While it's the song that is recited before major political and sporting events, "The Star Spangled Banner" didn't become the country's national anthem until 1931. President Herbert Hoover signed ...

In 1931, Congress passed a bill to make “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States. But the decision was far from simple. Among the points of contention was ...

Deep within "The Star-Spangled Banner" is another famous phrase, one that many believe eventually was adopted as our national motto. "And this be our motto - 'In God is our trust,'" reads line 30.

The actual flag Key saw — the Star-Spangled Banner — is now housed in a climate-controlled, light-protected chamber at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

“The Star-Spangled Banner is a symbol of American history that ranks with the Statue of Liberty and the Charters of Freedom,” said Brent D. Glass, the museum’s then-director, in 2007.

Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812.

Like most national anthems, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is sung at the beginning of sporting events, orchestral concerts and other public gatherings. But thanks to a few spectacular viral performances ...

Jimi Hendrix’s Star-Spangled Banner brought the sounds of Vietnam to the crowd at Woodstock. But he wasn’t the only musician to reimagine the national anthem during a time of war.

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner. During the War of 1812, Key was on a British ship seeking to secure the exchange of American prisoners.