God Bless America Girl Scouts in New York City. Smith performed the song on her two NBC television series in the 1950s and in her short-lived "The Kate Smith Show" on CBS, which aired from January 25 to July 18, 1960. "God Bless America" also spawned another of Irving Berlin's tunes, "Heaven Watch The Philippines," during the end of World War II after he heard the Filipinos sing a slightly revised version of the song replacing "America" with "The Philippines." The song was used early in the Civil Rights Movement as well as at labor rallies. During the 1960s, the song was increasingly
God Bless America that the New York Yankees announced that they would no longer restrict the movement of fans during the playing of the song. On September 15, 2009, three high school teens filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's minor league Newark Bears for being ejected from Eagles Riverfront Stadium over their refusal to stand during the playing of "God Bless America" on June 29, 2009. Before being ejected, they were asked to leave the stadium by Bears president and co-owner Thomas Cetnar. To honor the start of the United States Bicentennial, Kate Smith sang "God Bless America" for a national television audience,