National anthem of the United States

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 on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the barrage 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 big U.S. iris, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular british birdcall written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men ‘s social golf club in London. “ To Anacreon in Heaven “ ( or “ The Anacreontic Song ” ), with diverse lyrics, was already democratic in the United States. This set, renamed “ The Star-Spangled Banner ”, soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. With a scope of 19 semitones, it is known for being very unmanageable to sing. Although the poem has four stanza, only the first base is normally sing 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 home anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 ( 46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301 ), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover. Before 1931, other songs served as the hymn of U.S. officialdom. “ Hail, Columbia “ served this aim at official functions for most of the 19th century. “ My country, ‘T is of Thee “, whose melody is identical to “ God Save the Queen “, the United Kingdom ‘s national hymn, [ 3 ] besides served as a de facto national anthem. [ 4 ] Following the War of 1812 and subsequent U.S. wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them “ America the Beautiful “, which itself was being considered ahead 1931 as a campaigner to become the home hymn of the United States. [ 5 ]

early history

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 cruise from Baltimore aboard the ship HMS Minden, a trust ship flying a sag of armistice on a mission approved by President James Madison. Their aim was to secure an substitute of prisoners, one of whom was William Beanes, the aged and popular township doctor of Upper Marlboro and a ally of Key who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding the check 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 base, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by hurt british prisoners praising Beanes and early Americans for their kind discussion. [ citation needed ] Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the struggle, first aboard HMS Surprise and late back on HMS Minden. After the bombing, certain british gunboats attempted to slip past the garrison and impression 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 wrinkle of defense. [ citation needed ]
An artist ‘s rendering of the conflict at Fort McHenry During the showery night, Key had witnessed the bombing and observed that the fortress ‘s smaller “ storm masthead ” continued to fly, but once the blast and Congreve rocket [ 6 ] barrage had stopped, he would not know how the conflict had turned out until click. On the dawn of September 14, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger sag had been raised. [ citation needed ] During the barrage, HMS Terror and HMS Meteor provided some of the “ bomb burst in air travel ”. [ citation needed ]
Key was inspired by the U.S. victory and the view of the large U.S. sag flying triumphantly above the fortify. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary Young Pickersgill together with early workers in her home on Baltimore ‘s Pratt Street. The flag late 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 platform. [ citation needed ] Aboard the transport the future 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 amerind Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and titled it “ Defence of Fort M’Henry ”. It was first published nationally in The Analectic Magazine. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] much of the idea of the poem, including the flag imagination and some of the wording, is derived from an earlier song by Key, besides set to the tune of “ The Anacreontic Song “. The song, known as “ When the Warrior Returns ”, [ 9 ] was written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return from the First Barbary War. [ citation needed ] absent amplification by Francis Scott Key prior to his end in 1843, some have speculated more recently about the think of of phrases or verses, particularly the give voice “ the hireling and slave ” from the third stanza. According to british historian Robin Blackburn, the idiom allude to the thousands of ex-slaves in the british ranks organized as the Corps of Colonial Marines, who had been liberated by the british and demanded to be placed in the struggle line “ where they might expect to meet their former masters. ” [ 10 ] 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. ” [ 11 ] Clague writes that “ For Key … the british mercenaries were scoundrels and the Colonial Marines were traitors who threatened to spark a national rebellion. ” [ 11 ] This gratingly anti-British nature of Verse 3 led to its omission in sheet music in World War I, when the british and the U.S. were allies. [ 11 ] Responding to the assertion of writer Jon Schwarz of The Intercept that the sung is a “ celebration of bondage ”, [ 12 ] Clague argues that the american forces at the battle consisted of a mix group of White Americans and african Americans, and that “ the term “ freemen, ” whose heroism is celebrated in the fourthly stanza, would have encompassed both. ” [ 13 ] Others suggest that “ Key may have intended the phrase as a address to the Royal Navy ‘s exercise of impress which had been a major factor in the outbreak of the war, or as a semi-metaphorical bang at the british invade violence as a whole ( which included a big number of mercenaries ). ” [ 14 ]

