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Flag of the United States

January 01, 1970

"American Flag" redirects here. For other uses, see American Flag (disambiguation).
For the flags of the U.S. states, and the flags of U.S. territories, see Flags of the U.S. states and territories.
For historical and other flags, see List of flags of the United States.

The national flag of the United States (Spanish: Bandera Nacional de Estados Unidos)[a], often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton, referred to as the union and bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain, which they went on to secure by their victory in the American Revolutionary War.[1]

United States of America
Other namesThe American flag,
UseNational flag and ensign
Proportion10:19
Adopted
  • December 3, 1775; 248 years ago (1775-12-03)
    (Grand Union Flag)
  • June 14, 1777; 246 years ago (1777-06-14)
    (13-star version)
  • July 4, 1960; 63 years ago (1960-07-04)
    (current 50-star version)
DesignThirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white; in the canton, 50 white stars of alternating numbers of six and five per horizontal row on a blue field
Pantone

Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes,[2] Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner.

Credit for the term "Stars and Stripes" has been given to the Marquis de Lafayette, a French soldier who volunteered his aid to the Continental Army, led by George Washington, in the Revolutionary War against Britain.[3]

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the flag of the United States.
See also: List of flags of the United States

The current design of the U.S. flag is its 27th; the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959. The 50-star flag was ordered by then president Eisenhower on August 21, 1959, and was adopted in July 1960. It is the longest-used version of the U.S. flag and has been in use for over 63 years.[4]

First flag

Main article: Grand Union Flag
 
The flag of the East India Company, introduced in 1707 and flown at sea in the Indian Ocean
 
The Grand Union Flag, also known as the Continental Colors, used between 1775 and 1777

The first flag resembling the modern stars and stripes was an unofficial flag sometimes called the Grand Union Flag, or "the Continental Colors". It consisted of 13 red-and-white stripes, with the Union Jack in the upper left-hand-corner. It first appeared on December 3, 1775, when Continental Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones flew it aboard Captain Esek Hopkin's flagship Alfred in the Delaware River.[5] It remained the national flag until June 14, 1777.[6] At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, there were no flags with any stars on them; the Second Continental Congress did not adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year. The "Grand Union Flag" has historically been referred to as the first national flag of the United States.[7]

The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence – likely by the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensign by adding white stripes.[7][8] The name "Grand Union" was first applied to the Continental Colors by George Henry Preble in his 1872 book known as History of the American Flag.[8]

The flag very closely resembles the flag of the British East India Company in that era. Sir Charles Fawcett argued in 1937 that the company flag inspired the design of the U.S. flag.[9] Both flags could easily have been constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign, one of the three maritime flags used throughout the British Empire at the time. However, the East India Company flag could have from nine to 13 stripes and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean.[10] Benjamin Franklin once gave a speech endorsing the adoption of the company's flag by the United States as their national flag. He said to George Washington, "While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company."[11] This was a way of symbolizing American loyalty to the Crown as well as the United States' aspirations to be self-governing, as was the East India Company. Some colonists also felt that the company could be a powerful ally in the American Revolutionary War, as they shared similar aims and grievances against the British government's tax policies. Colonists, therefore, flew the company's flag to endorse the company.[12]

The theory that the Grand Union Flag was a direct descendant of the flag of the East India Company has been criticized as lacking written evidence;[13] on the other hand, the resemblance is obvious, and some of the Founding Fathers of the United States were aware of the East India Company's activities and of their free administration of India under Company rule.[13]

Flag Resolution of 1777

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: "Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."[14] Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year. While scholars still argue about this, tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment.[15]

Both the stripes (barry) and the stars (mullets) have precedents in classical heraldry. Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry. However, an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U.S. flag is the Valais 1618 coat of arms, where seven mullets stood for seven districts.

Another widely repeated theory is that the design was inspired by the coat of arms of George Washington's family, which includes three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field.[16] Despite the similar visual elements, there is "little evidence"[17] or "no evidence whatsoever"[18] to support the claimed connection with the flag design. The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington, published by the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, calls it an "enduring myth" backed by "no discernible evidence."[19] The story seems to have originated with the 1876 play Washington: A Drama in Five Acts, by the English poet Martin Farquhar Tupper, and was further popularized through repetition in the children's magazine St. Nicholas.[17][18]

The first official U.S. flag flown during battle was on August 3, 1777, at Fort Schuyler (Fort Stanwix) during the Siege of Fort Stanwix. Massachusetts reinforcements brought news of the adoption by Congress of the official flag to Fort Schuyler. Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes; scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers' wives, while material for the blue union was secured from Capt. Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth coat. A voucher is extant that Congress paid Capt. Swartwout of Dutchess County for his coat for the flag.[20]

The 1777 resolution was probably meant to define a naval ensign. In the late 18th century, the notion of a national flag did not yet exist or was only nascent. The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. On May 10, 1779, Secretary of the Board of War Richard Peters expressed concern that "it is not yet settled what is the Standard of the United States."[21] However, the term "Standard" referred to a national standard for the Army of the United States. Each regiment was to carry the national standard in addition to its regimental standard. The national standard was not a reference to the national or naval flag.[22]

The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white ones or vice versa.[23] The appearance was up to the maker of the flag. Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state's star with its initial.[24] One arrangement features 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle (as opposed to up), the Betsy Ross flag. Experts have dated the earliest known example of this flag to be 1792 in a painting by John Trumbull.[25]

Despite the 1777 resolution, the early years of American independence featured many different flags. Most were individually crafted rather than mass-produced. While there are many examples of 13-star arrangements, some of those flags included blue stripes[26] as well as red and white. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, in an October 3, 1778, letter to Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, described the American flag as consisting of "13 stripes, alternately red, white, and blue, a small square in the upper angle, next to the flagstaff, is a blue field, with 13 white stars, denoting a new Constellation."[27] John Paul Jones used a variety of 13-star flags on his U.S. Navy ships including the well-documented 1779 flags of the Serapis and the Alliance. The Serapis flag had three rows of eight-pointed stars with red, white, and blue stripes. However, the flag for the Alliance had five rows of eight-pointed stars with 13 red and white stripes, and the white stripes were on the outer edges.[28] Both flags were documented by the Dutch government in October 1779, making them two of the earliest known flags of 13 stars.[29]

Designer of the first stars and stripes

 
Francis Hopkinson's flag for the U.S., an interpretation, with 13 six-pointed stars arranged in five rows[30]
 
Hopkinson Flag for the U.S. Navy, an interpretation[31]

Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a naval flag designer and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed a flag in 1777[32] while he was the chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June 1777. The Navy Board was under the Continental Marine Committee.[33] Not only did Hopkinson claim that he designed the U.S. flag, but he also claimed that he designed a flag for the U.S. Navy. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own life when he sent a letter and several bills to Congress for his work. These claims are documented in the Journals of the Continental Congress and George Hasting's biography of Hopkinson. Hopkinson initially wrote a letter to Congress, via the Continental Board of Admiralty, on May 25, 1780.[34] In this letter, he asked for a "Quarter Cask of the Public Wine" as payment for designing the U.S. flag, the seal for the Admiralty Board, the seal for the Treasury Board, Continental currency, the Great Seal of the United States, and other devices. However, in three subsequent bills to Congress, Hopkinson asked to be paid in cash, but he did not list his U.S. flag design. Instead, he asked to be paid for designing the "great Naval Flag of the United States" in the first bill; the "Naval Flag of the United States" in the second bill; and "the Naval Flag of the States" in the third, along with the other items. The flag references were generic terms for the naval ensign that Hopkinson had designed: a flag of seven red stripes and six white ones. The predominance of red stripes made the naval flag more visible against the sky on a ship at sea. By contrast, Hopkinson's flag for the United States had seven white stripes and six red ones – in reality, six red stripes laid on a white background.[35] Hopkinson's sketches have not been found, but we can make these conclusions because Hopkinson incorporated different stripe arrangements in the Admiralty (naval) Seal that he designed in the Spring of 1780 and the Great Seal of the United States that he proposed at the same time. His Admiralty Seal had seven red stripes;[36] whereas his second U.S. Seal proposal had seven white ones.[37] Remnants of Hopkinson's U.S. flag of seven white stripes can be found in the Great Seal of the United States and the President's seal.[35] The stripe arrangement would have been consistent with other flags of the period that had seven stripes below the canton, or blue area with stars. For example, two of the earliest known examples of Stars and Stripes flags were painted by a Dutch artist who witnessed the arrival of Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones' squadron in Texel, The Netherlands, in 1779. The two flags have seven stripes below the canton.[38]

When Hopkinson was chairman of the Navy Board, his position was like that of today's Secretary of the Navy.[39] The payment was not made, most likely, because other people had contributed to designing the Great Seal of the United States,[40] and because it was determined he already received a salary as a member of Congress.[41][42] This contradicts the legend of the Betsy Ross flag, which suggests that she sewed the first Stars and Stripes flag at the request of the government in the Spring of 1776.[43][44]

On 10 May 1779, a letter from the War Board to George Washington stated that there was still no design established for a national standard, on which to base regimental standards, but also referenced flag requirements given to the board by General von Steuben.[45] On 3 September, Richard Peters submitted to Washington "Drafts of a Standard" and asked for his "Ideas of the Plan of the Standard," adding that the War Board preferred a design they viewed as "a variant for the Marine Flag." Washington agreed that he preferred "the standard, with the Union and Emblems in the center."[45] The drafts are lost to history but are likely to be similar to the first Jack of the United States.[45]

 
13-star Betsy Ross variant

The origin of the stars and stripes design has been muddled by a story disseminated by the descendants of Betsy Ross. The apocryphal story credits Betsy Ross for sewing one of the first flags from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington. No such evidence exists either in George Washington's diaries or the Continental Congress's records. Indeed, nearly a century passed before Ross's grandson, William Canby, first publicly suggested the story in 1870.[46] By her family's own admission, Ross ran an upholstery business, and she had never made a flag as of the supposed visit in June 1776.[47] Furthermore, her grandson admitted that his own search through the Journals of Congress and other official records failed to find corroborating evidence for his grandmother's story.[48]

George Henry Preble states in his 1882 text that no combined stars and stripes flag was in common use prior to June 1777,[49] and that no one knows who designed the 1777 flag.[50] Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that there was no "first flag" worth arguing over.[51] Researchers accept that the United States flag evolved, and did not have one design. Marla Miller writes, "The flag, like the Revolution it represents, was the work of many hands."[52]

The family of Rebecca Young claimed that she sewed the first flag.[53] Young's daughter was Mary Pickersgill, who made the Star-Spangled Banner Flag.[54][55] She was assisted by Grace Wisher, a 13-year-old African American girl.[56]

Later flag acts

See also: Flag Acts
 
15-star, 15-stripe Star-Spangled Banner Flag
 
The 48-star flag was in use from 1912 to 1959, the second longest-used U.S. flag. The current U.S. flag is the longest-used flag, having surpassed the 1912 version in 2007.
 
Oil painting depicting the 39 historical U.S. flags.

In 1795, the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 (to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union). For a time the flag was not changed when subsequent states were admitted, probably because it was thought that this would cause too much clutter. It was the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", later known as "The Star-Spangled Banner", which is now the American national anthem. The flag is currently on display in the exhibition "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem" at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History in a two-story display chamber that protects the flag while it is on view.[57]

On April 4, 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid[58] in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies. The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 (Independence Day) following the admission of one or more new states.[59]

In 1912, the 48-star flag was adopted. This was the first time that a flag act specified an official arrangement of the stars in the canton, namely six rows of eight stars each, where each star would point upward.[59] The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, however, has already been using standardized designs. Throughout the 19th century, different star patterns, both rectangular and circular, had been abundant in civilian use.[citation needed]

In 1960, the current 50-star flag was adopted, incorporating the most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 had prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.[59]

49- and 50-star unions

 
A U.S. flag with gold fringe and a gold eagle on top of the flag pole

When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the 1950s, more than 1,500 designs were submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although some were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag.[60] At the time, credit was given by the executive department to the United States Army Institute of Heraldry for the design.[citation needed] The 49- and 50-star flags were each flown for the first time at Fort McHenry on Independence Day, in 1959 and 1960 respectively.[61]

On July 4, 2007, the 50-star flag became the version of the flag in the longest use, surpassing the 48-star flag that was used from 1912 to 1959.[62]

"Flower Flag" arrives in Asia

The U.S. flag was brought to the city of Canton (Guǎngzhōu) in China in 1784 by the merchant ship Empress of China, which carried a cargo of ginseng.[63] There it gained the designation "Flower Flag" (Chinese: 花旗; pinyin: huāqí; Cantonese Yale: fākeì).[64] According to a pseudonymous account first published in the Boston Courier and later retold by author and U.S. naval officer George H. Preble:

When the thirteen stripes and stars first appeared at Canton, much curiosity was excited among the people. News was circulated that a strange ship had arrived from the further end of the world, bearing a flag "as beautiful as a flower". Every body went to see the kwa kee chuen [花旗船; Fākeìsyùhn], or "flower flagship". This name at once established itself in the language, and America is now called the kwa kee kwoh [花旗國; Fākeìgwok], the "flower flag country"—and an American, kwa kee kwoh yin [花旗國人; Fākeìgwokyàhn]—"flower flag countryman"—a more complimentary designation than that of "red headed barbarian"—the name first bestowed upon the Dutch.[65][66]

In the above quote, the Chinese words are written phonetically based on spoken Cantonese. The names given were common usage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[67]

