Congress designated “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.
The song began as a poem by Francis Scott Key, written after he watched the British bombardment of Fort McHenry near Baltimore on September 13–14, 1814. Seeing the American flag still flying at dawn inspired the poem “Defence of Fort M'Henry.” Its words were later set to the melody of a popular British song, “Anacreon in Heaven.”
President Herbert Hoover signed the congressional measure making it the national anthem on March 3, 1931. Before then, the United States used several patriotic songs at official events, including “Hail, Columbia” and “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.”
The anthem's four-stanza original is rarely performed in full; public ceremonies usually use the first stanza. The song's history includes both the War of 1812 and the long development of national symbols after independence.