Francis Scott Key, a slave owner, included the following line in the rarely-sung third verse:
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave
The "Terror of flight"? Does Key mean terror for the slaves, thousands of whom fled to British ships which delivered them to freedom? Or does he mean terror for the slave-owners, who watched their "property" fly to freedom, only returning to fight admirably alongside the British against planters, often freeing hundreds more of their family and friends as they went.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic was written originally to praise American hero and abolitionist John Brown, and was sung by the glorious Union Army in its fight to end oppression. Which one would you rather have to represent our country?