Chinese now refer to the United States as Měiguó from Mandarin (simplified Chinese: 美国; traditional Chinese: 美國). Měi is short for Měilìjiān (simplified Chinese: 美利坚; traditional Chinese: 美利堅, phono-semantic matching of "American") and "guó" means "country", so this name is unrelated to the flag. However, the "flower flag" terminology persists in some places today: for example, American ginseng is called flower flag ginseng (simplified Chinese: 花旗参; traditional Chinese: 花旗參) in Chinese, and Citibank, which opened a branch in China in 1902, is known as Flower Flag Bank (花旗银行).[67]

Similarly, Vietnamese also uses the borrowed term from Chinese with Sino-Vietnamese reading for the United States, as Hoa Kỳ from 花旗 ("Flower Flag"). Even though the United States is also called nước Mỹ (or simpler Mỹ) colloquially in Vietnamese before the name Měiguó was popular amongst Chinese, Hoa Kỳ is always recognized as the formal name for the United States with the Vietnamese state officially designates it as Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ (chữ Hán: 合眾國花旗, lit. 'United states of the Flower Flag').[68] By that, in Vietnam, the U.S. is also nicknamed xứ Cờ Hoa ("land of Flower Flag") based on the Hoa Kỳ designation.[69]

Additionally, the seal of Shanghai Municipal Council in Shanghai International Settlement from 1869 included the U.S. flag as part of the top left-hand shield near the flag of the U.K., as the U.S. participated in the creation of this enclave in the Chinese city of Shanghai. It is also included in the badge of the Gulangyu Municipal Police in the International Settlement of Gulangyu, Amoy.[70]

President Richard Nixon presented a U.S. flag and Moon rocks to Mao Zedong during his visit to China in 1972. They are now on display at the National Museum of China.[citation needed]

The U.S. flag took its first trip around the world in 1787–1790 on board the Columbia.[64] William Driver, who coined the phrase "Old Glory", took the U.S. flag around the world in 1831–32.[64] The flag attracted the notice of the Japanese when an oversized version was carried to Yokohama by the steamer Great Republic as part of a round-the-world journey in 1871.[71]

Civil War and the flag

 
Our Banner in the Sky (1861) by Frederic Edwin Church

Prior to the Civil War, the American flag was rarely seen outside of military forts, government buildings and ships. This changed following the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861. The flag flying over the fort was allowed to leave with the Union troops as they surrendered. It was taken across Northern cities, which spurred a wave of "Flagmania". The Stars and Stripes, which had had no real place in the public conscious, suddenly became a part of the national identity. The flag became a symbol of the Union, and the sale of flags exploded at this time. Historian Adam Goodheart wrote:

For the first time American flags were mass-produced rather than individually stitched and even so, manufacturers could not keep up with demand. As the long winter of 1861 turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing: strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for.[72]

In the Civil War, the flag was allowed to be carried into battle, reversing the 1847 regulation which prohibited this. (During the American War of Independence and War of 1812 the army was not officially sanctioned to carry the United States flag into battle. It was not until 1834 that the artillery was allowed to carry the American flag; the army would be granted to do the same in 1841. However, in 1847, in the middle of the war with Mexico, the flag was limited to camp use and not allowed to be brought into battle.)[73] Some wanted to remove the stars of the states which had seceded but Abraham Lincoln was opposed, believing it would give legitimacy to the Confederate states.[74]

Historical progression of designs

Main article: History of the flags of the United States
See also: List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union

In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for the flags are merely the usual patterns, often associated with the United States Navy. Canton designs, prior to the proclamation of the 48-star flag, had no official arrangement of the stars. Furthermore, the exact colors of the flag were not standardized until 1934.[75][76]

Number of
stars 		Number of
stripes 		Design(s) Arrangement of stars States represented
by new stars 		Dates in use Duration
0 13   — King's Colours before stars, red and white stripes represent Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia December 3, 1775[77] – June 14, 1777 1+1⁄2 years
13 13  
 
 
 
 
  		Various:
3–2–3–2–3
or
Square
or
Circle
or
4–5–4 		Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia June 14, 1777 – May 1, 1795 18 years
15 15  
 		 5 rows of 3 Vermont, Kentucky May 1, 1795 – July 3, 1818 23 years
20 13  
 		 4 rows of 5
or
Pentagram		 Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi July 4, 1818 – July 3, 1819 1 year
21 13   5–4–6–6 Illinois July 4, 1819 – July 3, 1820 1 year
23 13   6–5–6–6 Alabama, Maine July 4, 1820 – July 3, 1822 2 years
24 13   4 rows of 6 Missouri July 4, 1822 – July 3, 1836
1831 term "Old Glory" coined 		14 years
25 13  

 

 

6–5–7–7
or
5 rows of 5		 Arkansas July 4, 1836 – July 3, 1837 1 year
26 13  
 		 7–6–6–7
or
Inverted pentagram with large star in center		 Michigan July 4, 1837 – July 3, 1845 8 years
27 13   7–6–7–7 Florida July 4, 1845 – July 3, 1846 1 year
28 13   4 rows of 7 Texas July 4, 1846 – July 3, 1847 1 year
29 13  
 		 8–7–6–8
or
Diamond pattern		 Iowa July 4, 1847 – July 3, 1848 1 year
30 13   5 rows of 6 Wisconsin July 4, 1848 – July 3, 1851 3 years
31 13   7–5–6–6–7 California July 4, 1851 – July 3, 1858 7 years
32 13   7–6–6–6–7 Minnesota July 4, 1858 – July 3, 1859 1 year
33 13  
 
 
 		 7–7–5–7–7
or
Various patterns		 Oregon July 4, 1859 – July 3, 1861 2 years
34 13  
 		 7–7–6–7–7
or
Circle pattern		 Kansas July 4, 1861 – July 3, 1863 2 years
35 13  
 		 5 rows of 7
or
Circle pattern		 West Virginia July 4, 1863 – July 3, 1865 2 years
36 13  
 		 8–6–8–6–8
or
Wagon wheel pattern		 Nevada July 4, 1865 – July 3, 1867 2 years
37 13  
 
 		 7–8–7–8–7
or
8–7–7–7–8
or
Two concentric rings		 Nebraska July 4, 1867 – July 3, 1877 10 years
38 13  
 		 7–8–8–8–7
or
Circle pattern		 Colorado July 4, 1877 – July 3, 1890 13 years
43 13   8–7–7–7–7–7 North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho July 4, 1890 – July 3, 1891 1 year
44 13   8–7–7–7–7–8 Wyoming July 4, 1891 – July 3, 1896 5 years
45 13   8–7–8–7–8–7 Utah July 4, 1896 – July 3, 1908 12 years
46 13   8–7–8–8–7–8 Oklahoma July 4, 1908 – July 3, 1912 4 years
48 13   6 rows of 8 New Mexico,[78] Arizona July 4, 1912 – July 3, 1959 47 years
49 13   7 rows of 7 Alaska July 4, 1959 – July 3, 1960 1 year
50 13  
 
