Theatre & Dance; and codirector of the American Music Institute. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Clague applied the “Page 99 Test” to his new book, O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of "The Star-Spangled Banner", and reported the following:
War not only gave birth to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” it is pivotal to understanding the song’s role in American life. The American Civil War, in particular, forged the connection between flag and song. Most importantly, it sanctified the song as a symbol of patriotic devotion through the ultimate sacrifice—the willingness to lay one’s life down in service to the nation.Follow Mark Clague on Twitter and visit the Star Spangled Music Foundation website.
Page 99 of my book O Say Can You Hear? falls in the middle of chapter 4—"The Banner at War.” This chapter is emblematic of my approach to telling the anthem story by focusing on big-picture themes and ideas. I both want to make the story vivid and accessible, while showing how the song has grown and changed with the nation.
The page is dominated by an illustration of a Civil War recruiting poster that seeks to inspire African Americans to enlist in the Union Army. Although not permitted to fight until 1863, Blacks soon made up 10% of the Union Army. The poster features a Black soldier with sword raised aloft. He holds an American flag with a ribbon that reads “Freedom to the Slave.” In the text, I discuss how Francis Scott Key’s song became a rallying cry of the Union Army and thus helped to end the evil of slavery. While it took the U.S. Congress until 1931 to make it official, “The Star-Spangled Banner” truly became the nation’s anthem in 1861. Civil war made “The Star-Spangled Banner” sacred.
A major goal of the book is to examine if and how Key’s song can still serve today as a unifying statement for all Americans. I argue that our anthem remains viable and valuable, but the question is complex. One approach is to explore the song’s long history as a vehicle for social protest—its ability to make social conflict audible. A surprising discovery was the 600+ lyrics that have been sung to the tune in U.S. history. These include patriotic songs, but also campaign songs and protest lyrics demanding an end to slavery, advocating prohibition, arguing for women’s suffrage, and welcoming immigrants by translating Key’s text into other languages. These alternate lyrics were the viral memes and tweets of the 19th century. Their words were reprinted from newspaper to newspaper, not only to highlight important issues facing the nation, but to inspire Americans to action by leveraging the emotional power of music.
For me, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is American history. Rather than an immutable icon, the song resonates across more than two centuries to show how the American democratic experiment has always been a raucous and rebellious balancing act. On one side are the passions of individual Americans fighting for what they believe is best for the nation. On the other is a belief shared by all Americans that what unites us—particularly the values of freedom, equality, and courage celebrated in the anthem lyric—is key to bringing out the nation’s best.
--Marshal Zeringue
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