Why did it take so long for the U.S. to pick its national anthem?

About this episode

The episode explores the lengthy process of selecting the U.S. national anthem, 'The Star Spangled Banner', and its historical significance.

It’s super common for a country to have a national anthem. That’s an official song that is sung at special events and is supposed to bring people together. The United States of America’s anthem is called The Star Spangled Banner. But it took a long time, and a lot of contests, to choose that song. Join Joy and co-host Freya as they learn the history of this famously hard to sing song. Plus they tackle an all new First Things First. Guest: Billy Coleman, Associate Director of the Kinder Institute, and historian who studies early American music and politics. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. Want to support the show? Join Smarty Pass to listen to ad-free episodes or donate!

People in this episode

Hosts: Joy, TK

Guest: Billy Coleman

Topics covered

• national anthem
• U.S. history
• American music
• politics
• cultural identity

Keywords

• national anthem
• The Star Spangled Banner
• U.S. history
• Billy Coleman
• American music

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kinder Institute

Books & works: The Star Spangled Banner

Places: United States of America

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