American Anthems

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When the U.S. national anthem was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its playing. On June 22, 1942, the law was revised indicating that those in uniform should salute during its playing, while others should simply stand at attention, men removing their hats. The same code also required that women should place their hands over their hearts when the flag is displayed during the playing of the national anthem, but not if the flag was not present. On December 23, 1942, the law was again revised instructing men and women to stand at attention and face in the direction of the music when it was played. That revision also directed men and women to place their hands over their hearts only if the flag was displayed. Those in uniform 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, irrespective of whether or not the flag was displayed and those in uniform saluting. On August 12, 1998, the law was rewritten keeping the same instructions, but differentiating between "those in uniform" 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 law over the years and confusion between instructions for the Pledge of Allegiance versus the National Anthem, throughout most of the 20th century many people simply stood at attention or with their hands folded in front of them during the playing of the Anthem, and when reciting the Pledge they would hold their hand (or hat) over their heart. After 9/11, the custom of placing the hand over the heart during the playing of the national anthem became nearly universal. [84] [85] [86] Renée Fleming- Super Bowl 2014 National Anthem What could ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ be replaced with? The National Anthem of Belarus". A Belarus Miscellany. 2005. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008.

This state was the inspiration, too, for the socially divisive 'Okie from Muskogee' by Merle Haggard. Key’s song became especially popular and a powerful expression of patriotism during the Civil War, with its emotional description of the enduring national flag, which had become the symbol of the still-new nation. In 1861, devastated by the split of the nation, poet Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a fifth verse to Key’s song. The verse was included in many of the song’s printings throughout the war. The song was recognized in 1889 by the U.S. Navy, who sang it when raising and lowering the flag, and then it was proclaimed in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson to be the national anthem of all the armed forces. However, it did not become the nation’s official anthem until March 3, 1931. The Fenway Project– Part One". Red Sox Connection. May 2004. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Star-Spangled Banner' Favored As Anthem in Report to House". The New York Times. February 5, 1930. p. 3.

Poet Francis Scott Key was inspired by seeing the flag after witnessing the fort’s bombardment. He wrote a poem called "Defence of Fort M'Henry." This eventually became the Star-Spangled Banner and the United States national anthem. National Anthem". The Office of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago . Retrieved 7 July 2020.

National Symbols". Embassy of the Bahamas to the United States of America. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020 . Retrieved 28 September 2020. Leepson, Marc. What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, a Life. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. ISBN 9781137278289. OCLC 860395373.a b Delaplaine, Edward S. Francis Scott Key: Life and Times (1937) Reprinted by American Foundation Publications, Stuarts Draft, Virginia. 1998 (p. 154) Vari, Matthew (11 September 2018). "Oversight keeps National Anthem out of law for 29 years". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier . Retrieved 10 October 2020. A UK No 1 for the group who had never been to the States at the time. Turns out they just liked the name. Main article: Performances and adaptations of The Star-Spangled Banner Performances Crowd performing the U.S. national anthem before a baseball game at Coors Field

During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the anthem was sung by protesters demonstrating outside the U.S. consulate-general in an appeal to the U.S. government to help them with their cause. [51] [52] [53] 200th anniversary celebrationsThat time Aretha Franklin dazzled America on Thanksgiving with national anthem". WJBK. August 13, 2018 . Retrieved August 13, 2018. National Symbols and Anthem of the Republic of Serbia". Government of the Republic of Serbia. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013 . Retrieved 7 July 2020. The National Symbols of the Republic of Azerbaijan". Heydar Aliyev Foundation . Retrieved 23 January 2015. The first popular music performance of the anthem heard by the mainstream U.S. was by Puerto Rican singer and guitarist José Feliciano. He created a nationwide uproar when he strummed a slow, blues-style rendition of the song [56] at Tiger Stadium in Detroit before game five of the 1968 World Series, between Detroit and St. Louis. [57] This rendition started contemporary "Star-Spangled Banner" controversies. The response from many in the Vietnam War-era U.S. was generally negative. Despite the controversy, Feliciano's performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the "Star-Spangled Banner" heard in the years since. [58] 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 medal ceremony. As a result of immigration to the United States and the incorporation of non-English-speaking people into the country, the lyrics of the song have been translated into other languages. In 1861, it was translated into German. [93] The Library of Congress also has record of a Spanish-language version from 1919. [94] It has since been translated into Hebrew [95] and Yiddish by Jewish immigrants, [96] Latin American Spanish (with one version popularized during immigration reform protests in 2006), [97] French by Acadians of Louisiana, [98] Samoan, [99] and Irish. [100] The third verse of the anthem has also been translated into Latin. [101]