Shot heard round the world
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The "Shot heard round the world" is a well known phrase that has come to represent several historical incidents throughout world history. The line is originally from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn (1837), and referred to the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Later, in Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, the phrase became synonymous with the shot that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and plunged Europe into World War I.
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[edit] American Revolutionary War
The phrase originates from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn (1837), and describes the impact of the battle at Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. The entire stanza is:
- "By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
- Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
- Here once the embattled farmers stood
- And fired the shot heard round the world."
Emerson wrote that Concord Hymn for the dedication of a battle monument very close to his family's home, and the words are meant to emphasize that a critical event happened at this location that triggered something of global importance.
The phrase is an implied analogy. Perhaps firing the shot represents fighting this particular battle and what was heard was the news about it. Perhaps it represents the end of the entire war and what was heard was the news of a new nation and a retreat for the British Empire. It is also thought to represent the fact that the shot was so important, and so dramatically changed our future, it is thought to have been known to everyone. It is often thought that firing the shot was meant to represent the beginning of a struggle for freedom against perceived tyranny, and the hearing represents the worldwide spread of this struggle with the American Revolution serving as an example. This third analogy would reflect Emerson's belief in American exceptionalism. The historian David M. Wrobel wrote: "Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were transcendentalists first, perhaps Romantic Nationalists second, and American exceptionalists third. Such distinctions are worth remembering if we are to see the tremendous variety and disorderliness of American thought, as opposed to seeing those diverse strands as neatly woven parts of a coherent exceptionalist fabric." (The Complexities of American Exceptionalism) The use of the word "heard" may also refer to the great impact that the United States of America has had on the entire world. This shot, or battle in general, began the official American Revolution and thus changed the world forever since.
To a modern reader there seems to be disagreements between "farmers" (plural) firing "the shot" (singular). This could be interpreted as an understatement by Emerson to emphasize the hyperbole at the end of the phrase. Alternate definitions of shot as an attempt, a guess, or a bet may also be considered ("give it your best shot," "that bet is a long shot"). A more likely explanation is that Emerson is simply using "shot" in the collective sense ("volleys of shot"). The hyperbole, of course, is that the battle itself was not loud enough to be heard around the world. Thus some figurative use of "fired the shot" and perhaps of "heard" must be meant.
In popular culture, the phrase is often connected with the mystery of the literal first musket shot of the war. This occurred in Lexington earlier on the morning of April 19. It is not known whether a soldier of the British Army or a colonial militiaman fired this first shot of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. One theory of this shot is that it was actually fired at Asael Porter a local farmer who had been stopped by the British earlier in the day then tried to escape and was shot at about the same time as the battle of Lexington began.
[edit] Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
In Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, the phrase "The Shot heard around the World" has become associated with Gavrilo Princip's assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, an event considered as one of the main causes of World War I.
While Princip in fact fired two shots, one hitting Duchess Sophie with the second hitting Archduke Franz, it was the death of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne that propelled Europe and its allies into what had become known as the "War To End All Wars".
[edit] Communist Revolution in Russia
October Revolution in Russia was started by shot from the cruiser Aurora.[citation needed]
[edit] In sports
The phrase has been applied to several dramatic moments in sports history.
- Most commonly, in baseball, it refers to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants.[1]
- In golf, it is used most often to describe Gene Sarazen's double eagle on the fifteenth hole at the 1935 Masters Tournament, which helped propel him into a 36-hole playoff with Craig Wood. Sarazen would win the playoff by five strokes.[2]
- In American football, it usually refers to a play in the 1964 American Football League championship, where Buffalo Bills linebacker Mike Stratton landed a particularly hard hit on San Diego Chargers receiver Keith Lincoln, breaking Lincoln's ribs in the process.[citation needed]
- In professional basketball, it refers to Phoenix Suns player Garfield Heard's incredible shot before time ran out in Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, which sent the game to a third overtime.[citation needed]
- In hockey, it refers to Paul Henderson's last minute goal in game 8 of the Canada-USSR 1972 Summit Series
- In college basketball, it refers to the last second shot by Ernie Calverley of the University of Rhode Island against Bowling Green State University which tied the 1946 National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game and sent it into overtime. Rhode Island went on to win the game 82-79.[3]
- In American soccer, it is used to describe the goal scored by Paul Caligiuri for the USA men's national team against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain in 1989. The win propelled the team to the 1990 FIFA World Cup, helping to start a resurgence of American soccer on the international scene.[4]
- Outside the United States the phrase is most commonly applied to one of the biggest sporting upsets of all time when a completely unfancied United States soccer team defeated England, at the time considered the best team in the world, at the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The match became, and remains one of the most famous sporting events yet went virtually unreported in the United States.[citation needed]
[edit] In popular culture
- In 2006, the phrase was used by Newsweek, and other news outlets in describing Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of Harry Whittington while quail hunting in Texas.[5]
- Schoolhouse Rock also used the event in a song for their morning program in a song entitled "Shot Heard 'Round the World."[6]
- Various sources have made the play-on-words "herd shot 'round the world" in reference to rocketry and cows.[7][8]
[edit] References
- ^ Peretz, Howard G. (1999). It Ain't Over 'Till The Fat Lady Sings: The 100 Greatest Sports Finishes of All Time. New York: Barnes and Nobles Books, pp 4–5. ISBN 0-76071-7079.
- ^ Peretz, pp 214-215
- ^ Peretz, pp 44-45
- ^ Robledo, Fred J. "Kick Start: Ten years later, one goal still means a lot", The (Los Angeles) Daily News, 1999-11-19. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Thomas, Evan (2006-02-07). The Shot Heard Round the World. Newsweek. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ The Shot Heard Round the World. Schoolhouse Rock. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ Dog Story. Time. Time Inc. (1957). Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ David, Leonard (2000). The National Reconnaissance Office has designed, built and operated the U.S. fleet of spy satellites since 1961. Space.com. Imaginova Corp. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
