No one really honored the flag until June 14, 1877, when it was flown from every government building for the centennial (100th year) of the flag’s adoption.
After that, many citizens and organizations worked for the adoption of a national day of commemoration for the flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson unofficially declared June 14 as Flag Day but Congress never approved it. But it wasn’t until 1949 – 33 years later – that President Harry Truman signed the law that made June 14 of each year Flag Day.
Most of us learned that Betsy Ross, a seamstress from Philadelphia, made the first flag. But historians have found this legend not to be true.
Apparently the only thing Betsy Ross suggested about the flag was to use five-pointed stars (mullets) rather than six-pointed ones (estoiles).
On June 14, 1777, the design with the stars and stripes became America’s official flag with this declaration by Congress: “The flag of the United States will be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white [and]…the union [canton] be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
The Stars and Stripes
As more states entered the Union more stars were added to the flag. In 1818, Congress passed the Flag Act, stipulating that the flag will always have 13 stripes (one for each of the original colonies) and that a star will be added for each new state on July 4 only.
For a number of years the flag changed frequently, but hasn’t since the 49th and 50th stars for Alaska and Hawaii were added in 1959.
National anthem
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the national anthem of the United States. By the time the song officially became the country’s anthem in 1931, it had been one of America’s most popular patriotic tunes for more than a century.
The anthem’s history began the morning of September 14, 1814, when an attorney and amateur poet named Francis Scott Key watched U.S. soldiers – who were under bombardment from British naval forces during the War of 1812 – raise a large American flag over Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.
Flag Day Trivia
In honor of Flag Day, here are a few interesting pieces of trivia about our great Red, White, and Blue (Source: USHistory.org):
♦ When is it appropriate to fly the flag upside down? The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
♦ Did you know that Francis Scott Key wrote the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner” on the back of an envelope?
♦ A vexillologist is an expert in the history of flags.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
