USA FLAG COLORS AND MEANING
The stars on the flag
The number of stars on the flag has always represented the number of states in the Union. The original flag had 13 stars—one for each of the 13 original colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island). It then rose to 15 when Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792) were added; 20 with the admission of Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803), Louisiana (1812), Indiana (1816) and Mississippi (1817); and 21 with Illinois (1818). In 1818, Congress passed The Flag Act, which stipulates that the flag will always have 13 stripes, and that stars will be added for new states each July 4 only. From that point on, the flag changed frequently:
Number of Stars State and Year Admitted to Union
23 Alabama (1819) and Maine (1820)
24 Missouri (1821)
25 Arkansas (1836)
26 Michigan (1837)
28 Florida and Texas (both 1845)
29 Iowa (1846)
30 Wisconsin (1848)
31 California (1850)
32 Minnesota (1858)
33 Oregon (1859)
34 Kansas (1861)
35 West Virginia (1863)
36 Nevada (1864)
37 Nebraska (1867)
38 Colorado (1876)
43 North Dakota (1889), South Dakota (1889), Montana (1889), Washington, (1889) and Idaho (1890)
44 Wyoming (1890)
45 Utah (1896)
46 Oklahoma (1907)
48 New Mexico and Arizona (both 1912)
50 Alaska and Hawaii (both 1959)
The stripes on the flag
The red and white stripes represent each of the original 13 colonies. The first "Stars and Stripes" had 13 stars and 13 stripes. The U.S. Congress declared on June 14, 1777: "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 colors of the flag
The only specific reference to the three colors comes from a report by the Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson. Mr. Thomson said: "White signifies purity and innocence; Red, hardiness and valour; and Blue, vigilance, perseverance and justice." Other American writers have suggested that red stands for blood shed fighting for our country, white symbolizes loyalty, and blue, the unity of our citizens bound together as one nation. The colors also echo the colors of the British flag, and the original drafts of the flag included the Union Jack in place of the section now containing the stars.
The symbolism of the Flag was interpreted by Washington: "We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty."
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States, oath of loyalty to the U.S. national emblem and to the nation it symbolizes. The idea for such a pledge is said to have originated with one of the editors of The Youth's Companion, a magazine for children. By proclamation of President Benjamin Harrison, the pledge was first used on October 12, 1892, during Columbus Day observances in the public schools. The original wording of the pledge was as follows:
I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.
The pledge was amended subsequently by the substitution of the words the flag of the United States of America for the phrase my
flag. The newly worded pledge was adopted officially on Flag Day, June 14, 1924. By joint resolution of Congress the pledge was further amended in 1954 by the addition of the words under God. This is how the pledge now reads: When reciting the pledge of allegiance, civilians should stand at attention or with the right hand over the heart. Men should remove their hats. Armed services personnel in uniform face the flag and give the military salute.
The National Anthem
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Francis Scott Key
(1779 - 1843)
Important Flag Dates
July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence is signed. A new flag with stars and stripes is designed.
June 14, 1777: Congress passes a law making the Stars and Stripes America's official flag.
Sept. 13, 1814: Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner" after the British attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.
1818: Congress passes the Flag Act, which declares that the American flag will always have 13 stripes. Stars will be added to the canton to reflect new states only on July 4.
1892: Francis Bellamy writes the Pledge of Allegiance.
1916: President Woodrow Wilson proclaims June 14 as (unofficial) Flag Day.
1942: Congress passes the Flag Code, which lists the rules and proper etiquette for handling the American flag.
Aug. 3, 1949: President Harry Truman signs congressional legislation making June 14 National Flag Day.
Important Don'ts
It is generally not desirable to fly the flag outdoors when the weather is particularly inclement because exposure to severe winds and rain may damage the flag or the pole on which it is displayed.
Never in any way should disrespect be shown the U.S. flag. The U.S. flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are dipped as a mark of honor.
The U.S. flag should never be displayed with the union down except as a signal of distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
The U.S. flag should never touch anything beneath it--ground, floor, water or merchandise.
The U.S. flag should never be carried horizontally, but it should always be aloft and free.
Always allow the U.S. flag to fall free--never use the U.S. flag as wearing apparel, bedding or drapery, festooned, decoration in general, use blue, white, and red bunting. Always arrange the bunting with blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below.
The U.S. flag should never be fastened, displayed, used or stored in a manner which will permit it to be easily torn, soiled or damaged in any way.
Never use the U.S. flag as a covering or drape for a ceiling.
Never place anything on the U.S. flag . The U.S. flag should never have placed upon it, or on any part of it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture or drawing of any nature.
Never use the U.S. flag for receiving, holding, carrying or delivering anything. The U.S. flag should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use or discard. Advertising signs should never be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.
Never use any part of the U.S. flag as a costume or athletic uniform. A flag patch may be affixed to uniforms of military personnel, firemen, policemen and members of patriotic organizations.
When the U.S. flag is in such condition that is no longer a fitting emblem for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning , privately.
Never display the U.S. flag from a float except from a staff, or so suspended that its folds fall free as though staffed.
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