O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!

Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

–

Last stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)

Image: vintage post-card featuring a young Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty – she in a Phrygian (or liberty) cap, symbol of emancipation and freedom.