One poll showed that 61% of Americans don’t know all of the words to the song. The song consists of 4 verses, but it is very rare to hear any but the first performed. On March 3, 1931, the “Banner” was designated the national anthem by an act of Congress. The song’s first confirmed performance at a sporting event was at the 1918 World Series.During World War II, the tradition of singing the anthem at sporting events spread. The flag is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The American officers wanted a huge flag so that the British would have no trouble seeing it in the distance and know that the Americans were not defeated. It measures 42 by 30 feet and was made by Mary Pickersgill. The flag that was raised over Fort McKenry on Septemis considered the Star Spangled Banner. The lyrics were set to a well-known British song, “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” come from “Defence of Fort M’Henry”, a poem written in 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 the Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. I thought it would be fun to share some facts and printables about the song that was declared as the USA National anthem in 1931. With the Fourth of July right around the corner, I am sharing some holiday posts beginning with this one about The Star Spangled Banner.
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