How the Star-Spangled Banner Became a "Star"

Last month I shared with you excerpts from my coffee-table-style gift book about the national anthem called America’s Star-Spangled Story. I also wrote a separate article for Genealogy Bank about the media coverage of The Star-Spangled Banner to show how the song became popular in 1814-1815.

Today, we have a variety of technologies to share music—Spotify, CDs, YouTube, etc. Back then, 210 years ago, Americans relied on newspapers to publish song lyrics and poems.

Francis Scott Key never knew that his lyrics became America’s official anthem because Congress made the song America’s official national anthem a century later in 1931. But in the months that followed the Battle of Fort McHenry on Sept-13-14, 1814, newspapers in different states published the lyrics, cited the tune Anacreon and Heaven, and reported on special occasions that featured this new song, such as celebrations for the peace treaty ending the War of 1812. It is clear that Americans were emotionally moved by this new song because it reflected their devotion to America in the aftermath of the British military burning Washington City, the nation’s capital city.

To learn more about how the media popularized The Star-Spangled Banner, check out my article on GenealogyBank.com.