What song first performed on July 4, 1831, later served as a de facto US anthem?

The song first performed on July 4, 1831, that later served as a de facto U.S. anthem was “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.”

Also known as “America,” the song uses lyrics written by Samuel Francis Smith. It was first performed publicly at a children’s Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston on July 4, 1831. Lowell Mason helped arrange and publish the music soon afterward.

The melody was adapted from “God Save the King,” the British royal anthem. Smith’s American lyrics transformed that familiar tune into a patriotic celebration of liberty, giving the song a distinctive place in U.S. civic life despite its borrowed melody.

“My Country, ’Tis of Thee” was never the official national anthem. It functioned as one of several de facto national songs, alongside “Hail, Columbia,” until “The Star-Spangled Banner” became the official anthem in 1931.