Across the Union, the song was played to try to lift America's spirit as this crisis of national identity unfolded.Īfter Abraham Lincoln's assassination, the song emerged as the uniting symbol. Nearly 50 years after, The Star-Spangled Banner rose to prominence during and after the Civil War.
In 1817, composer James Hewitt created The Star-Spangled Banner. The poem became hugely popular and American composers were soon looking to create a better and American-made melody. His poem was published in September of 1814 and was set to the music of Anacreon in Heaven. There was a 25-hour bombardment, but Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor was in the end not taken by the British.Īgainst all odds, Americans were able to defend it.įrancis Scott Key, an American lawyer, saw a waving flag above the fort and was driven to write a poem inspired by this event. The British were set on taking Baltimore in late 1814. These tensions resulted in the war of 1812, a war that lasted three years.ĭuring this conflict, the British controlled key American waterways and burned Washington D.C., the capital. The British were imposing blockades to restrict American trading ventures, they were impressing American sailors into the British Royal Navy, and they were supporting Native American tribes who opposed American westward expansion. had become independent, England, continued. In the early 1800s, around 20 years after the Declaration of Independence, tensions between the newly formed nation and the nation from whom the U.S. The lyrics did not yet speak directly about the flag or the country, but the lyrics did speak about the American character that was in the midst of being shaped, one that values person-centered education and self-improvement. Hopkinson was one of America's pioneering composers and a man who also signed the Declaration of Independence. Regardless of where the melody came from, American-born lyrics were written in the same century, the 18th century, by Francis Hopkinson. In later years when debates arose as to whether The Star-Spangled Banner should be the national anthem, many argued against the original melody, stating that its foreign and disreputable origins didn't make it worthy of the new nation. His original tune, named Anacreon in Heaven, was often described as an old English drinking song. declared itself a nation, by a London composer named John Stafford Smith. The melody for The Star-Spangled Banner was written around 1775, about a year after the U.S. national anthem begins in this same spirit in the 1770s. But what remains true is that if it is to continue to be a powerful nation in a changing and dangerous world, the country must be united. is a vast nation with roughly about 300 million people, a nation existing at a time of mass information, globalisation and a huge political divide. national anthem is as old as the nation itself, and describing its origins goes hand in hand with the origins of America. Petition to Remove the Conditions of ResidenceĬrafting a concise history of how the United States' National Anthem came to be is a bit of a daunting task.Remove Conditions on Green Card Form I-751.Immigrant Visa for Outstanding Researchers/Professors.Green Card for Domestic Employee or Unskilled Labor Application.Green Card for Multinational Executives and Managers.Green Card Through Employment Application.Green Card for Brothers or Sisters Application.Get Green Card through Marriage Application.Get Green Card through Family Member Application.They also cite references of inequality among men and women. Petition creators also argue the song is focused on victory and military strength and does not exemplify the American values of brotherhood, national unity and patriotism. It alleges that not only did Key own slaves, but also that the song itself “contains racism, elitism and even sexism embedded in its third and fourth stanzas.” The petition moves to change the national anthem to “America the Beautiful.” New signatures have been added to the petition this past week. The Smithsonian reports that Key was a slave owner and defended slave owners’ rights to own human property.Ī petition calling for the change of the anthem has recently resurfaced and is gaining new support amidst the current climate surrounding controversial statues and monuments. However, citizens are now asking for a new national anthem because of Key’s ties to slavery. This poem later served as the lyrics for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became the official national anthem of the US in 1931. Statue of John Calhoun, vice president who defended slavery, comes down in Charleston