How many times have you sung the song “My country ’tis of Thee?” The song is also known as “America” even though it isn’t the official title. “America” was first sung on July 4, 1832 in Boston, Massachusetts by a children’s choir at Park Street Church (pictured here) and is set to the tune “God Save the King/Queen”. (Don’t say history isn’t ironic) The song was written by Reverend Samuel F. Smith while a student at Andover Theological Seminary and it soon became very popular. Smith became a Baptist preacher and was a classmate at Harvard with Oliver Wendell Holmes.