John Stafford Smith ‘s music

( help oneself· information) Sheet music adaptation Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law 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 sung of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century valet ‘s cabaret of amateur musicians in London. Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously made the first gear known broadside printing on September 17 ; of these, two known copies survive. [ citation needed ] On September 20, both the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the sung, with the note “ Tune : Anacreon in Heaven ”. The song promptly became democratic, 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 deed “ The Star Spangled Banner ”, although it was originally called “ Defence of Fort M’Henry ”. Thomas Carr ‘s agreement introduced the raised fourth which became the standard diversion from “ The Anacreontic Song ”. [ 15 ] The song ‘s popularity increased and its beginning public operation took rate in October when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley ‘s tavern. Washington Irving, then editor program of the Analectic Magazine in Philadelphia, reprinted the birdcall in November 1814. [ citation needed ] By the early twentieth century, there were respective 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 translation. In reception, 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 standardize adaptation 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. [ 16 ] An official handwritten adaptation of the final examination votes of these five men has been found and shows all five men ‘s votes tallied, measurement by measure. [ 17 ]

National anthem

One of two surviving copies of the 1814 broadside printing of the “ Defence of Fort M’Henry ”, a poem that subsequently became the lyrics of “ The Star-Spangled Banner ”, the national anthem of the United States. The song gained popularity throughout the nineteenth century and bands played it during populace events, such as Independence Day celebrations. A brass displayed at Fort Meade, South Dakota, claims that the idea of making “ The Star Spangled Banner ” the national hymn began on their parade crunch in 1892. Colonel Caleb Carlton, post air force officer, established the custom that the sung be played “ at retreat and at the close of parades and concerts. ” Carlton explained the customs to Governor Sheldon of South Dakota who “ promised me that he would try to have the customs established among the state militia. ” Carlton wrote that after a similar discussion, Secretary of War Daniel S. Lamont issued an order that it “ be played at every Army station every even at retreat. ” [ 18 ] In 1899, the U.S. Navy formally adopted “ The Star-Spangled Banner ”. [ 19 ] In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that “ The Star-Spangled Banner ” be played at military [ 19 ] and other allow occasions. The play of the song two years late during the seventh-inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series, and thereafter during each game of the series is frequently cited as the first example that the anthem was played at a baseball game, [ 20 ] though testify shows that the “ Star-Spangled Banner ” was performed equally 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 sheath, the custom of performing the home hymn before every baseball game began in World War II. [ 21 ] On April 10, 1918, John Charles Linthicum, U.S. congressman from Maryland, introduced a beak to formally recognize “ The Star-Spangled Banner ” as the national hymn. [ 22 ] The bill did not pass. [ 22 ] On April 15, 1929, Linthicum introduced the placard again, his one-sixth time doing then. [ 22 ] On November 3, 1929, Robert Ripley drew a jury in his syndicate cartoon, Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, saying “ Believe It or not, America has no national hymn ”. [ 23 ] In 1930, Veterans of Foreign Wars started a prayer for the United States to formally recognize “ The Star-Spangled Banner ” as the national hymn. [ 24 ] Five million people signed the request. [ 24 ] The request was presented to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary on January 31, 1930. [ 25 ] On the same day, Elsie Jorss-Reilley and Grace Evelyn Boudlin sang the song to the committee to refute the perception that it was excessively gamey pitched for a typical person to sing. [ 26 ] The committee voted in favor of sending the circular to the House floor for a vote. [ 27 ] The House of Representatives passed the bill later that year. [ 28 ] The Senate passed the bill on March 3, 1931. [ 28 ] President Herbert Hoover signed the bill on March 4, 1931, officially adopting “ The Star-Spangled Banner ” as the national hymn of the United States of America. [ 1 ] As presently codified, the United States Code states that “ [ t ] he composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the home anthem. ” [ 29 ] Although all four stanza of the poem officially compose the National Anthem, only the first stanza is broadly sung, the early three being a lot lesser known. [ citation needed ] In the fourthly verse, Key ‘s 1814 published translation of the poem is written as, “ And this be our motto- ” In God is our hope ! ” ” [ 8 ] In 1956 when ‘ In God We Trust ‘ was under consideration to be adopted as the national motto of the United States by the US Congress, the words of the fourth verse of The Star Spangled Banner were brought up in arguments supporting borrowing of the motto. [ 30 ]

modern history

Performances

Crowd performing the U.S. national hymn before a baseball game at Coors Field The birdcall is notoriously unmanageable for nonprofessionals to sing because of its broad range – a one-twelfth. Humorist Richard Armour referred to the song ‘s trouble in his book It All Started With Columbus :

In an undertake to take Baltimore, the british attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor. Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest. During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis Off Key [ sic ] wrote “ The Star-Spangled Banner ”, and when, by the dawn ‘s early light, the british hear it sung, they fled in panic. [ 31 ]

