The History of the Star-Spangled Banner

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The History of the Star-Spangled Banner
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• Britain had signed a Treaty to end the Revolution
  in 1783. America became a country. The British
  also agreed to give up their forts and allow
  settlers to move west.

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• The British were fighting Napoleon and their vast
  Navy was in need of sailors. Napoleon wanted to
  conquer Europe.

Napoleon
America
British forces
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• In order to keep their forces strong, the British
  began the process of impressment. Impressment
  is rather like kidnapping. When the British
  boarded an American ship, the British commanders
  would take the sailors with them to fight on
  their ships.
• THIS ANGERED THE AMERICANS.

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• The British also decided NOT to give back the
  forts in America. Therefore, the settlers
  couldnt move west.
• THIS ANGERED THE AMERICANS EVEN MORE.

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• The British also urged the Indians to fight the
  Americans. They gave the Indians arms and money
  to fight.
• THIS ANGERED THE AMERICANS EVEN MORE!!!

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• America was a new country and many did not think
  it could protect itself.
• Shipping was very important to the early
  Americans. Business was dependent upon shipping
  to other countries.
• Those that were involved in sea trade, did not
  want to go to war against Britain. They didnt
  want to see trade disrupted.

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• President James Madison (Little Jemmy) asked the
  Congress to declare war on England in 1812. Many
  were against the war, but Madison got Congress to
  sign on and the war began.

Madison was a small man about 5 ft. 4 inches
and weighed about 120 pounds. He had enormous
intelligence and was often underestimated by
others.
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• WHAT were they thinking???
• The American army invaded Canada, still a British
  colony, hoping to conquer this British territory.
• The Indians joined the British and the Americans
  were not prepared for the battle.
• The Americans burned the Parliament building in
  York (now known as Toronto) and retreated.

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• Meanwhile, in Europe, the British defeated
  Napoleon. This left the British free to
  concentrate on their war with America.
• They came in full force the largest, most
  professional group of soldiers in the whole
  world.
• They sailed towards America.

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• To get revenge for the burning of York in Canada,
  the British attacked Washington, D.C.
• Thinking that the British might be on their way
  to Washington, Madison and other political and
  military leaders left town.
• Dolley, Madisons wife, remained behind. No one
  truly believed the British would attack
  Washington.

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• The British focused their energy on Washington
  and attacked ferociously. First they burned the
  Capitol. Then they destroyed all of the books in
  the Library of Congress.
• Then, they headed for the Presidents house.
• The army and militia of America was nowhere to be
  seen.

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• The people of Washington watched in horror as the
  British army destroyed the Capitol. Many
  civilians were killed. The British lost very few
  soldiers.
• They headed to the Presidents house, where
  Dolley was about to give a dinner party.
• Dolley ran for her life, but only after she had
  managed to save many important historical items,
  including the portrait of George Washington,
  velvet curtains, and important papers.

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• Portrait of George Washington, 1799

Our kind friend, Mr. Carroll, has come to hasten
my departure, and is in a very bad humor with me
because I insist on waiting until the large
picture of Gen. Washington is secured, and it
requires to be unscrewed from the wall. This
process was found to be too tedious for these
perilous moments I have ordered the frame to be
broken, and the canvas taken out it is done
and the precious portrait placed in the hands of
2 gentlemen of New York for safekeeping. Dolley
Madison
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• Before the British burned Madisons home, they
  sat down and enjoyed the dinner Dolley had
  prepared for her guests.
• Then they set fire to the Presidents mansion.

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• The British could not know that a hurricane was
  on its way to Washington.
• To the citizens of Washington it seemed that the
  hand of God reached out and punished the British.
• The hurricane hit and many soldiers lost their
  lives. Tornadoes touched down.
• Washington was in ruins.

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• A picture of the Battle of Washington

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• After the destruction of Washington, the British
  headed for Baltimore.
• Baltimore was a very important port, the home of
  many American ships.
• Baltimore patriots were not going to give up
  their city without a fight.
• The British called Baltimore The City of
  Pirates.

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• Baltimore today!

