It’s the clearest demonstration possible that even in 2016, the U.S. The very fact this controversy was surprising may be the most significant thing about it.
Much of the debate generated by Kaepernick has been on subjects directly connected to his actions: police brutality, free speech, and the rights and obligations of professional athletes.īut it’s also sparked nationwide discussion of something more tangential that no one saw coming - the meaning and history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” itself, including whether it should be rewritten or replaced entirely. It was adopted as the national anthem on March 3, 1931.įrancis Scott Key died of pleurisy on January 11, 1843.San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before the team’s preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. People began referring to the song as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson announced that it should be played at all official events. The poem was printed in newspapers and eventually set to the music of a popular English drinking tune called “To Anacreon in Heaven” by composer John Stafford Smith. Key was relieved to see the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry and quickly penned a few lines in tribute to what he had witnessed. After a day, the British were unable to destroy the fort and gave up. Key watched the bombing campaign unfold from aboard a ship located about eight miles away. However, Key and Beanes weren’t allowed to leave until after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry.
William Beanes, was taken prisoner by the British, Key went to Baltimore, located the ship where Beanes was being held and negotiated his release. Their next target was Baltimore.Īfter one of Key’s friends, Dr. In August 1814, British troops invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the White House, Capitol Building and Library of Congress. On June 18, 1812, America declared war on Great Britain after a series of trade disagreements. He became a successful lawyer in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and was later appointed U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak, as reflected in the now-famous words of the “Star-Spangled Banner”: “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”įrancis Scott Key was born on August 1, 1779, at Terra Rubra, his family’s estate in Frederick County (now Carroll County), Maryland. Key was inspired by the sight of a lone U.S. On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “ The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort M'Henry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812.
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