Professional and amateurish singers have been known to forget the words, which is one reason the sung is sometimes pre-recorded and lip-synch. Pop singer Christina Aguilera performed improper lyrics to the song prior to Super Bowl XLV, replacing the birdcall ‘s fourth line, “ o’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ”, with an change of the second course, “ what therefore proudly we watched at the twilight ‘s last glitter ”. [ 32 ] other times the issue is avoided by having the performer ( sulfur ) play the hymn instrumentally alternatively 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. [ 33 ] “ The Star-Spangled Banner ” has been performed regularly at the begin of NFL games since the end of WWII by order of NFL commissioner Elmer Layden. [ 34 ] The sung has besides been intermittently performed at baseball games since after WWI. The National Hockey League and Major League Soccer both require venues in both the U.S. and Canada to perform both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at games that involve teams from both countries ( with the “ off ” hymn being performed first ). [ 35 ] [ better source needed ] It is besides usual for both U.S. and canadian anthems ( done in the same way as the NHL and MLS ) to be played at Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association games involving the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors ( respectively ), the entirely 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 National Hockey League, which play in a city on the Canada–US edge and have a significant canadian fan floor, play both anthems before all home games careless of where the visit team is based. [ 36 ]

Two specially unusual performances of the song took rate in the immediate aftermath of the United States September 11 attacks. On September 12, 2001, Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, broke with tradition and allowed the Band of the Coldstream Guards to perform the hymn at Buckingham Palace, London, at the ceremonial Changing of the Guard, as a gesticulate of support for Britain ‘s ally. [ 37 ] The take after day at a St. Paul ‘s Cathedral memorial service, the Queen joined in the sing of the anthem, an unprecedented happening. [ 38 ] During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the hymn was sung by protesters demonstrating outside the U.S. consulate-general in an appeal to the U.S. government to help them with their campaign. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] [ 41 ]

two-hundredth anniversary celebrations

The two-hundredth anniversary of the “ Star-Spangled Banner ” occurred in 2014 with assorted extra 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 play of a raw arrangement of the hymn arranged by John Williams and engagement of President Barack Obama on Defender ‘s Day, September 12, 2014, at Fort McHenry. [ 42 ] In accession, the hymn bicentennial included a young person music celebration [ 43 ] including the presentation of the National Anthem Bicentennial Youth Challenge winning constitution written by Noah Altshuler .

Adaptations

The first democratic music performance of the hymn hear by the mainstream U.S. was by Puerto Rican singer and guitarist José Feliciano. He created a nationally tumult when he strummed a dense, blues -style rendition of the song [ 44 ] at Tiger Stadium in Detroit before game five of the 1968 World Series, between Detroit and St. Louis. [ 45 ] This rendition started contemporaneous “ Star-Spangled Banner ” controversies. The response from many in the Vietnam War -era U.S. was by and large negative. Despite the controversy, Feliciano ‘s performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the “ Star-Spangled Banner ” hear in the years since. [ 46 ] One week after Feliciano ‘s performance, the anthem was in the news again when U.S. athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos lifted controversial raised fists at the 1968 Olympics while the “ Star-Spangled Banner ” played at a decoration ceremony. Rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix often included a solo implemental performance at concerts from 1968 to his death in 1970. Using senior high school gain and distortion amplification effects and the vibrato branch on his guitar, Hendrix was able to simulate the sounds of rockets and bombs at the points when the lyrics are normally heard. [ 47 ] One such performance at the Woodstock music festival in 1969 was a highlight of event ‘s 1970 documentary film, becoming “ separate of the sixties Zeitgeist “. [ 47 ] When asked about negative reactions to his “ unorthodox ” treatment of the hymn, Hendrix, who served concisely in the U.S. Army, responded “ I ‘m american english so I played it … Unorthodox ? I thought it was beautiful, but there you go. ” [ 48 ] 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 numeral 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001 ( along with José Feliciano, the only times the national anthem has been on the Billboard Hot 100 ). [ citation needed ] Roseanne Barr gave a controversial performance of the hymn at a San Diego Padres baseball game at Jack Murphy Stadium on July 25, 1990. The comedian belted out a screaky rendition of the song, and subsequently, she mocked ballplayers by spitting and grabbing her genitalia as if adjusting a protective cup. The performance offended some, including the sitting U.S. president, George H. W. Bush. [ 49 ] Steven Tyler besides caused some controversy in 2001 ( at the Indianapolis 500, to which he later issued a public apology ) and again in 2012 ( at the AFC Championship Game ) with a cappella renditions of the song with change lyrics. [ 50 ] In 2016, Aretha Franklin performed a rendition before the nationally-televised Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game lasting more than four minutes and featuring a host of improvisations. It was one of Franklin ‘s last public appearances before her 2018 death. [ 51 ] Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie gave a controversial operation of the hymn in 2018. Critics likened her rendition to a flashy “ sexed-up ” version of the anthem, which was considered highly inappropriate, with her performance compared to that of Marilyn Monroe ‘s iconic performance of happy Birthday, Mr. President. Fergie former apologized for her performance of the song, stating that ”I ‘m a risk taker artistically, but intelligibly this rendition did n’t strike the intend tone ”. [ 52 ] In March 2005, a government-sponsored broadcast, the National Anthem Project, was launched after a Harris Interactive poll showed many adults knew neither the lyrics nor the history of the hymn. [ 53 ]

