General Mung Beans
Banned
Other then the "Star Spangled Banner" what other songs could have become national anthem of the United States of America?
I'll go with the obvious. Since people have been agitating to switch over to it since at least the '60s.
America the Beautiful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner said:"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody was derived from the British national anthem,[2] served as a de facto national anthem of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner";[3] and "Hail, Columbia," served as the de facto national anthem from Washington's time and through the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among them "The Star-Spangled Banner".
In an ATL in which the U.S. goes communist in the '50s, you could have "This Land Is Your Land" as the national anthem. Especially if you include this verse:
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me; Sign was painted, it said private property; But on the back side it didn't say nothing; That side was made for you and me.
Edit: Oh! I just realized this was in the "POD before 1900" category. Sorry if this is too off-topic.
Believe it or not, that video was already bookmarked as one of my favorites.
With that said, I think that the ATL commie U.S. would still pick "This Land Is Your Land" over "Solidarity Forever". "Solidarity Forever", while quite inspiring and message-appropriate for the communist government, makes no specific references to people, places, or events in America.
Also, I think that the main problem is that it's too anti-authoritarian to be a nationalistic symbol. I hate to say it, but the commie U.S. isn't going to be any more classless and anarchistic than any of the communist countries OTL. "This Land Is Your Land" is radically egalitarian, but it's not anywhere near as out-and-out subversive as "Solidarity Forever". "Solidarity Forever" drives home the point too well, and whenever people of the commie U.S. would sing it, they'd be reminded of how ridiculous it is for a nominally communist society to have a ruling class.
Edit: Wait... I just realized that if the commie U.S. becomes (for literary purposes) an analogue of OTL Soviet Union, it could start out with "Solidarity Forever" as an anthem, but then the second or third leader after the original frontman for that communist movement could replace it with a new song that includes egotistical sentiments about himself.
Battle hymn of the Republic
You know, I actually read something in The Nation about a year ago arguing that "This Land Is Your Land" should be the national anthem.
???I wonder,were there any American theme songs that existed at the time the Star Spangled Banner came out? Was only the Banner considered?