 		 6–5–6–5–6–5–6–5–6
(5 rows of 6 alternating with 4 rows of 5) 		Hawaii July 4, 1960 – present 63 years

Symbolism

The flag of the United States is the nation's most widely recognized symbol.[79] Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows, and on clothing ornamentation such as badges and lapel pins. Owing to the United States's emergence as a superpower in the 20th century, the flag is among the most widely recognized symbols in the world, and is used to represent the United States.[80]

The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism, and is flown on many occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Reverence for the flag has at times reached religion-like fervor: in 1919 William Norman Guthrie's book The Religion of Old Glory discussed "the cult of the flag"[81] and formally proposed vexillolatry.[82]

Despite a number of attempts to ban the practice, desecration of the flag remains protected as free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Scholars have noted the irony that "[t]he flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free, and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest".[83] Comparing practice worldwide, Testi noted in 2010 that the United States was not unique in adoring its banner, for the flags of Scandinavian countries are also "beloved, domesticated, commercialized and sacralized objects".[84]

Color symbolism

When the flag was officially adopted in 1777, the colors of red, white and blue were not given an official meaning. However, when Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, presented a proposed U.S. seal in 1782, he explained its center section in this way:

The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.[85]

These meanings have broadly been accepted as official, with some variation,[85] but there are other extant interpretations as well:

  • In 1986, president Ronald Reagan gave his own interpretation, saying,

    The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish. Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice."[85]

  • Additionally, an interpretation attributed to George Washington claims that

    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 our liberty.[86]

Design

Specifications

 

The basic design of the current flag is specified by 4 U.S.C. § 1 (1947): "The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field." 4 U.S.C. § 2 outlines the addition of new stars to represent new states, with no distinction made for the shape, size, or arrangement of the stars. Executive Order 10834 (1959) specifies a 50-star design for use after Hawaii was added as a state, and Federal Specification DDD-F-416F (2005) provides additional details about the production of physical flags for use by federal agencies.[87]

  • Hoist (height) of the flag: A = 1.0
  • Fly (width) of the flag: B = 1.9[88]
  • Hoist (height) of the canton ("union"): C = 0.5385 (A × 7/13, spanning seven stripes)
  • Fly (width) of the canton: D = 0.76 (B × 2/5, two-fifths of the flag width)
  • E = F = 0.0538 (C/10, one-tenth of the height of the canton)
  • G = H = 0.0633 (D/12, one twelfth of the width of the canton)
  • Diameter of star: K = 0.0616 (approximately L × 4/5, four-fifths of the stripe width)
  • Width of stripe: L = 0.0769 (A/13, one thirteenth of the flag height)

Strictly speaking, the executive order establishing these specifications governs only flags made for or by the federal government.[89] In practice, most U.S. national flags available for sale to the public follow the federal star arrangement, but have a different width-to-height ratio; common sizes are 2 × 3 ft. or 4 × 6 ft. (flag ratio 1.5), 2.5 × 4 ft. or 5 × 8 ft. (1.6), or 3 × 5 ft. or 6 × 10 ft. (1.667). Even flags flown over the U.S. Capitol for sale to the public through Representatives or Senators are provided in these sizes.[90] Flags that are made to the prescribed 1.9 ratio are often referred to as "G-spec" (for "government specification") flags.

Colors

Federal Specification DDD-F-416F specifies the exact red, white, and blue colors to be used for physical flags procured by federal agencies with reference to the Standard Color Reference of America, 10th edition, a set of dyed silk fabric samples produced by The Color Association of the United States. The colors are "White", No. 70001; "Old Glory Red", No. 70180; and "Old Glory Blue", No. 70075.

CIE coordinates for the colors of the 9th edition of the Standard Color Reference were carefully measured and cross-checked by color scientists from the National Bureau of Standards in 1946, with the resulting coordinates adopted as a formal specification.[91] These colors form the standard for cloth, and there is no perfect way to convert them to RGB for display on screen or CMYK for printing. The "relative" coordinates in the following table were found by scaling the luminous reflectance relative to the flag's white.

Federal Specification DDD-F-416F cloth color specifications[92]
Name Absolute Relative
CIELAB D65 Munsell sRGB GRACoL 2006
L* a* b* H V/C R G B 8-bit hex C M Y K
White 88.7 −0.2 5.4 2.5Y 8.8/0.7 1.000 1.000 1.000 #FFFFFF .000 .000 .000 .000
Old Glory Red 33.9 51.2 24.7 5.5R 3.3/11.1 .698 .132 .203 #B22234 .196 1.000 .757 .118
Old Glory Blue 23.2 13.1 −26.4 8.2PB 2.3/6.1 .234 .233 .430 #3C3B6E .886 .851 .243 .122

As with the design, the official colors are only officially required for flags produced for the U.S. federal government, and other colors are often used for mass-market flags, printed reproductions, and other products intended to evoke flag colors. The practice of using more saturated colors than the official cloth is not new. As Taylor, Knoche, and Granville wrote in 1950: "The color of the official wool bunting [of the blue field] is a very dark blue, but printed reproductions of the flag, as well as merchandise supposed to match the flag, present the color as a deep blue much brighter than the official wool."[93]

Sometimes, Pantone Matching System (PMS) alternatives to the dyed fabric colors are recommended by US government agencies for use in websites or printed documents. One set was given on the website of the U.S. embassy in London as early as 1996; the website of the U.S. embassy in Stockholm claimed in 2001 that those had been suggested by Pantone, and that the U.S. Government Printing Office preferred a different set. A third red was suggested by a California Military Department document in 2002.[94] In 2001, the Texas legislature specified that the colors of the Texas flag should be "(1) the same colors used in the United States flag; and (2) defined as numbers 193 (red) and 281 (dark blue) of the Pantone Matching System."[95] The current internal style guide of the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs specifies PMS 282C blue and PMS 193C red, and gives RGB and CMYK conversions generated by Adobe InDesign.[96]

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs style guidelines[96]
Pantone Identifier RGB CMYK
R G B 8-bit hex C M Y K
White 1.00 1.00 1.00 #FFFFFF 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
PMS 193C 0.72 0.10 0.26 #B31942 0.00 1.00 0.66 0.13
PMS 282C 0.04 0.19 0.38 #0A3161 1.00 0.68 0.00 0.54

Decoration

Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag as long as it does not deface the flag proper. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often use fringe to enhance the flag's appearance. Traditionally, the Army and Air Force use a fringed flag for parades, color guard and indoor display, while the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard use a fringeless flag for all occasions.[citation needed]

The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835, and the Army used it officially in 1895. No specific law governs the legality of fringe. Still, a 1925 opinion of the attorney general addresses the use of fringe (and the number of stars) "... is at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy ..." as quoted from a footnote in previous volumes of Title 4 of the United States Code law books. This opinion is a source for claims that a flag with fringe is a military ensign rather than a civilian. However, according to the Army Institute of Heraldry, which has official custody of the flag designs and makes any change ordered, there are no implications of symbolism in using fringe.[97]

Individuals associated with the sovereign citizen movement and tax protester conspiracy arguments have claimed, based on the military usage, that the presence of a fringed flag in a civilian courtroom changes the nature or jurisdiction of the court.[98][99] Federal and state courts have rejected this contention.[99][100][101]

Display and use

The flag is customarily flown year-round at most public buildings, and it is not unusual to find private houses flying full-size (3 by 5 feet (0.91 by 1.52 m)) flags. Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day, Flag Day, and on Independence Day. On Memorial Day, it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war veterans. Also, on Memorial Day, it is common to fly the flag at half staff until noon to remember those who lost their lives fighting in U.S. wars.

