The Flag I LOVE!

I remember so vividly the flag that hung in my classroom as a child. How I loved to stand, hand on heart, promising my loyalty to the stars and stripes. My heart still thrills, and I get a lump in my throat, every time I see our beautiful flag fluttering over schoolhouses, raised after athletic victories, and waving festively during parades. The red, white, and blue remind me of the strength, the courage, and the sacrifice of those who have fought to maintain freedom for the American people.

The AMERICAN FLAG

The American flag is sometimes called the "Stars and Stripes", "Old Glory", or "The Star Spangled Banner".

In July 1775, George Washington, the new commander of the Continental Army, thought a special flag should be made to represent all the colonies who were rebelling against the British government. So the Continental Congress, the government at the time, came up with a design and approved it on June 14, 1777.

Most people think that General Washington then asked a Philadelphia seamstress named Betsy Ross to sew the first flag, but no one really knows if this is true.

The red, white, and blue colors and the stars and stripes are symbols of the American spirit.  White stands for liberty, red for courage, and blue symbolizes loyalty.  Every aspect of the flag's design stands for an important idea, too.  The thirteen red and white stripes represent the original thirteen colonies.

On the early flags, stripes were added as well as stars when new states entered the Union. The real "Star Spangled Banner" had fifteen stripes and fifteen stars.   Since then, only stars have been added to symbolize additional states.

Many people have died protecting our country, and the flag reminds many of us of all the great things about America for which people were willing to give their lives.  This feeling of love for our country is called "patriotism."

Sometimes people use the flag to protest when they disagree with government actions.  They burn the flag, walk on it, or hang it upside down. This has led groups of Americans to fight one another, as each group uses the American flag to symbolize its own beliefs.

Every morning, in classrooms across America, school children should stand with their hands over their hearts and address these words to the American flag: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 

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