As Independence Day approaches, you are likely to see more and more American flags. While most people realize that the flag is a symbol of our nation, there are many other things about the flag that people may not know. To learn more about the American flag, consider this brief history of the American flag. Even before the United States was formed, the colonists used flags to represent this potential nation. A “Liberty Tree” flag, with a green pine tree and the saying, “An Appeal to Heaven,” was flown as early as 1775. Later, a flag known as the Grand Union flag was used. This flag was flown above George Washington’s base on Prospect Hill on January 1, 1776. The Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act on June 14, 1777. Along with that came the basic design of the American flag, which called for “thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Each of the three colors of the flag was chosen for a reason. Blue represents justice, vigilance, and perseverance. Red is for valor. White is for purity. …show more content…
Yet, the flag did not simply jump from thirteen stars and stripes to the flag we know today. Several changes were made to the flag between 1777 and now. One notable change was on January 13, 1794, when the flag was changed to fifteen stripes and fifteen stars to represent Vermont and Kentucky, who had been acquired since the original flag was
In Johnny Cash’s song, The Ragged Old Flag it says, “In her own good land here she’s been abused. She’s been burned, dishonored, denied and refused.” To me this means that people have stopped honoring all that it stands for. The flag stands for all of the battles and sacrifices the United States has had to make to get it to where it is today. People
For more than 200 years, the American flag has been a big part of the United States. Betsy Ross had been the first, reportedly, to make the American flag. It originally had thirteen stars, representing the first thirteen colonies, but later it ended up with fifty to represent the states in the Union. It is a symbol of our
The colors red, white and blue did not have any real significance in America until their rights for freedom and territory were challenged. "The American flag played no significant role in American life until the Civil War, during the fight at Fort Sumter" (Goldstein 1). Then, to all northerners it became a symbol of pride and an object of "public adoration" (1). The flag was held in such high esteem that the Flag Protection Movement was created in 1890 so that there would be no commercialism of the object(2). The FPM felt as though politicians and merchants were "prostituting" the flag so, in 1900 they joined with the American Flag Association and made a set...
To the Majority Opinion it’s a flag of our nation but to the Dissenting opinion its means more than just a flag. It means “White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & velour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice." In this case the Dissenting opinion gave reasons why flag burning should be banned. Eventually Congress passed the Flag Protection Act of 1989. The Act banned flag burning regardless of whether the person burning the flag intended to cause offense to
In order to help answer this question let’s being by defining what a flag is. The proponents (veterans, Citizens Flag Alliance, and other organizations of this type) of the amendment for protection of the flag define the flag as a “cultural artifact with meaning significance, and usage determined by the particular system employing it (Guenter 18).” Some flag historians have recognized the impact of culture on the shifting significance and usage of the national banner, although no one has ventured a full-scale probe of the subject (Guenter 16). The flag in the beginning was a symbol of freedom and enlightenment. The flag design has even changed. The very first flag contained thirteen stars that were in a circle with the red and white stripes. As the nation grew so did the flag, until the flag became what we know of it today.
When you see the Texas flag waving over your head what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Maybe, it reminds you of the day we won our independence or it could simply remind you of the Lone Star Flag. Our flag could remind us of a lot of symbolic views no matter how you view them. No matter what circumstances they may be our Texas flag is very significant to the state of Texas! In the article “Flag Poll” by Steve Chapman he portrays this view very strongly and even exaggerates of how Texans rave of how remarkable the Texas flag truly is.
That was a childhood story that many people heard and believed. She was a seamstress in Philadelphia. In 1776, apparently George Washington had personally asked Miss Ross to design and make the first flag. That was a myth. Her grandson had told stories of how Betsy had created the flag. Although, Miss Ross had made a flag for the government it wasn’t the very first flag. People were mistaken when they believed the first flag because the flag she did design was a famous flag. Her flag had thirteen stripes and thirteen stars in a circular formation. This is a famous flag that first appeared in the 1970s and is very well-known. Some people ask who built and designed the very first flag of the United States. Well, Francis Hopkinson had built and designed the first flag. He was a congressman. He also helped build the Great Seal. Francis Hopkinson had an idea about designing a flag and he wanted to be to build something about building a symbol for the United States. Something to symbolize that the U. S was a free country and a country of justice and liberty. The first flag was designed on June 14, 1776. There was thirteen stripes that were alternating of red and white. There was also thirteen white stars on a navy blue background. Francis Hopkinson was the designer of the first flag of the United States. Betsy Ross was an old myth told by her
The American Flag may not look like much but it stands for the loyalty that every citizen in America has for their country. It resembles many people's love for the place they live. It also stands for the knowing that many people would die fighting for our nation. People have been loyal since America was founded and there will always be somebody that will pass on that loyalty to the flag. Another thing the flag stands for is the growing our country has done over many years.