Flag etiquette

Main article: United States Flag Code
 
The proper stationary vertical display. The union (blue box of stars) should always be in the upper-left corner.
 
A tattered flag at Spokane Valley Police Headquarters, Spokane, Washington
 
A proper and respectful manner of disposing of a damaged flag is a ceremonial burning (as seen here at Misawa Air Base)

The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the flag's use, display, and disposal. For example, the flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it is the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation. This tradition may come from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where countries were asked to dip their flag to King Edward VII: the American flag bearer did not. Team captain Martin Sheridan is famously quoted as saying, "this flag dips to no earthly king", though the true provenance of this quotation is unclear.[102][103]

The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and should be illuminated if flown at night. The flag should be repaired or replaced if the edges become tattered through wear. When a flag is so tattered that it can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning.[104] The American Legion and other organizations regularly conduct flag retirement ceremonies, often on Flag Day, June 14. (The Boy Scouts of America recommends that modern nylon or polyester flags be recycled instead of burned due to hazardous gases produced when such materials are burned.)[105]

The Flag Code prohibits using the flag "for any advertising purpose" and also states that the flag "should not be embroidered, printed, or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use".[106] Both of these codes are generally ignored, almost always without comment.

Section 8, entitled "Respect For Flag", states in part: "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery", and "No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform". Section 3 of the Flag Code[107] defines "the flag" as anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag of the United States of America". An additional provision that is frequently violated at sporting events is part (c) "The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free."[108]

Although the Flag Code is U.S. federal law, there is no penalty for a private citizen or group failing to comply with the Flag Code, and it is not widely enforced—punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.[109] Passage of the proposed Flag Desecration Amendment would overrule the legal precedent that has been established.

Display on vehicles

 
Truck with backward flag sticker

When the flag is affixed to the right side of a vehicle of any kind (e.g., cars, boats, planes, any physical object that moves), it should be oriented so that the canton is towards the front of the vehicle, as if the flag were streaming backward from its hoist as the vehicle moves forward. Therefore, U.S. flag decals on the right sides of vehicles may appear to be reversed, with the union to the observer's right instead of left as more commonly seen.[citation needed]

The flag has been displayed on every U.S. spacecraft designed for crewed flight starting from John Glenn's Friendship 7 flight in 1962, including Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Command/Service Module, Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.[110] The flag also appeared on the S-IC first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle used for Apollo. Nevertheless, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were launched and landed vertically instead of horizontally as the Space Shuttle did on its landing approach, so the streaming convention was not followed. These flags were oriented with the stripes running horizontally, perpendicular to the direction of flight.

Display on uniforms

On some U.S. military uniforms, flag patches are worn on the right shoulder, following the vehicle convention with the union toward the front. This rule dates back to the Army's early history when mounted cavalry and infantry units would designate a standard-bearer who carried the Colors into battle. As he charged, his forward motion caused the flag to stream back. Since the Stars and Stripes are mounted with the canton closest to the pole, that section stayed to the right, while the stripes flew to the left.[111] Several U.S. military uniforms, such as flight suits worn by members of the United States Air Force and Navy, have the flag patch on the left shoulder.[112][113]

Other organizations that wear flag patches on their uniforms can have the flag facing in either direction. The congressional charter of the Boy Scouts of America stipulates that Boy Scout uniforms should not imitate U.S. military uniforms; consequently, the flags are displayed on the right shoulder with the stripes facing front, the reverse of the military style.[114] Law enforcement officers often wear a small flag patch, either on a shoulder or above a shirt pocket.

Every U.S. astronaut since the crew of Gemini 4 has worn the flag on the left shoulder of his or her space suit, except for the crew of Apollo 1, whose flags were worn on the right shoulder. In this case, the canton was on the left.

  •  
    A subdued-color flag patch, similar to the style worn on the United States Army's ACU uniform. The patch is customarily worn reversed on the right upper sleeve.
  •  
    Flag of the United States on American astronaut Neil Armstrong's space suit
  •  
    Patch with the union to the front, as seen on a Navy uniform.

Postage stamps

 
Flags depicted on U.S. postage stamp issues
 
Image of the Star-spangled-banner flag in the National Museum of American History, being observed by George W. Bush

The flag did not appear on U.S. postal stamp issues until the Battle of White Plains Issue was released in 1926, depicting the flag with a circle of 13 stars. The 48-star flag first appeared on the General Casimir Pulaski issue of 1931, though in a small monochrome depiction. The first U.S. postage stamp to feature the flag as the sole subject was issued July 4, 1957, Scott catalog number 1094.[115] Since then, the flag has frequently appeared on U.S. stamps.

Display in museums

In 1907 Eben Appleton, New York stockbroker and grandson of Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead (the commander of Fort McHenry during the 1814 bombardment), loaned the Star-Spangled Banner Flag to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1912 he converted the loan into a gift. Appleton donated the flag with the wish that it would always be on view to the public. In 1994, the National Museum of American History determined that the Star-Spangled Banner Flag required further conservation treatment to remain on public display. In 1998 teams of museum conservators, curators, and other specialists helped move the flag from its home in the Museum's Flag Hall into a new conservation laboratory. Following the reopening of the National Museum of American History on November 21, 2008, the flag is now on display in a special exhibition, "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem," where it rests at a 10-degree angle in dim light for conservation purposes.[57]

Places of continuous display

 
Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington, Virginia
 
Flags covering the National Mall
 
Astronaut James Irwin salutes the flag during the 1971 Apollo 15 lunar mission

U.S. flags are displayed continuously at certain locations by presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom.

Particular days for display

 
The New York Stock Exchange at Christmas time

The flag should especially be displayed at full staff on the following days:[132]

Display at half-staff

 
An American flag now flies over Gate 17 of Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, departure gate of United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11.

