June 14th is Flag Day. The American flag is renowned around the world. It is recognizable for its unique design and symbolic for what it represents. People have come to this country from all over the globe in order to partake of our privileges, to flourish because of our freedoms and to cash in using capitalism. The flag represents American values, liberties, prosperity, commitment, grit, success and our commitment to democratic principles at home and abroad.
According to lore, Betsy Ross convinced George Washington that a five-pointed star would be easier to sew than a six-pointed star, which was the original plan for a new flag that would become the standard for the American colonies. Supposedly, Betsy Ross sewed a “sample” flag that had thirteen white stars arranged in a circle on a blue square field in the top left hand corner of the flag set off by alternating thirteen red and white stripes representing the thirteen colonies that had banded together to form the incipient nation, “The United States of America in Congress Assembled”.
On June 14, 1777 the Flag Act adopted the first American ensign. Francis Hopkinson designed the first official flag. It had the same basic style and layout as our current flag. Originally the plan was to add a new star and stripe for every state that was admitted to the Union. By 1818 it became apparent that the country was growing significantly and that future flagpoles would have to be quite tall indeed to accommodate all of the anticipated additional stripes. On April 4, 1818 Congress passed a plan to reduce the number of stripes to a permanent thirteen while continuing to add a star for every new state admitted to the Union.
Our flag has a white star for each of the states admitted to the Union. The thirteen stripes represents the original thirteen colonies present at the founding of the country. The color red is indicative of the blood spilled to gain our independence and all of the blood subsequently shed to maintain our freedoms and our liberties. The color white denotes the purity of our cause and our ideals. The color blue represents fidelity to our principles. Over the years there have been twenty-seven different official versions of the flag; the last of which was adopted in 1959 after the admission of Alaska and Hawaii. On July 4, 1960 President Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10834 declaring the current design as the official one.
It was President Woodrow Wilson who established Flag Day officially. On May 30, 1916 as a part of the Memorial Day commemoration President Wilson issued a presidential proclamation declaring that henceforth June 14th would be known as Flag Day. Citizens were to display and honor the flag in recognition of all that it represents for Americans. The Flag Manufacturers’ Association says that 150 million American flags are sold annually. There are six American flags on the moon planted there by NASA astronauts when they landed and subsequently walked on the moon. Fifty-one percent of Americans have a flag in their home or fly one on their property. The Flag Institute has been planning ahead for the day when another territory (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands or the US Virgin Islands) applies for statehood. The Flag Institute currently has three different designs that Congress could select from should a fifty-one star flag be needed in the future.
Take some time this week to contemplate the American flag and all that it stands for. The flag is elegant in its design and a significant symbol for people all over the world. Summer is an especially good time to display the flag and show your love of this country, your gratitude for all the United States has made possible for you and your appreciation for all the rights and privileges available to you as an American citizen – paid for by the blood of patriots, past and present. As Henry Ward Beecher said, “A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation’s flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself.”