The Confederate flag was used symbolically during the Civil War. For Southerner’s, the flag represented a source of southern pride as well as a way of remembering the fallen Confederates. As the Civil War proceeded, the meaning of the flag began to change. Currently, the flag is being used as a symbol of racism. Due to this change in meaning, controversy over the flag has been exponentially growing.
What is the value of nationality? And how important is a flag to that nationality? For some people the flag is extremely valuable to nationality and unity, for that reason many people have opposed flag desecration in recent history. Flag desecration is when a person or group of persons mistreat or burn a flag for various reasons. The most frequent being in protest of the government and their political or foreign decisions.
The novel Flags of Our Fathers is about the six marine flag raisers and so called “heroes” of Iwo Jima. The six marines planted a flag on Mount Suribachi, which is on the island of Iwo Jima. It is also about the lives of the six marines before and after their mission on Iwo Jima. The names of the six marines were Mike Strank, Harlon Block, Ira Hayes, Jack Bradley, Franklin Sousley, and Rene Gagnon. Each of their life stories are told in this fascinating book. The author of this book James Bradley is the son of Jack “Doc” Bradley who was one of the flag raisers. He wrote this book to inform the audience about all the research and interviews he did to inform himself all about the flag raisers and the battle of Iwo Jima.
In 1791, Vermont, and in 1792, Kentucky were admitted to the Union and the number of stars and stripes was raised to fifteen in correspondence. As other states came into the Union it became evident there would be too many stripes. So in 1818 Congress enacted that the number of stripes be reduced and restricted henceforth to thirteen representing the thirteen original states; while a star should be added for each succeeding state. That law is the law of today.
In 1776 the United States of America became a great nation, free from Britain's rule. We became a nation full of freedom and opportunity, symbolized by many great icons. The Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, this great nations capitol, the District of Columbia, and the greatest of these icons, our American Flag. Our flag symbolizes to the world our strength, determination, and the rights and freedoms of our people. The very sight of it has given men the courage and willingness to sacrifice their own lives in order to protect what it symbolizes. But where did it come from? For more than a century it has been disputed by historians that the story of Betsy Ross, a widow from Philadelphia could be given the honor of handcrafting the first American Flag. So is it fact or a delightful fable that has weaved its way in as part of our American history?
First I would like to include some information about our american flag and how it came about. In the British colonies of North America before the Revolution, each of the 13 colonies had its flag. On Jan. 2, 1776, the first flag of the United States was raised at Cambridge, Mass., by George Washington. Known as the Grand Union flag, it consisted of 13 stripes, alternate red and white, with a blue canton bearing the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Congress, on June 14, 1777, enacted a resolution “that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” On Jan. 13, 1794, Vermont and Kentucky having been admitted to the Union, Congress added a stripe and a star for each state. Congress in 1818 enacted that the 13 stripes, denoting the 13 original colonies, be restored and a star added to the blue canton for each state after its admission to the Union. All of the states and territories of the United States also have their own flags. Betsy Ross created the first flag. Betsy would often tell her children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends of the fateful day when three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her. Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776. George Washington was then the head of the Continen...
Some people see the American flag as patriotism. These people are the ones who have their flags out all year around. The ones who always have them flying high. Some of these people even have American flags hanging off their cars. To some people the American flag is their son or daughter who they have lost either in the line of duty in the military, on the police force, or even the fire department. Although its sad but true some Americans have no patriotism and could care less what happens around them. These people will only care if it affects them in a harmful way.