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• Now, imagine the port filled with ships. Houses
  lined the waterfront.
• Baltimore was under the command of Major General
  Samuel Smith.
• Major Smith convinced the ship owners to sink
  their own ships in the water.
• This turned out to be a great plan the British
  warships couldnt come into the harbor because of
  the sunken vessels.

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• Baltimore also was home to Fort McHenry.
• This fort was commanded by Major George
  Armistead.
• The fort was shaped like a star, with cannons
  mounted at every point.
• It was located on Baltimore Harbor.

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• Fort McHenry Star-shaped citadel

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• Fort McHenry today

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• In 1813, a year before the British attacked,
  Major Armistead had hired Mary Pickersgill to sew
  a huge flag, 30 feet high and 42 feet wide.
• Mary had never made such a huge flag.
• Her workshop wasnt big enough!
• She,her daughter Caroline, and seven other women
  sewed the giant flag in the brewery, after
  working hours. They sewed until midnight every
  night by the light of an oil lamp.

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• When it was done, it had 15 stripes and 15 stars.
  Each star was two feet across.
• Major Armistead had one of the biggest flags in
  the country.

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• A year later, in September 1814, the British
  prepared to attack Baltimore. The Americans were
  ready.

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• An American lawyer named Francis Scott Key and
  another American, John Skinner, who was in charge
  of prisoner exchanges sailed up to the British
  fleet in a small boat.
• The British had captured their friend, Dr.
  William Beanes.
• Mr. Key and Mr. Skinner had come to ask the
  Admiral for the release of their friend.

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• Mr. Key argued that the British should release
  Dr. Beanes because he was not a soldier.
• Dr. Beanes had helped many people, including
  British soldiers and didnt deserve to be kept as
  a prisoner.
• While the Admiral thought about the release of
  Dr. Beanes, Mr. Key and Mr. Skinner quickly
  realized that the British were going to attack
  Baltimore.

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• Because Francis Scott Key and John Skinner knew
  of the British plans, they were held on board a
  truce ship while the British attacked the city of
  Baltimore.
• All they could do was watch while the British
  bombed the fort with 200 pound bombs and rockets.
• Because of the sunken ships, the warships could
  not get close enough to land.

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• The Battle rages at Ft. McHenry

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• The British warships fired on Fort McHenry for 25
  hours.
• The three men Beanes, Key, and Skinner were
  helpless as they watched the fort being
  destroyed.
• They could not see through all the smoke and the
  dark night.

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• Finally at dawn, on September 14, 1814, Mr. Key
  looked through his telescope.
• He saw the huge American flag waving proudly over
  Ft. McHenry.
• The Americans had won the battle!
• He was so overcome with joy, that he sat down and
  scribbled his poem The Defense of Fort McHenry
  which was published in a few days.

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(No Transcript)
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• The words were then set to a popular song and the
  title was changed to The Star-Spangled Banner.
• In 1931 Congress named it the official American
  National Anthem.

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• In later years, Major Armistead gave away small
  pieces of the flag to widows who had lost their
  husbands in the war. The flag got smaller.
• Later, it was given to the Smithsonian Museum in
  Washington.
• The flag is currently undergoing renovations.
  Workers are trying to treat the material that is
  slowly falling apart.

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• Currently the flag can only be viewed in a room
  in the Smithsonian where it is undergoing
  extensive renovation.

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DID YOU KNOW?????????

• Nearly 61 percent of Americans do not know all of
  the words to the Star Spangled Banner.
• More than 70 percent of Americans learned the
  Star-Spangled Banner at school during music
  class.
• Among teens, 38 percent do not know the name of
  our National Anthem.
• Less than 35 percent of teens can name the author
  of the National Anthem.

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LETS CHANGE THIS..

• AS FEW AS 15 PERCENT OF AMERICAN YOUTH CAN SING
  THE WORDS TO THE ANTHEM.

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• O say, can you see, by the dawns early light.
• What so proudly we hailed at the twilights last
  gleaming?
• Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the
  perilous fight,
• Oer the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly
  streaming!

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• And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in
  air.
• Gave proof through the night that our flag was
  still there
• O say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
• Oer the land of the free, and the home of the
  brave?

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THE END Patricia Oeste