in the Streets of Laredo
As
I walked out in Laredo one day,
I
spied a young cowboy,________?______ (one and a half lines)
8 8) Complete
the first verse of Joseph Brackett, Jr.’s “Simple Gifts”
‘Tis
the gift to be simple,
“Tis
the gift to be free,
“Tis
the gift to come down where we ought to be,
_______?_________(last
two lines)
9 9) Complete
this famous sentence from the first paragraph of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a
Dream” speech: “…I have a dream that my
four little children will one day live in a nation where ______?_____
1 10) Emma
Lazarus penned these words:
“…Give me your tired, your poor,
Your
huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The
wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
______?_________(last
two lines; extra credit if you know the title of her poem)
1 11) Finish
the last line of the first verse of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Concord Hymn”
By
the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here
once the embattled farmers stood,
_______?_________
1 12) What
is the first line of this Carl Sandburg poem with the rest of the first verse
quoted?
_________?__________
Tool
Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player
with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
City
of Big Shoulders: (deduct 10 points if
you think the title is “New York”)
1 13) Fill in the blanks on verse one of Katharine
Lee Bates’ “America the Beautiful”
O
beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
_________?_________
Above the fruited plain!
America!
America!
God shed his grace on thee
________?__________
________?__________
1 14) Complete the lines missing from the song “On a
Bicycle Built for Two”
Daisy,
Daisy, give me your answer do.
I’m
half crazy, all for the love of you
It
won’t be a stylish marriage,
_______?________
(last three lines)
1 15) Finally, complete the missing words/lines in
the song, “That Old Gang of Mine.”
Gee,
but, I’d give the world to see
That
old gang of mine
I
can’t forget that old quartet
That
sang “_____?________”
Goodbye
forever old fellows and gals
_________?___________
(_________?__________)
Gee,
but I’d give the world to see
That
old gang of mine. (And if you can sing
this one, you’re older than I!)
Answers: 1) …establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defense…
2) But O heart! heart! heart!
O
bleeding drops of red,
Where
on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen
cold and dead.
3) Hit the
line hard. 4) Or needs to. 5) …conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to
the proposition that all men are created equal. 6) …one of the most effective means of
preserving peace.
7) …all wrapped in white linen
Wrapped
up in white linen and cold as the clay.
8)…And when we find ourselves in the place just
right,
It
will be in the valley of love and delight.
9) …they will not be judged by the color of their
skin but by the content of their character.
10) Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.
I
lift my lamp beside the golden door.
[Title: "The New Colossus"]
11) And fired the shot heard ‘round the world. 12) Hog Butcher for the World
13) For
purple mountain majesties…
And
crown thy good with brotherhood
From
sea to shining sea!
14) I can’t afford a carriage.
But
you’ll look sweet upon the seat
On
a bicycle built for two
15)…“Sweet Adeline”…Goodbye forever old sweethearts
and pals
(God
bless them!)
And you too!
