It’s a Grand Old Flag

Reader Contribution by Lois Hoffman
Published on July 3, 2018
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The stars and stripes, the flag of the United States of America, stands for the unity of America, a common cause and the hope for a better tomorrow. Past, present and future, the flag represents the freedom that we Americans cherish and the price that we have paid for it. Like our country, the flag has some interesting history and facts of its own.

The very first flag was the result of the Flag Resolution that was passed on July 14, 1777. It states, “Resolved, That the flag of the 13 United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” George Washington was the only president to serve under this flag which Congressman Francis Hopkinson designed. Betsy Ross, a seamstress friend of George Washington was commissioned to sew the first flag. This first Star Spangled Banner, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem of the same name, is one of the most treasured artifacts of our history and is in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

The Congressional Act of April 4, 1818, signed by President Monroe, required the number of stars to equal the number of states in the union and fixed the number of stripes at 13. Following the admission of each new state, a star for each state was added each year on July 4. Our 50-star flag as we know it today, was ordered by President Eisenhower and adopted in July of 1960.

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