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The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come
from "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer
and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry
by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor
during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag,
the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith
for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven",
with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed
"The Star-Spangled Banner", it soon became a well-known American patriotic song.
With a range of one octave and one fifth, it is known for being difficult to sing.
Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and
by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem
by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931, which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. "Hail, Columbia"
served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee",
whose melody is identical to "God Save the Queen", the British national anthem,
also served as a de facto anthem. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars,
other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them
"The Star-Spangled Banner", as well as "America the Beautiful".
Francis Scott Key's lyrics
 [^]  On September 3, 1814, following the Burning of Washington and the Raid on Alexandria,
Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner set sail from Baltimore aboard the ship HMS Minden,
flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by President James Madison. Their objective was
to secure an exchange of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, the elderly
and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro
and a friend of Key's who had been captured in his home.
Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key
and Skinner boarded the British flagship HMS Tonnant on September 7 and spoke
with Major General Robert Ross and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane
over dinner while the two officers discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused
to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written
by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment.
Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore,
they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise
and later back on HMS Minden. After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted
to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away
by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city's last line of defense.  [^]  During the rainy night,
Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort's smaller "storm flag" continued
to fly, but once the shell and Congreve rocket barrage had stopped,
he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. On the morning of September 14,
the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised. During the bombardment,
HMS Terror and HMS Meteor provided some of the "bombs bursting in air".  [^]  Key was inspired
by the American victory
and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag,
with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary Young Pickersgill together
with other workers in her home on Baltimore's Pratt Street. The flag later came
to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner
and is today on display in the National Museum of American History,
a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler,
and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program. Aboard the ship the next day,
Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on September 16, he
and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel,
where he was staying, and titled it "Defence of Fort M'Henry". Much of the idea of the poem,
including the flag imagery and some of the wording, is derived from an earlier song by Key, also set
to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song". The song, known as "When the Warrior Returns",
was written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return
from the First Barbary War. Absent elaboration by Francis Scott Key prior to his death in 1843,
some have speculated in modern times about the meaning of phrases or verses. According
to British historian Robin Blackburn, the words "the hireling and slave" allude
to the thousands of ex-slaves in the British ranks organised as the Corps of Colonial Marines,
who had been liberated by the British and demanded to be placed in the battle line
"where they might expect to meet their former masters." Nevertheless, Professor Mark Clague,
a professor of musicology at the University of Michigan, argues that the
"middle two verses of Key's lyric vilify the British enemy in the War of 1812" and
"in no way glorifies or celebrates slavery." Clague writes that "For Key.
the British mercenaries were scoundrels and the Colonial Marines were traitors who threatened
to spark a national insurrection." This harshly anti-British nature of Verse 3 led
to its omission in sheet music in World War I, when Britain and the U.S. were allies. Responding
to the assertion of writer Jon Schwarz of The Intercept that the song is a
"celebration of slavery," Clague said that: "The reference to slaves is about the use,
and in some sense the manipulation, of black Americans to fight for the British,
with the promise of freedom. The American forces included African-Americans as well as whites.
The term 'freemen,' whose heroism is celebrated in the fourth stanza, would have encompassed both."
Others suggest that "Key may have intended the phrase as a reference
to the British Navy’s practice of impressment, or as a semi-metaphorical slap
at the British invading force as a whole."
John Stafford Smith's music
 [^]   [^]  Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law Judge Joseph H.
Nicholson who saw that the words fit the popular melody "The Anacreontic Song",
by English composer John Stafford Smith. This was the official song of the Anacreontic Society,
an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Nicholson took the poem
to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously made the first known broadside printing on September 17;
of these, two known copies survive. On September 20, both the Baltimore Patriot
and The American printed the song, with the note "Tune: Anacreon in Heaven".
The song quickly became popular, with seventeen newspapers from Georgia
to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after,
Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words
and music together under the title "The Star Spangled Banner", although it was originally called
"Defence of Fort M'Henry".
Thomas Carr's arrangement introduced the raised fourth which became the standard deviation from
"The Anacreontic Song". The song's popularity increased,
and its first public performance took place in October,
when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley's tavern. Washington Irving,
then editor of the Analectic Magazine in Philadelphia, reprinted the song in November 1814.
By the early 20th century, there were various versions of the song in popular use.
Seeking a singular, standard version, President Woodrow Wilson tasked the U.S. Bureau of Education
with providing that official version. In response, the Bureau enlisted the help of five musicians
to agree upon an arrangement. Those musicians were Walter Damrosch, Will Earhart, Arnold J.
Gantvoort, Oscar Sonneck and John Philip Sousa. The standardized version that was voted upon
by these five musicians premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 5, 1917,
in a program that included Edward Elgar's Carillon and Gabriel Pierné's The Children's Crusade.
The concert was put on by the Oratorio Society of New York and conducted by Walter Damrosch.
An official handwritten version of the final votes of these five men has been found
and shows all five men's votes tallied, measure by measure.
The Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini used an extract of the melody in writing the aria
"Dovunque al mondo." in 1904 for his work Madama Butterfly.
