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The Star-Spangled Banner: A Guide to Resources

Controversies

Controversy has surrounded "The Star-Spangled Banner" throughout its history. Below are resources from the Library of Congress Online Catalog and Chronicling America that offer insight into those issues. Online articles addressing the fact that Francis Scott Key was a slaveholder and the resulting racial insensitivity of his poetry are too numerous to be included here. 

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

Musical Difficulty

Systemic Racism

Promotion of Anti-British sentiment