The Star-Spangled Banner

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
Congress proclaimed it the U.S. National Anthem in 1931



Oh, 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 rocket's red glare,

the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.


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


"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defense of Fort McHenry”, a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old poet and lawyer, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The British wanted to take Baltimore, so they attacked Fort McHenry (which was protecting the harbor). At dawn on the 14th, Key noted that the huge American flag, which now hangs in the Smithsonian's American History Museum, was still waving and had not been removed in defeat. The sight inspired him to write the poem

1. What words rhyme in this poem/song?
a. light rhymes with ___________________________________
b. gleaming rhymes with ______________________________
c. glare rhymes with ____________________ and ______________________
c. wave rhymes with ___________________________

2. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?


3. When is dawn? ___________________________________
4. When is twilight? __________________________________
5. What is an “anthem”? ______________________________
6. If peril means danger, what is a “perilous fight”? __________________________________________________________________
7. Who were the American fighting against?
________________________________________________________________
8. When Mr. Key saw the flag still flying after the battle, this was proof that the Americans had not been beaten. PROOF is “any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something.” Can you use the noun “proof” in a sentence?


9. Answer these questions in complete sentences please.
a. What colors are the American flag? ___________________________
b. How many stripes does the flag have? _________________________
c. What do the stripes represent? _______________________________________________________
d. How many stars does the flag have? _________________________
e. What do the stars represent? ________________________________________________________



The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain from June 1812 to the spring of 1815, although the peace treaty ending the war was signed in Europe in December 1814. The main land fighting of the war occurred along the Canadian border, in the Chesapeake Bay region and along the Gulf of Mexico; extensive action also took place at sea.
This conflict was caused mainly by the U.S. resentment of British naval harassment. The British were already at war with France. They seized American ships and took seamen from them, some who were U.S. citizens.
Two days before the declaration of war, Great Britain agreed to repeal the naval laws which were chiefly responsible for the conflict. Speedy communication would have also eliminated the greatest battle, the Battle of New Orleans that occurred 15 days after a peace treaty had been signed.