Morning Shift talks to Brenda Stevenson, American history professor at UCLA, about the song’s forgotten lyrics, its history and how it figures into our definition of patriotic etiquette in America.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” started out, melodically speaking, as a British drinking song in the 18th century. It didn’t become the official U.S. national anthem until President Herbert Hoover signed ...

After we had brutally enslaved black people for almost 200 years, some escaped and joined the British army to fight America in the War of 1812—they were called the Colonial Marines.

Among the world’s best-known national anthems, “The Star-Spangled ... stanza of verses he subsequently called “Defense of Fort McHenry.” The poem was initially printed anonymously, and as the newly ...

What they may not know is that “The Star-Spangled Banner” as sung today is a truncated version of a four-verse War of 1812 song. And with its approaching anniversary, those often-forgotten ...

When we became allies with them in WWII, the verse drops out of use in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand There is some contention over the word usage here.

Still, “The Star-Spangled Banner” continued to gain in popularity over the decades and was backed by John Philip Sousa, who knew a thing or two about rousing music. It was officially made the ...

Playing the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting events has become an empty gesture of patriotism—so empty that, when the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks quietly began skipping the ritual, 13 ...

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.

Though popular among the American people, “The Star-Spangled Banner” wasn’t adopted as the official anthem of the United States until Congress and President Herbert Hoover signed it into law ...