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Meaning of the Flag Colors White: Purity and Innocence
Our Flag History 1776: January - The first flag, called the Grand Union flag, is displayed on Prospect Hill. It has 13 alternate red and white stripes and the British Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner. 1776: May - Betsy Ross reports that she sewed the first American flag. 1777: June 14 - Continental Congress resolves that the American flag shall have thirteen alternating red and white stripes, that the union be thirteen white stars on a blue field, representing a new constellation. 1795: Two stripes and two stars are added for Vermont and Kentucky 1814: September 14 - Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner." It officially becomes the national anthem in 1931. 1818: Flag has 20 stars and 13 stripes. The five added stars represent Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi. The Act of April 4, 1818 passes, providing for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state. 1819: Flag has star added for Illinois (21) 1820: Flag has stars added for Alabama and Maine (23) 1822: Flag has star added for Missouri (24) 1836: Flag has star added for Arkansas (25) 1837: Flag has star added for Michigan (26) 1845: Flag has star added for Florida (27) 1846: Flag has star added for Texas (28) 1847: Flag has star added for Iowa (29) 1848: Flag has star added for Wisconsin (30) 1851: Flag has star added for California (31) 1858: Flag has star added for Minnesota (32) 1859: Flag has star added for Oregon (33) 1861: Flag with has star added for Kansas (34). First Confederate Flag (Stars and Bars) adopted in Montgomery, Alabama. 1863: Flag has star added for West Virginia (35) 1865: Flag has star added for Nevada (36) 1867: Flag has star added for Nebraska (37) 1869: First flag appears on a postage stamp 1877: Flag has star added for Colorado (38) 1890: Flag has stars added for North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington and Idaho (43) 1891: Flag has star added for Wyoming (44) 1892: "Pledge of Allegiance" first published and recited in schools 1896: Flag has star added for Utah (45) 1908: Flag has star added for Oklahoma (46) 1912: Flag has stars added for New Mexico and Arizona. An Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912 established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward. 1931: Congress officially recognizes "The Star-Spangled Banner," written by Francis Scott Key, as the national anthem of the United States. 1949: August - Truman signs bill requesting the President call for Flag Day (June 14) observance each year by proclamation. 1959: Flag has star added for Alaska (49). An Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959 provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically. An Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959 provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizon tally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically. 1960: Flag has last star added for Hawaii (50) 1995: December - The Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment is narrowly defeated in the Senate. The Amendment to the Constitution would make burning the flag a punishable crime.
History of the Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance first appeared in public schools in 1892 in a magazine called "The Youth's Companion." The Pledge was written by Baptist Minister Francis Bellamy. On October 12, four hundred years after Columbus' arrival, over 12 million students recited the Pledge for the first time. On June 14, 1923 at the first National Flag Conference in Washington D.C., a change was made to the wording of the Pledge. The words "the Flag of the United States" replaced "my flag". Many other changes were suggested in the years to come but none were ever adopted. In 1942 Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. In June of 1943 the Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite it. Today only half of our fifty states have laws that encourage students to recite the Pledge in school. An amendment was made in June of 1954 to add the words "under God". President Dwight D. Eisenhower felt that the change would reaffirm the Nation's belief in a higher power and give people strength in the future.
The Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the Flag A good site about the Pledge: The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag
Flag Trivia There are eight places and two types of government buildings where the flag may be flown 24 hours a day. These are: Flag House Square, Baltimore, Maryland There are three places that the flag is never lowered to half-mast. These are: The U.N. Headquarters The Alamo The moon
Origin of the nickname "Old Glory" This famous name can be traced back to Captain Stephen Driver of Salem, Massachusetts. Captain Driver was a shipmaster. In 1831, as he was leaving on one of his trips some friends gave him a flag with twenty four stars. As the flag flapped gloriously in the breeze for the first time, he exclaimed "Old Glory!" Captain Driver retired to Nashville in 1837. By the time the Civil War began, most of the people in and around Nashville had heard about Captain Driver's "Old Glory." When Tennesee seceded from the Union, Rebels were determined to destroy Captain Drivers flag but many searches failed to turn up his beloved banner. On February 25th, 1862, Union forces defeated Nashville and raised an American flag over the capital. It was a small flag and many people, in search of a larger flag to represent the Union, began asking Captain Driver if "Old Glory" still existed. Under the protection of Union soldiers Captain Driver went home and began tearing apart his bedding. He uncovered the original "Old Glory" that he had been hiding all that time. Captain Driver collected his flag and he and the soldiers returned to the Captiol. The sixty year old Captain climbed up and replaced the small banner with "Old Glory." Captain Driver's grave can be found in the old Nashville City Cemetery. It is one of the places authorized by act of Congress where the Flag of the United States may be flown 24 hours a day. Although no one knows where "Old Glory" is today, "Old Glory" is the most notable of a number of flags that have similar stories surrounding them.
Flag Etiquette Below is a list of sites where you can find information on how to properly display, fold, store and retire a flag. America's Best Products: Flag Etiquette
Songs Americans have many songs and poems dedicated to showing our love of the flag. Here are the links to a few:
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