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"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the " Defence of Fort M'Henry ", [ 2 ] a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 .
- 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
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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.
Learn how Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of the national anthem of the United States in 1814, inspired by the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Discover the origin, evolution and controversy of the song and its melody.
Oct 30, 2024 · The Star-Spangled Banner, national anthem of the United States, with music adapted from the anthem of a singing club and words by Francis Scott Key. After a century of general use, the four-stanza song was officially adopted as the national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931.
Mar 26, 2024 · Francis Scott Key was a lawyer who wrote the lyrics to the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” By Biography.com Editors Updated: Mar 26, 2024 11:00 AM EDT Getty Images
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Jul 1, 2024 · “The Star-Spangled Banner is a symbol of American history that ranks with the Statue of Liberty and the Charters of Freedom,” said Brent D. Glass, the museum’s then-director, in 2007. “The ...
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Occupation. Poet. lawyer. Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843) [ 3 ] was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the text of the American national anthem " The Star-Spangled Banner ". [ 4 ] Key observed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 during the War of 1812.
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Mar 30, 2017 · In 1929, “House Resolution 14” was presented to Congress to name “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the official national anthem to the United States. There were many objections to this resolution. One objection was that the tune of the “Star-Spangled Banner” was taken from the song “To Anacreon to Heaven.”. This song was the theme ...
