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The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner. How the flag that flew proudly over Fort McHenry inspired an anthem and made its way to the Smithsonian
By Jessie Campisi and AJ Willingham, CNN. It’s a song every American has heard countless times – and can probably recite by heart. But how much do you really know about our national anthem?...
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- Background: War of 1812
- Francis Scott Key
- Who Wrote 'The Star-Spangled Banner'?
- From Drinking Song to American Anthem
- Key’s Complicated Legacy
- Growing Popularity of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'
- History of The National Anthem at Sporting Events
- Sources
Simmering anger at Britain for interfering in American trade, impressing U.S. sailors into the Royal Navy and standing in the way of westward expansion led the United States to declare war in June 1812. With British forces distracted by the country’s ongoing war with France, the United States scored some encouraging early victories in the War of 18...
A Maryland-born attorney with a thriving practice in Washington, D.C., Francis Scott Keywatched the bombardment of Fort McHenry from a ship anchored in Baltimore’s harbor. Key had been helping to negotiate the release of an American civilian, Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured in an earlier battle. As a condition of the release, the British ...
Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” and its initial verse on the back side of a letter while watching the large American flag waving over the fort that morning. Back in Baltimore, he continued working until he had completed four verses(only one of which is commonly known today). After a local printer issued the song, originally calle...
Ironically, the melody Key assigned to accompany the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a popular English drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven.” Written around 1775 by John Stafford Smith, the song honored the ancient Greek poet Anacreon, a lover of wine. It was originally performed at a London gentleman’s music club called the Anacreo...
After the war of 1812, Key continued his thriving law career. He served as a member of the “Kitchen Cabinet” of President Andrew Jacksonand in 1833 was appointed as a U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He composed other verses over the course of his life, but none received anywhere close to the recognition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Af...
At first, “The Star-Spangled Banner” trailed “Yankee Doodle” and “Hail Columbia” in popularity among patriotic 19th-century tunes. But during and immediately after the Civil War, Key’s song gained a deeper meaning, as the American flag became an increasingly powerful symbol of national unity. By the 1890s, the U.S military had adopted the song for ...
“The Star-Spangled Banner” made its sporting-event debut in September 1918, during that year’s first World Series game between the ChicagoCubs and Boston Red Sox. In addition to the ongoing toll of World War I, a cloud of violence hung over Chicago’s Comiskey Park, as a bomb had torn apart the Chicago Federal Building just the day before. During th...
The Star-Spangled Banner, Smithsonian. “Star-Spangled Banner” writer had complex history on race, The Baltimore Sun. “How the national anthem—and subverting it—became a national tradition,” The Washington Post. “How the National Anthem Has Unfurled,” The New York Times. “The Song Remains the Same,” ESPN the Magazine.
The title of Isaac Asimov's 1980 short story "No Refuge Could Save" is a reference to the song's third verse, and the obscurity of this verse is a major plot point. Customs and federal law Plaque detailing how the custom of standing during the U.S. national anthem came about in Tacoma, Washington, on October 18, 1893, in the Bostwick building
- March 3, 1931
- John Stafford Smith, c. 1773
- Francis Scott Key, 1814
Jul 1, 2014 · Read the Star Spangled Banner Lyrics together with the meaning of the words. Francis Scott Key wrote the "Star Spangled Banner" lyrics during the War of 1812 (aka the 'Second War for Independence') which was an armed conflict between the United States and Great Britain.
6 days ago · Written by British composer John Stafford Smith—whose identity was discovered only in the 1970s by a librarian in the music division of the Library of Congress —the song was sung to signal a transition between the evening’s orchestral music concert and after-dinner participatory singing.
Mar 30, 2017 · Since then it has evolved into the national anthem for the United States and is played at official events, schools, and sporting events. This anthem is a means to bring Americans together to remember the United States' perseverance in the face of adversity and as a stage that Americans can use to protest unjust policies.
