Question

"Author's Purpose and Main Idea

Worksheet
Francis Scott Key, a lawyer negotiating an important prisoner exchange during the War of
1812, was the accidental poet of our national anthem when he hastily jotted down ""Defense
of Fort McHenry,"" after watching twenty-five hours of bombardment. The flag flying over Fort
McHenry had survived the night from the ""twilight's last gleaming"" to the ""dawn's early light.""
The resilience and endurance of that flag was Key's inspiration. Today, the national anthem
is played at every sports event, including the Olympics, and asks the same question every
time it is sung: Does the flag still wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave?""
Instructions: Read the question and highlight the academic vocabulary in the question, then
read the selection and answer the questions.
1. Which sentence best states the main idea of the paragraph?

Answer 1

Francis Scott Key composed 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' inspired by the American flag's endurance after Fort McHenry was bombed in the War of 1812.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main idea of the paragraph is that Francis Scott Key wrote what would become the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," inspired by the sight of the American flag still flying after the bombing of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. This poem, originally titled "In Defense of Fort McHenry," was composed after he witnessed the flag's persistence despite a severe twenty-five-hour bombardment by the British forces. Key's words reflect the resilience and endurance of the American spirit in the face of adversity.