When did 'The Star Spangled Banner" become the USA's national anthem?

Question

When did this happen and how was it approved? Did congress vote on it? Please include links.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by then 35-year-old amateur poet Francis Scott Key who wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry"[1] after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland, by Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "The Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), set to various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand...") added on more formal occasions.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national 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 hymns of American officialdom. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody was derived from the British national anthem,[2] served as a de facto national anthem of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner";[3] and "Hail, Columbia," served as the de facto national anthem from Washington's time and through the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among them "The Star-Spangled Banner

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Sp…
Here is everything you need to know.

Answer 3

The words were penned in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. It was named the official national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931. Until that time it was an unofficial national anthem.

Source(s):

4th grade lesson

Answer 4

It was written by Francis Scott Key, the poet, in about 1812-1815, i am not sure about when it was accepted as the N.A.

Source(s):

among many things i have been, one is a writer, avid reader of prose, poetry and novels.

Answer 5

The Star Spangled Banner became the U.S. National Anthem in 1931. Francis Scott Key wrote that song in the early 1800's when they were fighting for liberty.

Source(s):

sorry i dont have a link i learned this in elementary school

Answer 6

In 1931.

Source(s):

Google

Answer 7

1931 was when it became the National Anthem. It was written a few years before that.

Answer 8

1931

Answer 9

it shows how we won our freedom

Answer 10

This site will tell you all about it. . . it even shows the original flag.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangl…

“The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially made the national anthem by Congress in 1931, although it already had been adopted as such by the army and the navy.
http://www.classbrain.com/artfree/publis…

Answer 11

I remember learning this during music lessons at school in Liverpool (the original Liverpool) and the story. It was taught as factual and not propaganda with both points of view put forward. Our teacher was pro- American but not blindly so. He was also a patriotic Englishman but again not blindly so. As a consequence most of us were able to form an opinion independently and my abiding memory of this man was his fairness in marking. He would give good marks for well reasoned opinions even if he disagreed with them and poor marks for a badly reasoned opinion even he he agreed with it. it was quite noticeable that this somewhat grumpy bachelor was perhaps the most fair of all men when it came to judging good or bad work. My female cousins who were a few years behind me had the same opinion. He did not like girls but even they had to admit his marking was very fair. Modern teachers and some university academics should take a harder look at themselves.

Answer 12

Hi Mike!

How are you?

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by then 35-year-old amateur poet Francis Scott Key who wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry"[1] after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland, by Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "The Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), set to various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand...") added on more formal occasions.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national 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 hymns of American officialdom. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody was derived from the British national anthem,[2] served as a de facto national anthem of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner";[3] and "Hail, Columbia," served as the de facto national anthem from Washington's time and through the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among them "The Star-Spangled Banner"

On September 3, 1814, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner, an American prisoner-exchange agent, 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 the release of 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 Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner, while they 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 the 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 rocket[4] barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered, and the larger flag had been raised.


15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" flag
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, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag 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 16 September, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and he entitled it "Defence of Fort McHenry".
Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson. Nicholson saw that the words fit the popular melody "The Anacreontic Song", composed by John Stafford Smith, which 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 printed broadside copies of it – the song’s first known printing – on September 17; of these, two known copies survive.


Francis Scott Key's original manuscript copy of his "Star-Spangled Banner" poem. It is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society.
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 McHenry". 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.


Commemorative plaque in Washington, D.C. marking the site at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue where "The Star-Spangled Banner" was first publicly sung
The song gained popularity throughout the nineteenth century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4 celebrations. On July 27, 1889, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy signed General Order #374, making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official tune to be played at the raising of the flag.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. Although the playing of the song two years later during the seventh-inning stretch of the 1918 World Series is often noted as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game, 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. However, the tradition of performing the national anthem before every baseball game began in World War II.[5] Today, the anthem is performed before the beginning of all NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL games (with at least one American team playing), as well as in a pre-race ceremony portion of every NASCAR race.
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".[6] In 1931, John Philip Sousa published his opinion in favor, stating that "it is the spirit of the music that inspires" as much as it is Key’s "soul-stirring" words. By a law signed on March 3, 1931 by President Herbert Hoover, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the official national anthem of the United States.