The flag is displayed at half-staff (half-mast in naval usage) as a sign of respect or mourning. Nationwide, this action is proclaimed by the president; statewide or territory-wide, the proclamation is made by the governor. In addition, there is no prohibition against municipal governments, private businesses, or citizens flying the flag at half-staff as a local sign of respect and mourning. However, many flag enthusiasts feel this type of practice has somewhat diminished the meaning of the original intent of lowering the flag to honor those who held high positions in federal or state offices. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first proclamation on March 1, 1954, standardizing the dates and periods for flying the flag at half-staff from all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels; other congressional resolutions and presidential proclamations ensued. However, they are only guidelines to all other entities: typically followed at state and local government facilities and encouraged of private businesses and citizens.[citation needed]

To properly fly the flag at half-staff, one should first briefly hoist it top of the staff, then lower it to the half-staff position, halfway between the top and bottom of the staff. Similarly, when the flag is to be lowered from half-staff, it should be first briefly hoisted to the top of the staff.[135]

Federal statutes provide that the flag should be flown at half-staff on the following dates:

  • May 15: Peace Officers Memorial Day (unless it is the third Saturday in May, Armed Forces Day, then full-staff)[136]
  • Last Monday in May: Memorial Day (until noon)
  • September 11: Patriot Day[137]
  • First Sunday in October: Start of Fire Prevention Week, in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service.[138][139]
  • December 7: National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day[140]
  • For 30 days: Death of a president or former president
  • For 10 days: Death of a vice president, Supreme Court chief justice/retired chief justice, or speaker of the House of Representatives.
  • From death until the day of interment: Supreme Court associate justice, member of the Cabinet, former vice president, president pro tempore of the Senate, or the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. Also, for federal facilities within a state or territory, for the governor.
  • On the day after the death: Senators, members of Congress, territorial delegates, or the resident commissioner of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Desecration

 
U.S. flag being burned in protest on the eve of the 2008 election

The flag of the United States is sometimes burned as a cultural or political statement, in protest of the policies of the U.S. government, or for other reasons, both within the U.S. and abroad. The United States Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), and reaffirmed in U.S. v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990), has ruled that due to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is unconstitutional for a government (whether federal, state, or municipal) to prohibit the desecration of a flag, due to its status as "symbolic speech." However, content-neutral restrictions may still be imposed to regulate the time, place, and manner of such expression. If the flag that was burned was someone else's property (as it was in the Johnson case, since Johnson had stolen the flag from a Texas bank's flagpole), the offender could be charged with petty larceny (a flag usually sells at retail for less than US$20), or with destruction of private property, or possibly both. Desecration of a flag representing a minority group may also be charged as a hate crime in some jurisdictions.[141]

Folding for storage

 
Folding the U.S. flag

Though not part of the official Flag Code, according to military custom, flags should be folded into a triangular shape when not in use. To properly fold the flag:

  1. Begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground.
  2. Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely.
  3. Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside.
  4. Make a rectangular fold then a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open top edge of the flag, starting the fold from the left side over to the right.
  5. Turn the outer end point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle.
  6. The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner (usually thirteen triangular folds, as shown at right). On the final fold, any remnant that does not neatly fold into a triangle (or in the case of exactly even folds, the last triangle) is tucked into the previous fold.
  7. When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.

There is also no specific meaning for each fold of the flag. However, there are scripts read by non-government organizations and also by the Air Force that are used during the flag folding ceremony. These scripts range from historical timelines of the flag to religious themes.[142][143]

Use in funerals

 
A flag prepared for presentation to the next of kin

Traditionally, the flag of the United States plays a role in military funerals,[144] and occasionally in funerals of other civil servants (such as law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and U.S. presidents). A burial flag is draped over the deceased's casket as a pall during services. Just prior to the casket being lowered into the ground, the flag is ceremonially folded and presented to the deceased's next of kin as a token of respect.[145]

Surviving historical flags

This is a list of surviving flags that have been displayed at or otherwise associated with notable historical battles or events.

Revolutionary War

  • Forster Flag (1775) – Historians believe the Manchester Company of the First Essex County Militia Regiment carried this flag during the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The militia unit was activated but was not involved in the day's fighting. This flag is historic because it is the oldest surviving flag depicting the 13 colonies. This flag may have been a British ensign flag that had its Union Jack removed and replaced with 13 white stripes before or after the battles of Lexington and Concord. The slight variation in the canton area suggests something else might have been sewn into place before.[146] The flag gets its name from Samuel Forster, a First Lieutenant in the Manchester Company. He took possession of the flag, and his descendants passed it down until donating it to the American Flag Heritage Foundation in 1975, two hundred years later.[147] In April 2014, the foundation sold the flag at auction.[148][149]
  • Westmoreland Flag (1775?) – Flag used by the 1st Battalion of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. In 1774 the town of Hanna, the county seat of Westmoreland County, began preparations for a conflict with the mother country as tensions between the two sides began to heat up. The town decided in May 1775, following the battles of Lexington and Concord, to create two battalions. The town sheriff, John Proctor, would have command over the 1st, and the unit would see action at Trenton and Princeton. Due to the flag's remarkable condition, it is speculated that it never flew in many battles, if at all. The flag is said to have been made in the fall of 1775 from a standard British red ensign. This flag is one of two surviving revolutionary flags that feature a coiled rattlesnake, along with the flag of the United Company of the Train of Artillery. After the war in 1810, Alexander Craig, a captain in the 2nd battalion, was given the flag. It would stay with the Craig family until donated to the Pennsylvania State Library in 1914.[150][151]
  • Brandywine Flag (1777) – This flag is stated in most research as being the flag of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment. However, the Independence National Historical Park, which currently owns the flag, states it is the flag of the Chester County Militia.[152] The flags gets its name for being used at the Battle of Brandywine which took place on September 11, 1777, less than three months after the passage of the first flag act making it one of the earliest stars and stripes.[153][154]
  • Dansey Flag (1777) – Flag used by a Delaware militia early in the war. Before the Battle of Brandywine, a soldier with the British 33rd Regiment of foote named William Dansey captured the militia's flag during a skirmish in Newark, Delaware. Dansey would take the flag back to England as a war trophy. It would remain in his family until 1927, after being auctioned off to the Delaware Historical Society. This flag would have been one of the earliest to use 13 stripes to represent the united colonies. Another interesting note about this flag is that it was most likely a Division color instead of being used by one militia regiment.[155][156]
  • First Pennsylvania Rifles Flag (1776?) – Battle colors for the First Pennsylvania Regiment This regiment, also known as the First Pennsylvania Rifles, was formed in 1775 following an act passed by the Continental Congress calling for ten companies of marksmen. The regiment would participate in many significant battles during the Revolution, such as the siege of Boston, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Monmouth. They would be dissolved in November 1783 following the treaty of Paris. The earliest mention of this flag was mentioned in a 1776 letter by one of its soldiers. The flag would be with the unit until the end of the war.[157]
  • Third New York Regiment Flag (1779) – The Third New York was formed in 1775 on five-month enlistments that expired later that year. In 1776 however, the regiment would be re-established twice, once in January and the other in December. During the war, the Third New York saw action in Canada, White Plains, and New York, during which it participated in the defense of Fort Stanwix. In 1780 the soldiers of the third were transferred over to the 1st New York Regiment. While not the most famous of regiments in turns of battles fought, it does leave behind a legacy that can be seen in the flag of New York. In 1778 New York adopted a coat of arms for the state. The following year, the regiment's colonel Peter Gansevoort gifted the unit a blue regimental flag bearing the newly adopted arms. This flag would serve as the basis of the current flag of New York.[158][159]

