Our country has a special song called the national anthem. Its name is "The Star-Spangled Banner." "Banner" means flag.
Key idea
Francis Scott Key wrote the words in 1814, after he saw our flag still flying over Fort McHenry.
Why it works
In 1814 the United States and Britain were at war. All night, British ships fired at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Francis Scott Key watched from a ship. When the sun came up, he saw the big flag still waving over the fort, so he knew the fort had not given up. He was so happy that he wrote a poem. The poem became a song, and in 1931 Congress made it our national anthem.
Common mistake
Some children think the anthem is as old as the country. Key wrote it in 1814, and it became the national anthem in 1931, more than 100 years later.
For the grown-up: When the anthem plays, people stand and face the flag; many put a right hand over the heart. The flag Key saw is kept at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.