Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Our National Anthem

On March 3, 1931, The Star Spangled Banner became our official National Anthem (36 U.S.C. Sec. 170). Congress approved Francis Scott Key's creation, which was written September 14, 1814, at the Battle of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

The anthem's fourth verse is (emphasis added):

O! thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust!"
And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

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