Star-Spangled Myth #8: Igor Stravinsky's Mug Shot & "Illegal" Anthem

MYTH #8: A mug shot offers proof of composer Igor Stravinsky’s arrest by the Boston Police for desecrating a national symbol after conducting a performance of his own arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the Boston Symphony. CORRECTION: The supposed mug shot is actually part of Stravinsky’s 1940 visa application for residence in the United…

Banner Moment #7—March 3, 1931—Key's Song Made Official U.S. Anthem by Congress

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Banner Moment #6: Jan. 8, 1917—Key's Song Named "National Anthem" of U.S. Military

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Spangled Mythconception #6: Congress Made Key's Banner the U.S. National Anthem

MYTH #6: A 1931 act of Congress made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official anthem of the United States CORRECTION: This is absolutely correct in terms of the anthem’s legal status, but the bill approved by the House and Senate and signed by President Herbert Hoover simply recognized what had been true in American cultural practice…