The Star Spangled Banner

Today we discussed (and some of us sang) the Star Spangled Banner, which was originally written by Francis Scott Key. It was written by Key in response to seeing the American flag as it flew at the dawn of a new day after an intense nighttime British naval bombardment during the War of 1812.

It was quickly set to music. Specifically, the popular British drinking song
"Anacreon in Heaven." was used as a fit with the lyrics. Eventually, it became the nation's official anthem in 1931.

Before 1931, other songs were used to represent American patriotism in some official way. Most popularly, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody was derived from the British national anthem, served as a de facto national anthem of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner".