Analysis ranges from line 48,"Down into the earth went the plow," to line 94,"AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS."
Poem Annotations & Analysis:
Down into the earth went the plow
Hughes initiates fast-paced action, showing efficiency when people work together. This stanza is lengthy and reads almost like a stream of consciousness to showcase the multitude of hardworking American attributes.
In the free hands and the slave hands,
In indentured hands and adventurous hands,
Turning the rich soil went the plow in many hands
The plow almost becomes a spirit where ideas of freedom jump from it onto the hands that operate it. This spirit of American freedom then leads the hands to clothe and feed America. Next, Hughes segways into America’s other advancements without mentioning the plow:
That planted and harvested the food that fed
And the cotton that clothed America.
Clang against the trees went the ax into many hands
This is an allusion to The Legend of John Henry-a former slave who basically gave his life to the American railroad.
That hewed and shaped the rooftops of America.
The rooftops are what others will figuratively see far away from America, which will be inspiring to others and revered. Heights are also a prevalent theme in American literature because it goes back to John Winthrop's, Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1630 “City On A Hill” (a reference to Matthew 5:14) sermon. Before reaching New England, Winthrop envisioned his colony to be a religious inspiration for the world.
Splash into the rivers and the seas went the boat-hulls
That moved and transported America.
Crack went the whips that drove the horses
Here, Hughes is describing early American society, possibly the late 18th -19th century when the horse and buggy was prevalent.
Across the plains of America.
Free hands and slave hands,
Indentured hands, adventurous hands,
Repetition of these lines are sure to instill the value of American togetherness.
White hands and black hands
These comparisons show American differences, but by holding all of these different handles, their statuses do not matter. This is also the first time Hughes mentions White and Black people, which starts to establish his intended audiences of "Freedom's Plow."
Held the plow handles,
Ax handles, hammer handles,
Launched the boats and whipped the horses
That fed and housed and moved America.
Thus together through labor,
All these hands made America.
Labor! Out of labor came villages
Hughes compares the beginnings of American settlement to how world civilizations worked together to create small villages.
And the towns that grew cities.
Hughes is describing America’s urbanization as its population and societal advancement grew.
Labor! Out of labor came the rowboats
And the sailboats and the steamboats,
Came the wagons, and the coaches,
Covered wagons, stage coaches,
Out of labor came the factories,
Came the foundries, came the railroads.
These lines show how American togetherness led to the Industrial Revolution in America where things such as steamboats, coaches, factories, and railroads were prevalent.
Came the marts and markets, shops and stores,
Came the mighty products moulded, manufactured,
Sold in shops, piled in warehouses,
Shipped the wide world over:
Hughes conveys to readers how these movements benefited American society by gaining them money and worldwide power. His writing carries a patriotic tone because in WWII productivity is much needed to help win the war. Hughes is basically conveying the thought “we’ve done it before, we can do it again” in these lines.
Out of labor-white hands and black hands-
Came the dream, the strength, the will,
Now that Hughes has mentioned America, he is referring to his trademark American Dream poetic theme.
And the way to build America.
Now it is Me here, and You there.
Hughes' use of "Me" and "You" compares himself with his White countrymen, especially those who oppress him. This is similar to when Hughes states in his poem "Theme for English B," "You are white—/yet a part of me, as I am a part of you." He makes himself the archetype for all African Americans, showing his audience that they want unity more than any negative stereotype that the White race may think.
Now it’s Manhattan, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans,
Boston and El Paso- Now it’s the U.S.A.
Hughes is saying that it does not matter where Americans are from, they still make up America. He takes states (which are parts) and shows how they create America (which is a whole). It is almost like how the Industrial Revolution-in the previous lines-utilized parts to produce whole inventions.
A long time ago, but not too long ago, a man said:
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL-
Hughes uses comparisons from the Revolutionary War when White Americans were fighting for their freedom from Great Britain. He also shows how African Americans hold those ideas even though they weren't meant for them.
ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR
WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS-
AMONG THESE LIFE, LIBERTY
AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
This is an allusion to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, which declared the independence of America's colonies from the British government.
Summary:
In these stanzas, Hughes demonstrates the fast-paced movement of American society when citizens work together. He also does this by alluding to some historical opportunistic American productivity movements, such as the Revolutionary Period, Urbanization, and the Industrial Revolution.
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