Civics question 123 of 128
What is the name of the national anthem?
Official answer
- The Star-Spangled Banner
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem. Francis Scott Key wrote the words in September 1814 after watching a British fleet bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore through the night and seeing the American flag still flying at dawn. His poem was set to the tune of a British social club song, which is one reason the melody is famously hard to sing, spanning an octave and a half. It grew popular through the nineteenth century and was used by the military, but Congress did not make it the official anthem until 1931. Note that the flag Key saw carried fifteen stripes rather than thirteen, which is exactly where this question and the one about the stripes connect.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of Symbols, inside the Symbols And Holidays section of the test.