Connecting The War of 1812 to Current Events & Pop Culture

Available to teachers only as part of the Teaching the War of 1812 Teacher Pass

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Teaching the War of 1812 Teacher Pass includes:

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Sample of Current Events & Pop Culture

Remembering "The Star-Spangled Banner"

This History.com "This Day in History" features the day that Francis Scott Key wrote the poem "The Star-Spangled Banner", after witnessing the shelling of Fort McHenry by the British. This poem may be the longest-lasting consequence of the War of 1812.

Excerpt

"The poem was printed in newspapers and eventually set to the music of a popular English drinking tune called "To Anacreon in Heaven" by composer John Stafford Smith. People began referring to the song as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson announced that it should be played at all official events. It was adopted as the national anthem on March 3, 1931."