the lyrics to the star spangled banner song

The truth is not always pleasant, but it is always the truth. This is the story of Francis Scott Key and the writing of a poem that became the national anthem.Īs you celebrate Independence Day, ask yourself if, as Americans, we have the courage to admit when something is really wrong with one of our traditions. Key believed that anyone who would consider abolishing slavery was willing to “associate and amalgamate with the Negro.” And to him that justified execution. Some people try to claim he was writing about some other group of “slaves,” but there is no historical evidence that “slave” referred to anyone other than black enslaved people, whom Key viewed as “a distinct and inferior race of people, which experience proves to be the greatest evil that afflicts the community.” As a prosecutor in DC, Key sought the death penalty for a man who possessed abolitionist literature. His message to the blacks fighting for freedom was unmistakable-we will hunt you down and the search will leave you in terror because, when we find you, your next stop is the gloom of the grave. O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. No refuge could save the hireling and slaveįrom the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave In the third verse, Key had a special message for the enslaved people who had dared to fight for freedom-we will pursue you to get revenge: After seeing the White House burn and the fort survive, Key became so moved that he wrote a poem that became the national anthem. In September, Key also witnessed 25 hours of continuous British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. One of the Americans who witnessed it was Francis Scott Key. In August of 1814, the Colonial Marines were part of the British troops that attacked Americans outside of DC and drove them back into the city, setting the White House on fire.

The lyrics to the star spangled banner song