<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdzzcXagvsi9G2hjHXT5tURhWvHa26LQXPRZ4MeE1PUsD/image.png)
[The bombardment of Fort McHenry](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwittaDCt8PWAhVO2GMKHQUvAA0QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstarspangledmusic.org%2Fpage%2F12%2F%3Fauthor%3D0&psig=AFQjCNFKmsPDaTDutDfO7nZ2NdbZI4hdfw&ust=1506535300502315)</center>
<center>" _And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave._ "</center>

The above lyrics are from the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner. They are often forgotten, as it is only the first verse that is typically sung during patriotic occasions. Some, like myself, might find that to be a bit of a shame. This verse carries a somewhat vicious tone in a reminder to those who would have and would still attempt to place American citizens under heal; that their efforts will ever be washed away with their own blood. 

<center> ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNZDoDDQJcsAyqiZGqdU6WyFCFKjxfzn6N8uhZYy64kGo/image.png)
[Baltimore's Francis Key Statue Defaced](http://media2.abc2news.com/photo/2017/09/13/statue2_1505312613451_66252773_ver1.0_640_480.jpg) </center>
Quite frequently, commentators on the Left will invoke this verse as being 'racist.' That assumption being based upon a single line in the verse: 'No refuge could save the hireling and slave.' So, it would seem that the argument is essentially this: 

<center> There were African slaves in America. 
The line claims "No refuge could save... slave." 
Therefore the Anthem and the man who wrote it are racist. </center>

That argument is entirely reliant upon there being only one interpretation of the word "slave." As "slave" has no inherent racial connotation outside of its etymological roots, the above argument is rendered an attempt at best. It is far more likely that Francis Scott Key was simply referring to the British forces arrayed against his budding nation, which included significant numbers mercenaries and conscripts i.e. hirelings and slaves. 

<center> ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRs95qhAMPu8Hvhisp2GgUyaRoStUC7uVNRYh49FwA5P7/image.png)

[Francis Scott Key](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwigntKytsPWAhVE22MKHTBlCDYQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Fhistory%2Ffrancis-scott-key-the-reluctant-patriot-180937178%2F&psig=AFQjCNHJm2S4iYpCsXBeTHapwXuxAiGi-A&ust=1506535002825271) </center>

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