What Does Francis Scott Key's Motto Mean

“The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key was written on September 16, 1814 after the bombardment of Fort McHenry. This occurred during the War of 1812, when Britain attacked the United States because British military and navy could now focus on re-conquering America. During the war on September 1814, British troops had invaded Washington D.C. and set the Capitol on fire. One of Key’s friends was taken prisoner so Key, alongside with John S. Skinner, was commissioned to help release his friend from the British navy. Although the request for the freedom of his friend was granted, the British were preparing to attack Baltimore, so they did not let Key and Skinner go. After the invasion of Baltimore, the British bombarded Fort McHenry on

the night of September 13-14, so the people waited anxiously to see if their American flag was still there at the end. Thus, as a witness of this battle, Key was inspired to re-create the events by writing the poem, which later came to be known as, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In his poem, Key used a powerful motto about God, used repetition to apply emphasis on American freedom, and the American flag represented an important symbol of the nation.

Towards the end of his poem, Francis Scott Key inserted a compelling motto about God’s role and his power over the Americans during this battle at Fort McHenry.

In the poem, Key states “And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.’” This indicates that the Americans praise God’s power in giving them the strength and courage to fight this battle and come out victorious in the end. God’s influence was clearly more powerful than the power of the government over the people because God gave the people the bravery and character to succeed in this battle. As a result, the people would be influenced to adopt Key’s motto as one significant American motto because it would indicate that Americans have faith in both their own power and faith in the greater power of God. Thus, the people would express their gratitude to God for empowering them as a nation to be able to defeat the British and accumulate their freedom once again. For that reason, Key’s motto would become powerful throughout the nation for years to

come.

Furthermore, Key used repetition to emphasize the importance of securing American freedom throughout this battle. The phrase “O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave” is repeated at the end of each stanza in the poem. This phrase emphasizes the concern for the preservation of American freedom from the British. Since Americans already won their independence from Britain, the Americans did not wish for defeat from the British because that would signify that America would fall under the tyranny of British rule once again. For that reason, Key stresses the importance of their freedom because the battle would essentially determine whether or not America would remain a free and prosperous country. Therefore, after confirming that the flag was still there waving over the ramparts, the repetitive phrase is used as an indication of triumph and prosperity. This signified that the country was brave enough to come out victorious in this battle, therefore, being able to regain their freedom and forever remain as a free nation. Evidently, securing American freedom was a main priority because a loss at this battle would result in their loss of liberty, which was unacceptable because the British would surely impose cruelty on the country.

Particularly, though, the American flag in Key’s poem is a symbol that freshly sparks American patriotism and perseverance.

According to Key, “our flag was still there” surviving through the bombing over the ramparts. As a result, the American flag would bring about a fresh wave of patriotism by becoming the actual symbol of the nation and eliciting universal feelings of patriotism, courage, and resilience within the American people. By giving the flag the main role in this victorious war, Key’s song would establish a new prominence for the flag as an expression of national identity, unity, and pride. Thus, the poem would induce feelings of pride among the American people because the survival of the flag indicated that they were able to secure their freedom through their victory at Fort McHenry. For a moment, America’s future had seemed uncertain because it was hard to see if the American flag was still there, but when it was still there, the people felt relieved because it meant that America was still the land of the free. Therefore, the emblem that is the American flag became a symbol that the people could connect with because it became a representation of their values and ideals as to what it means to be

American.

Overall, “The Star-Spangled Banner” surely became the national anthem in 1931 because Francis Scott Key was able to stimulate patriotism in the American people. Key included a compelling motto about God that was to remembered, employed repetition in his poem to accentuate the prominence of American freedom, and the American flag was employed as a significant symbol. Firstly, the motto “In God is our trust” signified that the Americans had faith in God’s power to give them the strength to be victorious in this battle. Also, the last phrase of every stanza in Key’s poem stressed the importance of the Americans being free and being able to remain free after the end of the battle at Fort McHenry. Most importantly, though, the American flag in the poem represented American freedom, national identity, unity, and pride. Therefore, “The Star-Spangled Banner” became crucial to America’s identity because as the national anthem now, it represents America as a nation.