US Flag History

For nearly 230 years, the American flag has been the symbol of the nation s strength and unity and freedom; it is often called the stars and stripes or old glory.

The American flag has been a source of pride and inspiration for its citizens, and many pledge allegiance to it through the official Pledge of Allegiance.

On the New Year s Day, 1776, George Washington, heading the Continental Army with American forces, ordered the Grand Union flag hoisted above his base at Prospect Hill. Congressman Francis Hopkinson is believed to have designed the first American flag. It was Betsy Ross, a seamstress from Philadelphia, who sewed the first flag in May 1776.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the Flag Act; the Act resolved that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation. The Act of April 4, 1818, provided for thirteen stripes and one star for each State, to be added to the flag on July 4, following the admission of each new State, signed by President Monroe.

Executive order of Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959, provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

Today, the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes; of the thirteen stripes, there are seven red alternating with six white. The stripes represent the original thirteen colonies and the stars represent the fifty States of the Union. The red color symbolizes hardness and valor, white represents purity and innocence, and blue symbolizes vigilance, perseverance and justice.

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14.