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This chapter provides a new account of the political lineage of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that ties its composition to the identification of a distinctively Federalist conception of music in early national American politics. By connecting Francis Scott Key and “The Star-Spangled Banner” to an older Federalist conception of music in politics–populated by the likes of George Washington, Francis Hopkinson, John Adams, Joseph Hopkinson and others–the chapter argues that Federalism may bear more responsibility for the rise of popular American political culture than commonly thought. Influenced by contemporaneous English debates, Federalists justified their top-down approach to popular patriotic music by appealing to music’s capacity to moderate the temperament, to instill support in the nation’s leaders, and to soothe rather than inflame factional differences. Meaning that the composition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in effect, represented a culmination of Federalist efforts to use music as part of a political strategy to ensure their elite values were reflected in national culture. The chapter also differentiates Federalist from Republican party understandings of musical power and examines contemporary debate over the partisan purposes of “Hail Columbia.”

The refusal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra management to program “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Providence, Rhode Island, on 30 October led to nationwide outrage against Karl Muck in early November. Anti-German sentiment ran high as concerts by Muck’s orchestra were cancelled in Baltimore and concerts by Fritz Kreisler were banned in Pittsburgh. The Metropolitan Opera dropped all German operas from its repertoire. Both Walter Damrosch and Ernestine Schumann-Heink went to great lengths to prove their patriotism, but Schumann-Heink broke under the strain and withdrew from the stage for six weeks. The Fifteenth Regiment had orders to ship out to France but was delayed twice in November. This month was a significant turning point in American attitudes, as jazz became increasingly popular and European music and musicians were viewed with suspicion and disdain.

As the revelation of the Zimmermann telegram pushed the United States closer to war, jazz continued to grow in popularity. The Creole Band and Original Dixieland Jazz Band played simultaneous engagements in New York, and numerous journalists reported on the new musical genre. Fritz Kreisler played to loyal audiences of German Americans, while Karl Muck continued to emphasize Austro-German music in his Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts. Patron Henry Lee Higginson weighed the pros and cons of renewing Muck’s contract in light of the conductor’s frankly expressed loyalty to Germany. Walter Damrosch seized the moment by prominently featuring “The Star-Spangled Banner” in his concerts with the New York Symphony, which embarked on a ten-week national tour in mid-March.

The Fifteenth Regiment’s disciplined response to racial harassment during a two-week stay at Camp Wadsworth, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, earned it the right to be among the first units ordered to France. Nick LaRocca represented the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in a Chicago lawsuit to stop the unauthorized publication of the sheet music to “Livery Stable Blues” by former bandmate “Yellow” Nunez, but the judge ruled that all blues were the same and therefore not subject to copyright protection. The Victor Talking Machine Company, using the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra, made the first recordings employing the full symphony orchestra. The concert seasons of orchestras across the country opened amid intense scrutiny of their repertoire choices and patriotism.

Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February 1917 created a domino effect in the musical world, as Walter Damrosch and other conductors rushed to assert their patriotism by adding “The Star-Spangled Banner” to their concerts. Debates about German music revolved around issues of internationalism in classical music. The management of the Metropolitan Opera gave assurances that its German singers and European repertoire would not be impacted by future political events. Ernestine Schumann-Heink, the most beloved German singer in America, suffered potentially career-ending injuries in an automobile accident. Responding to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s sensational popularity, the Victor Talking Machine Company recorded two numbers by the band on 26 February for later release in the spring.

On 2 April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson urged Congress to enter the European war, and Congress voted to do so on Friday, 6 April. On the 15th of that month, Victor released the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s record of “Livery Stable Blues” and “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step”; it caused an immediate nationwide sensation. James Reese Europe travelled to Puerto Rico in search of woodwind players for the Fifteenth New York Regiment Band, and the Creole Band ended its vaudeville career when it missed the train to Portland, Maine. German musicians in the United States came under increased scrutiny in the weeks after the declaration of war, as the country prepared to adopt new laws and regulations for wartime.

In a 2 December article entitled “Rising Tide of Sentiment against German Music,” critic W. J. Henderson detailed the ways that musical attitudes in the United States had been altered in recent months. Fritz Kreisler and Karl Muck were restricted in their performances, while Schumann-Heink took a temporary break from public concerts. Walter Damrosch and Leopold Stokowski took pains to emphasize their loyalty, but Damrosch’s new arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was criticized for being too ornate. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the Original Creole Band continued to ride the wave of jazz popularity. After further delays, the Fifteenth New York National Guard Regiment finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean and prepared to join the war in France.

Examining the aftermath of 1917, this section traces the impact of the year’s events on future US musical directions. Recording technology advances made the spread of jazz possible, led to heightened fidelity of sound reproduction in classical music, and eventually altered the entire culture of live performance. Classical music did not disappear, but the advent of jazz presaged the coming dominance of popular music. World War I’s aftermath spawned a culture war between rural and urban Americans, and gains made by African American servicemen encountered a backlash of racial violence and discrimination in the 1920s. The negative stereotypes of the war years hastened German American assimilation. World War II saw different cultural and musical responses, and American classical composers benefited from World War II patriotism in ways their predecessors had not. Finally, the ability of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to unite and divide Americans is an ongoing legacy of World War I.

This chapter provides an analysis of the shifting political landscape of Black Americans in the context of World War II through the lens of Black media and other popular cultural forms. The socio political meaning of the anthem in this context diverges, and for the first time it is significantly engaged by the mainstream of American politics and media as well.