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Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Sp…
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0194015.h…
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-star-sp…
http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangl…
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Spangled-Bann…

Answer 13

Francis Scott Key began composing the poem "Defense of Fort M'Henry" around September 13, 1814 during the British attack on Ft. McHenry near Baltimore; while he was being held aboard the British flagship Tonnant (Key was working on a prisoner exchange when the assault began with him still on board). The words to the poem were put to music at a later time (a British drinking tune). The song was popular, but did not become the U.S. National Anthem until 1931; Congress passed the bill naming "The Star Spangled Banner" as the U.S. National Anthem, and President Herbert Hoover signed it into Law.

Here are some quotes and source information:

"The phrasing of "Defence of Fort McHenry," as he first named it, fitted perfectly an old favorite: "To Anacreon in Heaven." This was the song of a popular London gentlemen's club, the Anacreontic Society, honoring an ancient Greek poet who lyricized life's joys."
""The Star-Spangled Banner" was popular, but not our national anthem. Not until 1931 did Congress grant that status. Before that we'd made do with "My Country 'Tis Of Thee," our version of "God Save the King (Queen)" as an anthem."
~Our Flag Was Still There", by Edward Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, July 2000
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-ar…

"There was nothing special about it," says Scott S. Sheads, historian at Baltimore's Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, speaking of a time when a new nation was struggling for survival and groping toward a collective identity. That all changed in 1813, when one enormous flag, pieced together on the floor of a Baltimore brewery, was first hoisted over the federal garrison at Fort McHenry. In time the banner would take on larger meaning, set on a path to glory by a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key, passing into one family's private possession and emerging as a public treasure.
~"Star-Spangled Banner Back on Display", by Robert M. Poole, Smithsonian Magizine, November 2008
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-ar…

"Key’s “land of the free and the home of the brave” soon became a fixture of political campaigns and a staple of July fourth celebrations. Still, more than a century would pass from its composition until the moment in 1931 when President Herbert Hoover officially proclaimed it the national anthem of the United States. Even then, critics protested that the lyrics, lengthy and ornate, were too unfamiliar to much of the public. Others objected that Key’s poem extolled military glory, equating patriotism “with killing and being killed . . . with intense hatreds and fury and violence,” as Clyde Miller, dean of ColumbiaUniversity’s Teachers College, said in 1930. The New York Herald Tribune wrote that the song had “words that nobody can remember to a tune that nobody can sing.” Detractors, including New York civic leader Albert S. Bard, argued that “America the Beautiful” would make for a more suitable, more singable anthem.

Despite the carping, Congress and Hoover conferred official status on “The Star-Spangled Banner” on March 3, 1931. Proponents had carried the day only after a campaign that featured two sopranos, backed by a Navy band, demonstrated the song’s “singability” before the House Judiciary Committee."
~"Reluctant Patriot", by Norman Gelb, Smithsonian Magazine, September 2004
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-pla…

The Star-Spangled Banner Project
Smithsonian Institution
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/starsp…


36 USC Sec. 301 01/03/2007

-STATUTE-
(a) Designation. - The composition consisting of the words and
music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.
(b) Conduct During Playing. - During a rendition of the national
anthem -
(1) when the flag is displayed -
(A) all present except those in uniform should stand at
attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart;
(B) men 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
(C) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at
the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until
the last note; and

(2) 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.

(Mar. 3, 1931)

United States Code. Title 36 (Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations), Chapter 3 (National Anthem, Motto, Floral Emblem, and March). Sec. 301. National anthem. The U.S. Code is the permanent book of U.S. laws.
U.S. House of Representatives Website
http://uscode.house.gov/download/title_3…

Answer 14

it became the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3rd 1931

Answer 15

I do not know I have not seen that

Answer 16

In 1931.