National Anthem Project

The National Anthem Project was a public awareness campaign launched in 2005 as a major initiative of MENC: The National Association for Music Education. At the time of its launch, the National Anthem Project website declared "MENC is sponsoring The National Anthem Project to revive America's patriotism by educating Americans about the importance of The Star-Spangled Banner-both the flag and the song." Sponsored by MENC with major support from the Jeep brand, and other sponsors such as NAMM, Bank of America, and the Gibson Foundation, this campaign, which later used the slogan "to restore America's voice through music education" was MENC's most ambitious project to date. A former First Lady, Laura Bush served as honorary chairperson, with country music's The Oak Ridge Boys as the official musical ambassadors. The stated purpose of the project was originally "to revive America's patriotism," but this was later modified to suggest that its purpose was merely to encourage more singing of the national anthem, or to bring more public attention to the role of music in American schools.

A bipartisan discourse of American government officials, including more than twenty governors, Members of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Education, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, the Department of Defense, and National Endowment for the Humanities, indicated their support for the project and its goals. Project supporters also included civic organizations such as the Grammy Foundation, the National Education Association, the U.S. Conferences of Mayors, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the American Sportscasters Association, American Association of School Administrators, the National PTA, Music Teachers National Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and Drum Corps International.

According to a 2004 Harris Interactive survey, nearly two out of three Americans (61 percent) are unable to recall all of the words to The Star-Spangled Banner and three in four Americans indicate that school is where they learned the anthem and other patriotic songs. However, a survey showed that only 39 percent of Americans could complete the third line of The Star Spangled Banner correctly with "...through the perilous fight." (In a version written by Francis Scott Key in 1840, the third line ends "...through the clouds of the fight.")

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