National anthem
 [^]   [^]  The song gained popularity throughout the 19th century and bands played it during public events,
such as July 4th celebrations. A plaque displayed at Fort Meade, South Dakota,
claims that the idea of making "The Star Spangled Banner"
the national anthem began on their parade ground in 1892. Colonel Caleb Carlton, Post Commander,
established the tradition that the song be played "at retreat and at the close of parades
and concerts." Carlton explained the custom to Governor Sheldon of South Dakota who
"promised me that he would try to have the custom established among the state militia."
Carlton wrote that after a similar discussion, Secretary of War, Daniel E.
Lamont issued an order that it "be played at every Army post every evening at retreat." In 1899,
the US Navy officially adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner". In 1916,
President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military
and other appropriate occasions. The playing of the song two years later
during the seventh-inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series, and thereafter
during each game of the series is often cited as the first instance that the anthem was played
at a baseball game, though evidence shows that the "Star-Spangled Banner"
was performed as early as 1897 at opening day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly
at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. In any case,
the tradition of performing the national anthem before every baseball game began in World War II.
On April 10, 1918, John Charles Linthicum, U.S. Congressman from Maryland, introduced a bill
to officially recognize "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem. The bill did not pass.
On April 15, 1929, Linthicum introduced the bill again, his sixth time doing so. On November 3, 1929,
Robert Ripley drew a panel in his syndicated cartoon, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, saying "Believe It
or Not, America has no national anthem". In 1930, Veterans of Foreign Wars started a petition
for the United States to officially recognize "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem.
Five million people signed the petition. The petition was presented
to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary on January 31, 1930. On the same day,
Elsie Jorss-Reilley and Grace Evelyn Boudlin sang the song to the Committee
to refute the perception that it was too high pitched for a typical person to sing.
The Committee voted in favor of sending the bill to the House floor for a vote.
The House of Representatives passed the bill later that year.
The Senate passed the bill on March 3, 1931. President Herbert Hoover signed the bill on March 4,
1931, officially adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner"
as the national anthem of the United States of America. As currently codified,
the United States Code states that "[t]he composition consisting of the words
and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem."
Lyrics
O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed
at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare,
the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave? On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze,
o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals,
half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner,
O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. And
where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home
and a country, should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight,
or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. O thus be it ever,
when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation. Blest with vict'ry
and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made
and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!  [^] 
Additional Civil War period lyrics
In indignation over the start of the American Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Sr. added a fifth stanza to the song in 1861, which appeared in songbooks of the era.
When our land is illumined with Liberty's smile, If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that dares to defile The flag of her stars
and the page of her story! By the millions unchained who our birthright have gained,
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained! And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall
wave While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
Alternative lyrics
In a version hand-written by Francis Scott Key in 1840, the third line reads "Whose bright stars
and broad stripes, through the clouds of the fight".
Performances
 [^]  The song is notoriously difficult for nonprofessionals to sing,
because of its wide rangea 12th. Humorist Richard Armour referred
to the song's difficulty in his book It All Started With Columbus. Professional
and amateur singers have been known to forget the words,
which is one reason the song is sometimes pre-recorded and lip-synced.
Other times the issue is avoided
by having the performer play the anthem instrumentally instead of singing it.
The pre-recording of the anthem has become standard practice at some ballparks,
such as Boston's Fenway Park, according to the SABR publication The Fenway Project.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is traditionally played at the beginning of public sports events
and orchestral concerts in the United States, as well as other public gatherings.
The National Hockey League and Major League Soccer both require venues in both the U.S.
and Canada to perform both the Canadian and American national anthems at games that involve teams
from both countries. It is also usual for both American and Canadian anthems to be played
at Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association games involving the Toronto Blue Jays
and the Toronto Raptors, the only Canadian teams in those two major U.S. sports leagues,
and in All Star Games on the MLB, NBA, and NHL. The Buffalo Sabres of the NHL,
which play in a city on the Canada–US border and have a substantial Canadian fan base,
play both anthems before all home games regardless of where the visiting team is based.
Two especially unusual performances of the song took place in the immediate aftermath of the
United States September 11 attacks. On September 12, 2001, the Queen broke with tradition
and allowed the Band of the Coldstream Guards to perform the anthem at Buckingham Palace, London,
at the ceremonial Changing of the Guard, as a gesture of support for Britain's ally.
The following day at a St. Paul's Cathedral memorial service,
the Queen joined in the singing of the anthem, an unprecedented occurrence.
200th anniversary celebrations
The 200th anniversary of the "Star-Spangled Banner" occurred in 2014
with various special events occurring throughout the United States.
A particularly significant celebration occurred during the week of September 10–16 in
and around Baltimore, Maryland.
Highlights included playing of a new arrangement of the anthem arranged by John Williams
and participation of President Obama on Defender's Day, September 12, 2014, at Fort McHenry.
In addition,
the anthem bicentennial included a youth music celebration including the presentation of the
National Anthem Bicentennial Youth Challenge winning composition written by Noah Altshuler.
Adaptations
 [^]  The first popular music performance of the anthem heard by the mainstream U.S. was
by Puerto Rican singer and guitarist José Feliciano. He created a nationwide uproar
when he strummed a slow, blues-style rendition of the song
at Tiger Stadium in Detroit before game five of the 1968 World Series, between Detroit and St.