Lyrics

O say can you see, by the dawn ‘s early light,
What sol proudly we hailed at the twilight ‘s last gleam,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the parlous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming ?
And the rocket ‘s red glare, the bombs bursting in publicize,
Gave proof through the night that our iris was hush there ;
O say does that star-spangled banner however wave
O’er the state of the free and the home of the brave ?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe ‘s disdainful host in fear silence reposes,
What is that which the cinch, 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 streamer, O long may it wave
O’er the nation of the complimentary and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who indeed boastfully swore
That the havoc of war and the struggle ‘s confusion,
A home and a nation, should leave us no more ?
Their blood has washed out their disgusting footsteps ‘ befoulment.
No recourse could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave accent :
And the star-spangled banner in wallow doth wave,
O’er the land of the complimentary and the home of the weather.

O therefore be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war ‘s devastation.
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 equitable,
And this be our motto : ‘ In God is our believe. ‘
And the star-spangled streamer in wallow shall wave
O’er the domain of the dislodge and the home of the audacious ! [ 54 ]

Cover of tabloid music for “ The Star-Spangled Banner ”, transcribed for piano by Ch. Voss, Philadelphia : G. Andre & Co., 1862

Additional Civil War menstruation lyrics

Eighteen years after Key ‘s death, and in indignation over the start of the American Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. [ 55 ] added a fifth stanza to the song in 1861, which appeared in songbook of the earned run average. [ 56 ]

When our land is illumined with Liberty ‘s smile,
If a enemy from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the double-crosser that dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her report !
By the millions unchained, who our birthright have gained,
We will keep her bright emblazon constantly unstained !
And the Star-Spangled Banner in exuberate shall wave
While the nation of the detached is the home of the brave .

alternative lyrics

In a interpretation hand-written by Francis Scott Key in 1840, the third pipeline reads : “ Whose bright stars and broad stripes, through the defile of the competitiveness ”. [ 57 ] In honor of the 1986 rededication of the Statue of Liberty, Sandi Patty wrote her version of an extra verse to the hymn. [ 58 ]

References in film, television, literature

several films have their titles taken from the song ‘s lyrics. These include two films titled Dawn’s Early Light ( 2000 [ 59 ] and 2005 ) ; [ 60 ] two made-for-TV features titled By Dawn’s Early Light ( 1990 [ 61 ] and 2000 ) ; [ 62 ] two films titled So Proudly We Hail ( 1943 [ 63 ] and 1990 ) ; [ 64 ] a feature movie ( 1977 ) [ 65 ] and a short ( 2005 ) [ 66 ] titled Twilight’s Last Gleaming ; and four films titled Home of the Brave ( 1949, [ 67 ] 1986, [ 68 ] 2004, [ 69 ] and 2006 ). [ 70 ] A 1936 curtly titled The Song of a Nation from Warner Bros. Pictures shows a translation of the origin of the sung. [ 71 ] The claim of Isaac Asimov ‘s short story No Refuge Could Save is a citation to the song ‘s third verse, and the obscureness of this poetry is a major plot point. [ 72 ]

