“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the rousing national anthem of the United States. It may surprise you to learn that the country did not have a national anthem for its first 116 years of existence until it was made official in 1931, less than a hundred years ago.

The history of the United States and the "Star-Spangled Banner" are linked tales of patriotism, resilience, and pride. Through wars, hardships, good times, ceremonies, and celebrations, the flag and the song band us together and remind us that we are “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” gradually growing stronger and better through the years.

Join Hourlong Press on this fascinating trip back in time starting before the United States came to be. We’ll look at the factors leading up to the song’s creation, the fateful night that it first came into being in 1812, and the events afterward that turned the song into what it is today.

Hourlong Press presents short, clear, to-the-point books that cover everything you need to know about a topic and can usually be read in about an hour. .