To begin with patriotism, the words “patriot,” “patriotic,” and “patriotism” were said 91 times in all 67 speeches. President Henry Harrison used one of those phrases a total of 12 times, producing the highest total of all presidents. Whigs were the most likely to include it within their speech with the highest average of 4 times per speech followed by Democrats (1.222), Democrat-Republicans (1.125), Republicans (.964), and Federalists (.5). It is important to note the uses of the term patriotism. Some of these uses relate to the basis of this study and others have no connection. Some presidents speak about patriotism in regards to military service rather than using it in a racial connotation, which may skew the results towards an increased representation of the phrases within the sample pool. With that being said there were times when patriotism can have racial undertones.
“Such a result is sufficient evidence of the justice and the patriotism of their course; it is evidence not to be mistaken that an adherence to it can prevent all embarrassment from this as well as from every other anticipated cause of difficulty or danger”
Van Buren 1837
President Van Buren, using “patriotism” a total of 8 times, is speaking about how the founding fathers might be able to understand the experiences of slaves and slavery within the country. By including patriotism within his speech he calls into the conversation the actions of the founding fathers, specifically the decision to make slavery legal and the ⅗ compromise. President Van Buren acknowledges that them writing the Constitution and moving forward creating a new country and way of governance was “patriotic” as well as leaving some issues up for debate to be decided later. In 2017 President Trump said, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice” (Trump 2017). Within this part of the speech, President Trump was talking about being loyal to the United States and God. By invoking patriotism, President Trump, who uses the phrase twice in his speech, is saying that those who do not have a love for the United States are prejudiced but those who are patriotic are not. The use of the word patriot helps to create a sense of pride for the country and shows how one must devote themselves to the United States. It also allows for space where racial undertones can arise and create a dynamic between how people relate to the United States and the experiences of people of color. Historically patriotism has been used to show devotion to the United States but has been used only for certain citizens. “Conducting a people inspired with the same virtues and animated with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty to independence and peace” (Adams 1797). President Adams is speaking solely about white citizens here and how they were fed up being under British rule.
