The American National Anthem

Whitney Houston gives a splendid and unforgettable performance here.

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 thru 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?

Activity: The National Anthem and its meaning

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Francis S.Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.

Question 1: What is the name of the National Anthem in the USA?

Question 2: Why is it called that?

Question 3: Who wrote the National Anthem?

Question 4: What did President Hoover do in 1931?

Question 5: What did Francis Scott Key describe in the first verse of the anthem?

BOOSTER QUESTION: What do they represent in the American Flag? 

the red color = 

the white color =

the blue color =

the stripes = 

the stars =