Louis. This rendition started contemporary "Star-Spangled Banner" controversies. The response
from many in the Vietnam War-era U.S. was generally negative. Despite the controversy,
Feliciano's performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the
"Star-Spangled Banner" heard in the years since. One week after Feliciano's performance,
the anthem was in the news again when American athletes Tommie Smith
and John Carlos lifted controversial raised fists at the 1968 Olympics while the
"Star-Spangled Banner" played at a medal ceremony. Marvin Gaye gave a soul-influenced performance
at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game
and Whitney Houston gave a soulful rendition before Super Bowl XXV in 1991,
which was released as a single that charted at number 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001. In 1993,
Kiss did an instrumental rock version as the closing track on their album, Alive III.
Another famous instrumental interpretation is Jimi Hendrix's version, which was a set-list staple
from autumn 1968 until his death in September 1970, including a famous rendition
at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. Incorporating sonic effects to emphasize the
"rockets' red glare", and "bombs bursting in air", it became a late-1960s emblem.
Roseanne Barr gave a controversial performance of the anthem at a San Diego Padres baseball game
at Jack Murphy Stadium on July 25, 1990. The comedian belted out a screechy rendition of the song,
and afterward she attempted a gesture of ball players by spitting
and grabbing her crotch as if adjusting a protective cup. The performance offended some,
including the sitting U.S. President, George H. W. Bush.
Sufjan Stevens has frequently performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" in live sets,
replacing the optimism in the end of the first verse with a new coda that alludes
to the divisive state of the nation today. David Lee Roth both referenced parts of the anthem
and played part of a hard rock rendition of the anthem on his song, "Yankee Rose"
on his 1986 solo album, Eat 'Em and Smile. Steven Tyler also caused some controversy in 2001
and again in 2012 with a cappella renditions of the song with changed lyrics.
A version of Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Brad Whitford playing part of the song can be heard
at the end of their version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" on the Rockin' the Joint album.
The band Boston gave an instrumental rock rendition of the anthem on their Greatest Hits album.
The band Crush 40 made a version of the song as opening track from the album Thrill of the Feel.
In March 2005, a government-sponsored program, the National Anthem Project,
was launched after a Harris Interactive poll showed many adults knew neither the lyrics nor the
history of the anthem.
Customs and federal law
 [^]  When the National Anthem was first recognized by law in 1932, there was no proscription as
to behavior during its playing. On June 22, 1942,
the law was revised indicating that those in uniform should salute during its playing,
while others should simply stand at attention, men removing their hats. On December 23,
1942 the law was again revised instructing men and women to stand at attention
and face in the direction of the music when it was played. That revision also directed men
and women to place their hands over their hearts only if the flag was displayed.
Those in uniform were required to salute. On July 7, 1976, the law was simplified. Men
and women were instructed to stand with their hands over their hearts, men removing their hats,
irrespective of whether or not the flag was displayed and those in uniform saluting. On August 12,
1998, the law was rewritten keeping the same instructions, but differentiating between
"those in uniform" and "members of the Armed Forces and veterans" who were both instructed
to salute during the playing whether or not the flag was displayed. Because of the changes in law
over the years and confusion between instructions
for the Pledge of Allegence versus the National Anthem,
throughout most of the 20th century many people simply stood at attention or
with their hands folded in front of them during the playing of the Anthem, and
when reciting the Pledge they would hold their hand over their heart. After 9/11,
the custom of placing the hand over the heart
during the playing of the Anthem became nearly universal. Since 1998, federal law states that
during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed,
all present including those in uniform should stand at attention;
Non-military service individuals should face the flag with the right hand over the heart;
Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present
and not in uniform may render the military salute;
Military service persons not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand
and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart;
and Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are in uniform should give the military salute
at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note.
The law further provides that when the flag is not displayed,
all present should face toward the music
and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.
Military law requires all vehicles on the installation to stop when the song is played
and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music
and either salute, in uniform, or place the right hand over the heart, if out of uniform.
The law was amended in 2008, and since allows military veterans to salute out of uniform, as well.
However, this statutory suggestion does not have any penalty associated with violations.
This behavioral requirement for the national anthem is subject
to the same First Amendment controversies that surround the Pledge of Allegiance. For example,
Jehovah's Witnesses do not sing the national anthem, though they are taught that standing is an
"ethical decision" that individual believers must make based on their "conscience."
1968 Olympics Black Power Salute
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a political demonstration conducted
by African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony
at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. After having won gold
and bronze medals respectively in the 200 meter running event, they turned on the podium
to face their flags, and to hear the American national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist, and kept them raised until the anthem had finished.
In addition, Smith, Carlos,
and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human rights badges on their jackets.
In his autobiography, Silent Gesture, Smith stated that the gesture was not a "Black Power" salute,
but a "human rights salute".
The event is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern
Olympic Games.
2016 protests
Politically motivated protests of the national anthem began in the National Football League
after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the anthem, as opposed
to the tradition of standing, before his team's third preseason game of 2016. Kaepernick also sat
during the first two preseason games, but he went unnoticed.
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