War of 1812

  • Star Spangled Banner Flag (1814) – Flag that flew over Fort McHenry during a British bombardment in the War of 1812. This flag is depicted by Francis Scott Key in the song "Star-Spangled Banner" which would later become the national anthem of the United States.[160] Details : 30 x 34 ft. (Currently) 15 horizontal stripes alternating red and white stripes 14 stars (one missing) Stars arranged in a staggered 3-3-3-3-3 pattern

Antebellum Period

  • Fillmore Flag — A historic Bennington flag currently maintained by the Bennington Museum, held to be an heirloom from president Millard Fillmore's family. Though it is sometimes taken to be an authentic artifact of the Battle of Bennington, curators date it no earlier than the 19th century based on its construction. The Bennington Museum estimates it was made sometime between 1812 and 1820, though one estimate places it as late as 1876.[161][162]
  • Old Glory Flag – This flag was the first American Flag to be given the name "Old Glory". The flag was made in 1824 and was a gift to William Driver, a sea captain, by his mother. He named the flag 'Old Glory' and took it with him during his time at sea. In 1861 the flag's original stars were replaced with 34 new ones, and an anchor was added to the corner of the canton. During the Civil war, Driver hid his flag until Nashville became under union hands, to which he flew the flag above the Tennessee capitol building.[163]
  • Matthew Perry Expedition Flag (1853) – On July 14, 1853, this flag was raised over Uraga, Japan, during the Perry Expedition, in doing so it became the first American Flag to officially fly in mainland Japan. In 1855 it was presented to the US Naval Academy. In 1913 it received a linen backing during preservation treatments by Amelia Fowler, who would also work on restoring the Star-Spangled Banner. Nearly a century after its historic voyage to Japan, in 1945, the flag once again returned and was present at the formal surrender of Japan on board the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. Owing to its condition, it had to be presented on its reverse side. As of 2021, the U.S. Naval Academy possesses the flag.[164]

Civil War

  • Fort Sumter Flag (1861) – During the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861, the flagpole was hit by artillery fire. The flag was raised again from a makeshift pole and was taken down after the Union garrison surrendered. The terms of surrender allowed the U.S. artillery to fire a salute for the flag. The flag was taken by the departing commander of the fort and was displayed to the public on a tour of the northern states. From this point, private citizens' display of the United States flag became much more common. Four years after the flag was lowered at Fort Sumter, it flew over the fort again on April 14, 1865, following the Confederate surrender. Later that day, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.[165]
  • Abraham Lincoln Assassination Flag (1865) – Flag that was placed under the head of President Abraham Lincoln following his fatal shooting while he was still in the presidential box.[166]

Reconstruction

  • Little Big Horn Guidon – Guidon used by the 7th U.S. Cavalry during the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. The battle is infamous, for all U.S. cavalry troops engaged in battle were killed, including Lt. Col George A. Custer. Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson discovered this flag under the body of one of the slain soldiers. In 2010, this flag was sold for $2.2 million.[167]

World War II

Cold War

  • Freedom 7 Flag (1961) – This American Flag flew on the Freedom 7 mission to space, becoming the first American flag to leave the Earth's atmosphere. The flag was a last-minute addition after a local student council president asked a reporter if this flag could be taken on board. The reporter took it to the head of the NASA space task group, to which he agreed. In 1995, the flag was again taken to space to commemorate the 100th American crewed space mission.[169]

Modern day

  • 9/11 Flag (2001) – Flag is believed to have been from a yacht called the "Star of America" owned by Shirley Dreifus and her late husband Spiros E. Kopelakis. The Yacht and its flag were docked in the Hudson River on the morning of 9/11. The flag was later found by three members of the New York Fire Department, George Johnson, Billy Eisengrein, and Dan McWilliams, who raised it over the rubble on a tilted flag pole (thought to be from the grounds of the Marriot hotel). This was captured in a photograph taken by Thomas Franklin, who worked for the New Jersey-based newspaper The Record. The photograph soon made its way to the Associated Press, and from there, it became shown worldwide on many newspapers' front pages. The photo has been compared to Joe Rosenthal's WW2 "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima". Lori Ginker and Ricky Flores captured other photos of the same event from different angles. Shortly after the famous photograph was taken, the flag disappeared. Another flag, thought to be the real one, was toured around the country, but it was later found that the size of this flag was not the same as the one in the photograph. The one in the photo was 3x5, while the one the city possessed was larger. The flag would remain missing for nearly 15 years until a man named Brian turned an American flag into a fire station along with its halyard. Investigators determined that his flag was genuine after comparing dust samples and event photographs.[170] Today the 9/11 Memorial Museum possesses the flag.[171]

Related flags

The U.S. flag has inspired many other flags for regions, political movements, and cultural groups, resulting in a stars and stripes flag family. The other national flags belonging to this family are: Chile, Cuba, Greece, Liberia, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Togo, and Uruguay.[172]

  • The flag of Bikini Atoll is symbolic of the islanders' belief that a great debt is still owed to the people of Bikini because in 1954 the United States government detonated a thermonuclear bomb on the island as part of the Castle Bravo test.[173]
  • The Republic of the United States of Brazil briefly used a flag inspired by the U.S. flag between 15 and 19 November 1889, proposed by the lawyer Ruy Barbosa. The flag had 13 green and yellow stripes, as well as a blue square with 21 white stars for the canton. The flag was vetoed by the then provisional president Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca citing concerns that it looked too similar to the American flag.[174]
  • The flag of Liberia bears a close resemblance, showing the origin of the country in free people of color from North America and primarily the United States.[175] The Liberian flag has 11 similar red and white stripes, which stand for the 11 signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence, as well as a blue square with only a single large white star for the canton. The flag is the only current flag in the world modeled after and resembling the American flag, as Liberia is the only nation in the world that was founded, colonized, established, and controlled by settlers who were free people of color and formerly enslaved people from the United States and the Caribbean aided and supported by the American Colonization Society beginning in 1822.[176]
  • Despite Malaysia having no historical connections with the U.S., the flag of Malaysia greatly resembles the U.S. flag. Some theories posit that the flag of the British East India Company influenced both the Malaysian and U.S. flag.[9]
  • The flag of El Salvador from 1865 to 1912. El Salvador's flag at that time was based on the flag of the United States, with a field of alternating blue and white stripes and a red canton containing white stars.[177]
  • The flag of Brittany was inspired in part by the American flag.[178]
  • The flag of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, an unrecognized state that existed from 1917 to 1922, during the Russian Civil War, was divided into seven horizontal stripes that altered between green and white. In the right top corner was placed a blue canton with seven five-pointed yellow stars. Six of those were placed in two horizontal rows, each containing three stars. Next to them, on the right, was placed another star, in the middle of the height of two rows. The stars were slightly sued to the left. The seven stars and seven stripes represented the seven regions of the country.[179]

Possible future design of the flag

See also: 51st state
 
An artist's rendering of one possible design for a 51-star flag, with stars arranged in a 9–8–9–8–9–8 pattern.
 
