“The Star Spangled Banner” steadily gained favor as a patriotic song. It was one of the most popular Union songs of the Civil War, and in the 1890s the U.S. Navy and Army adopted it for flag ceremonies. Representative J. Charles Linthicum of Baltimore, Maryland, proposed the bill passed by Congress in 1931 making it the national anthem.
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
Broadside, “The Star Spangled Banner,” Andrew's Printer, New York, c. 1861-65
The National Anthem
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” a song based on the poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry" by Francis Scott Key, was inspired by seeing the American Flag still flying over the Baltimore fort after a night of bombardment by the British during the War of 1812. It became the United States’ national anthem through the efforts of Representative John Linthicum of Maryland. Linthicum introduced his bill in the House of Representatives in 1929. Bolstered by petitions, letters, and telegrams from around the country, he pressed for its passage, saying that an anthem would be an expression of patriotism. In 1931 Congress officially designated the song as the national anthem.
O say does that star spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
“Star-Spangled Banner,” National Anthem of the United States
“The Star Spangled Banner” steadily gained favor as a patriotic song. It was one of the most popular Union songs of the Civil War, and in the 1890s the U.S. Navy and Army adopted it for flag ceremonies. Representative J. Charles Linthicum of Baltimore, Maryland, proposed the bill passed by Congress in 1931 making it the national anthem.
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
