The Star-Spangled Banner

More than just a vocal exercise at a sporting event, this poem expresses concern for our liberty. After the battle in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wondered, “Would the flag still be there in the morning?” The rarely sung second verse contains the source and assurance of our freedom: “Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!” The song was officially adopted as The National Anthem by Congress in 1931.