Customs and federal law

Plaque detailing how the customs of standing during the U.S. national anthem came about in Tacoma, Washington, on October 18, 1893, in the Bostwick build When the U.S. home hymn was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its play. On June 22, 1942, the law was revised indicate that those in uniform should salute during its play, while others should simply stand at care, men removing their hats. The same code besides required that women should place their hands over their hearts when the sag is displayed during the playing of the national hymn, but not if the flag was not present. On December 23, 1942, the jurisprudence was again revised instructing men and women to stand at attention and face in the focus of the music when it was played. That revision besides directed men and women to place their hands over their hearts only if the flag was displayed. Those in consistent 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, regardless of whether or not the flag was displayed and those in uniform toast. On August 12, 1998, the law was rewritten keeping the like instructions, but differentiating between “ those in consistent ” 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 jurisprudence over the years and confusion between instructions for the Pledge of Allegiance versus the National Anthem, throughout most of the twentieth hundred many people merely stood at attention or with their hands folded in movement of them during the playing of the Anthem, and when reciting the Pledge they would hold their bridge player ( or hat ) over their kernel. After 9/11, the custom-made of placing the hand over the heart during the play of the national anthem became closely universal joint. [ 73 ] [ 74 ] [ 75 ] Since 1998, federal law ( viz., the United States Code 36 U.S.C. § 301 ) states that during a interpretation of the national anthem, when the sag is displayed, all present including those in uniform should stand at attention ; non-military service individuals should face the ease up 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 toast ; military 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 kernel ; and members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are in uniform should give the military toast at the first gear eminence of the hymn and uphold that stead until the last note. The law far provides that when the sag is not displayed, all award should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the iris were displayed. military jurisprudence requires all vehicles on the initiation to stop when the song is played and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music and either toast, in uniform, or place the right hand over the affection, if out of uniform. The law was amended in 2008, and since allows military veterans to salute out of uniform, adenine well. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] The textbook of 36 U.S.C. § 301 is implicative and not regulative in nature. failure to follow the suggestions is not a misdemeanor of the police. This behavioral necessity for the national hymn is discipline to the same First Amendment controversies that surround the Pledge of Allegiance. [ 78 ] For exemplar, Jehovah ‘s Witnesses do not sing the national anthem, though they are teach that standing is an “ ethical decisiveness ” that individual believers must make based on their conscience. [ 79 ] [ 80 ] [ 81 ]

Translations

As a result of immigration to the United States and the internalization of non-English-speaking people into the state, the lyrics of the song have been translated into other languages. In 1861, it was translated into German. [ 82 ] The Library of Congress besides has record of a Spanish-language translation from 1919. [ 83 ] It has since been translated into Hebrew [ 84 ] and yiddish by jewish immigrants, [ 85 ] Latin american Spanish ( with one version popularized during immigration reform protests in 2006 ), [ 86 ] French by Acadians of Louisiana, [ 87 ] Samoan, [ 88 ] and Irish. [ 89 ] The third base poetry of the anthem has besides been translated into Latin. [ 90 ] With involve to the autochthonal languages of North America, there are versions in Navajo [ 91 ] [ 92 ] [ 93 ] and Cherokee. [ 94 ]

Protests

1968 Olympics Black Power salute

The 1968 Olympics Black Power toast was a political presentation conducted by african-american athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their decoration 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 run event, they turned on the dais to face their flags, and to hear the american national hymn, “ The Star-Spangled Banner ”. Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist, and kept them raised until the hymn had finished. In summation, 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 toast ”. The event is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympic Games. [ 95 ]

Protests against patrol brutality ( 2016–present )

Protests against patrol brutality and racism by kneeling on one knee during the national hymn began in the National Football League after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the hymn, as opposed to the tradition of standing, in answer to police brutality in the United States, before his team ‘s third base preseason game of 2016. Kaepernick sat during the first two preseason games, but he went unnoticed. [ 96 ] In particular, protests focus on the discussion of slavery ( and mercenaries ) in the third poetry of the anthem, in which some have interpreted the lyrics as condemning slaves that had joined the british in an attempt to earn their freedom. [ 97 ] Since Kaepernick ‘s protest, early athletes have joined in the protests. In the 2017 season, after President Donald Trump ‘s disapprobation of the kneel, which included calling for complacent players ( whom he reportedly besides referred to by respective profanities ) [ citation needed ] to be fired, many NFL players responded by protesting during the national hymn that week. After the police-involved killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, when the 2020–21 NBA season resumed play in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of players and coaches kneeled during the national anthem through the end of the temper .

California chapter of the NAACP call to remove the national anthem

In November 2017, the California chapter of the NAACP called on Congress to remove “ The Star-Spangled Banner ” as the national anthem. Alice Huffman, California NAACP president, said : “ It ‘s racist ; it does n’t represent our community, it ‘s anti-black. ” [ 98 ] The third base stanza of the anthem, which is rarely sing and few know, contains the words “ No recourse could save the hireling and slave, from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave ”, which some represent as racist. The organization was still seeking a example to sponsor the legislation in Congress at the clock of its announcement. [ citation needed ]

Media

See besides

References

promote reading

historical audio