200th Anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner

 Photo: 6, 600 Maryland students made a living flag at Fort McHenry National Monument

--I'm sure I have heard The Star Spangled Banner played hundreds, if not thousands of times, yet, I still tear up everytime I hear it.  It signifies everything that is good about our country.


Fast Facts:

--It was written as a poem by Francis Scott Key entitled, "Defence of Fort M'Henry".
--He wrote it on September 14, 1814 while watching the British bomb Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.  It was published on September 20th.
--2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the song/poem
--Key wrote the poem to go with the beat and melody of a song called, "To Anacreon in Heaven".
--It was made the national anthem in 1931 by President Herbert Hoover.

Previous posts on The Star Spangled Banner:
-The History of The Star Spangled Banner
-Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!!!

GOD BLESS THE USA

GOD BLESS THE USA
By Lee Greenwood

Chorus:
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

For the rest of the lyrics, go here!

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

"O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"