Flag of the United States
Flag Ratio: 10:19
The flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies. Red stands for courage, white for truth, and blue for justice.
It is commonly called the Stars and Stripes and less commonly "Old Glory". Because the name "Old Glory" technically refers to the 48-star version used from 1912 to 1959, this usage connotes the history of the flag. The flag has gone through many changes since 13 of the English colonies in North America adopted it.
To US citizens, their flag symbolizes many things. They have seen it as representing all of the freedoms and rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Perhaps most of all they see it as a symbol of individual and personal liberty.
The flag flew in battle for the first time, at Cooch's Bridge in Maryland on September 3, 1777 during the American Revolutionary War.
The original American flag had thirteen stars. As further states entered the union, extra stars have appeared, but the number of stripes has remained at the original thirteen. The exception was the 15-star flag, which also had 15 stripes. It was this 15-star flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner.
When the flag changes, the change always takes place on July 4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a consequence of the Flag Act of April 4, 1818. July 4, the United States Independence Day, commemorates the founding of the nation. The most recent change, from forty-nine stars to fifty, occurred in 1960, after Hawaii gained statehood. Before that, the admission of Alaska the year before prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.
The approved method of destroying old and tattered flags consists of burning them in a simple ceremony. Burning the flag has also been used to as a deliberate act of disrespect, at times to protest actions by the United States government.
The British historian Sir Charles Fawcett has suggested that the design of the flag may have been derived from the flag and jack of the British East India Company.
Influences on other flags
The design and colors of the American "Stars and Stripes" have been the basis for a number of other flags, both past and present, some of which appear below:
Note especially the echoes in the colors and designs of several of the Flags of the Confederate States of America.
Influences on other symbols
The common use of stripe-like decoration in the traditional corporate logos of major US corporations such as IBM and AT&T may suggest a subliminal appeal to patriotism on the part of those entities. It could also possibly be that these companies selected their logos without regard to the American flag, and the resemblance is coincidental.
External links
- A page in flag etiquette: for those wondering how to fly the flag properly.
Flags of the US States:
Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - Arkansas - California - Colorado - Connecticut - Delaware - Florida - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho - Illinois - Indiana - Iowa - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana - Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Michigan - Minnesota - Mississippi - Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - New Hampshire - New Jersey - New Mexico - New York - North Carolina - North Dakota - Ohio - Oklahoma - Oregon - Pennsylvania - Rhode Island - South Carlolina - South Dakota - Tennessee - Texas - Utah - Vermont - Virginia - Washington - West Virginia - Wisconsin - Wyoming