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Land of the Free? The Real Story Behind the Star-Spangled Banner

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Manage episode 515165274 series 2600891
Content provided by The HISTORY® Channel and The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The HISTORY® Channel and The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

October 19, 1814. An eager audience files into the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore, about to see a debut performance, described as a “much-admired new song.” The composer of this song, Francis Scott Key, had written the lyrics during a recent battle in Baltimore, trapped on a British ship as he watched the rockets red glare from afar. Key wasn’t a professional songwriter – a prominent lawyer in Washington D.C., he specialized in cases related to slavery, both defending enslaved people and slave catchers. But his real legacy became this song, entitled “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

How did Key come to watch the Battle of Baltimore play out from the deck of an enemy ship? And how did his relationship with race and slavery shape the song we now call our national anthem?

Special thanks to authors Marc Leepson and Tim Grove for sharing their voices and expertise for this episode.

** This episode originally aired October 19, 2020.

--

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek

Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠

To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com

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288 episodes

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Manage episode 515165274 series 2600891
Content provided by The HISTORY® Channel and The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The HISTORY® Channel and The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

October 19, 1814. An eager audience files into the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore, about to see a debut performance, described as a “much-admired new song.” The composer of this song, Francis Scott Key, had written the lyrics during a recent battle in Baltimore, trapped on a British ship as he watched the rockets red glare from afar. Key wasn’t a professional songwriter – a prominent lawyer in Washington D.C., he specialized in cases related to slavery, both defending enslaved people and slave catchers. But his real legacy became this song, entitled “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

How did Key come to watch the Battle of Baltimore play out from the deck of an enemy ship? And how did his relationship with race and slavery shape the song we now call our national anthem?

Special thanks to authors Marc Leepson and Tim Grove for sharing their voices and expertise for this episode.

** This episode originally aired October 19, 2020.

--

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek

Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠

To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  continue reading

288 episodes

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