An artist's rendering of a possible design for a 52-star flag, with stars arranged in a 7–6–7–6–7–6–7–6 pattern, such as might accommodate the admission of two additional states into the Union

If a new U.S. state were to be admitted, it would require a new design of the flag to accommodate an additional star for a 51st state.[180] 51-star flags have been designed and used as a symbol by supporters of statehood in various jurisdictions.

According to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the United States flag never becomes obsolete. Any approved American flag may continue to be used and displayed until no longer serviceable.[181]

See also

Article sections

Associated people

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Spanish is also widely spoken here, but it's only official in New Mexico.

References

  1. ^ Warner, John (1998). "Senate Concurrent Resolution 61" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  2. ^ "History of the American Flag". www.infoplease.com. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "USFlag.org: A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America – "OLD GLORY!"". www.usflag.org. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  4. ^ Streufert, Duane. "A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America – The 50 Star Flag". USFlag.org. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  5. ^ "The Administration of the Continental Navy of the American Revolution". U.S. Naval Institute. July 1, 1905. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  6. ^ Joint Committee on Printing, United States Congress (1989). Our Flag. H. Doc. 100-247. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 3.
  7. ^ a b Leepson, Marc (2004). Flag: An American Biography.
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  • Scot M. Guenter, The American Flag, 1777–1924: Cultural Shifts from Creation to Codification. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 1990. online May 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  • George E. Hastings. The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson. University of Chicago Press, 1926.
  • Kevin Keim & Peter Keim. A Grand Old Flag: A History of the United States through its Flags. DK Publishing. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7566-2847-5.
  • . Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2005.
  • David Roger Manwaring. Render Unto Caesar: The Flag-Salute Controversy. University of Chicago Press, 1962.
  • Boleslaw Mastai and Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai. The Stars and the Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present. Knopf, 1973.
  • Henry W. Moeller, Ph.D. "Two Early American Ensigns on the Pennsylvania State Arms." NAVA News, Issue 173, Jan.–Mar. 2002.
  • Milo Milton Quaife. The Flag of the United States. 1942.
  • Milo Milton Quaife, Melvin J. Weig, and Roy Applebaum. The History of the United States Flag, from the Revolution to the Present, Including a Guide to Its Use and Display. Harper, 1961.
  • Richard S. Patterson and Richardson Dougall. The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978 [1976 i.e. 1978].
  • Albert M. Rosenblatt. "Flag Desecration Statutes: History and Analysis August 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine", Washington University Law Quarterly 1972: 193–237.
  • George and Virginia Schaun. "Historical Portrait of Mrs. Mary Young Pickersgill." The Greenberry Series on Maryland, Greenberry Publications. Volume 5.
  • Leonard A. Stevens. Salute! The Case of The Bible vs. The Flag. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973.
  • Arnaldo Testi. Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History (New York University Press; 2010) 192 pages. A European perspective on the symbolism and political, social, and cultural significance of the flag.
  • Earl P. Williams Jr. " NAVA News, Issue 216, Oct.–Dec. 2012.
  • Paul M. Zall. "Comical Spirit of Seventy-Six: The Humor of Francis Hopkinson." The Huntington Library, 1976.
  • Chadwick, Patricia. "The Women Behind the Flag August 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine"

Further reading

  • (PDF). Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of State. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.

External links

  • United States at Flags of the World
  • Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Facts About the United States Flag
  • Text of the United States Flag Code (chap. 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code)
  • Executive Order No. 10798, with specifications and regulations for the current flag
  • July 1942: United We Stand May 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine – National Museum of American History online exhibition highlighting some 500 magazines featuring the American flag on their cover during World War II

January 01, 1970
flag, united, states, american, flag, redirects, here, other, uses, american, flag, disambiguation, flags, states, flags, territories, flags, states, territories, historical, other, flags, list, flags, united, states, national, flag, united, states, spanish, b. American Flag redirects here For other uses see American Flag disambiguation For the flags of the U S states and the flags of U S territories see Flags of the U S states and territories For historical and other flags see List of flags of the United States The national flag of the United States Spanish Bandera Nacional de Estados Unidos a often referred to as the American flag or the U S flag consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red top and bottom alternating with white with a blue rectangle in the canton referred to as the union and bearing fifty small white five pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows where rows of six stars top and bottom alternate with rows of five stars The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U S states and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain which they went on to secure by their victory in the American Revolutionary War 1 United States of AmericaOther namesThe American flag The Stars and Stripes Red White and Blue Old Glory The Star Spangled Banner United States U S flagUseNational flag and ensignProportion10 19AdoptedDecember 3 1775 248 years ago 1775 12 03 Grand Union Flag June 14 1777 246 years ago 1777 06 14 13 star version July 4 1960 63 years ago 1960 07 04 current 50 star version DesignThirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white in the canton 50 white stars of alternating numbers of six and five per horizontal row on a blue fieldPantone Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes 2 Old Glory and The Star Spangled Banner Credit for the term Stars and Stripes has been given to the Marquis de Lafayette a French soldier who volunteered his aid to the Continental Army led by George Washington in the Revolutionary War against Britain 3 Contents 1 History 1 1 First flag 1 2 Flag Resolution of 1777 1 3 Designer of the first stars and stripes 1 4 Later flag acts 1 5 49 and 50 star unions 1 6 Flower Flag arrives in Asia 1 7 Civil War and the flag 1 8 Historical progression of designs 2 Symbolism 2 1 Color symbolism 3 Design 3 1 Specifications 3 2 Colors 3 3 Decoration 4 Display and use 4 1 Flag etiquette 4 2 Display on vehicles 4 3 Display on uniforms 4 4 Postage stamps 4 5 Display in museums 4 6 Places of continuous display 4 7 Particular days for display 4 8 Display at half staff 4 9 Desecration 5 Folding for storage 6 Use in funerals 7 Surviving historical flags 7 1 Revolutionary War 7 2 War of 1812 7 3 Antebellum Period 7 4 Civil War 7 5 Reconstruction 7 6 World War II 7 7 Cold War 7 8 Modern day 8 Related flags 9 Possible future design of the flag 10 See also 10 1 Article sections 10 2 Associated people 11 Explanatory notes 12 References 13 Bibliography 14 Further reading 15 External linksHistoryFor a chronological guide see Timeline of the flag of the United States See also List of flags of the United States The current design of the U S flag is its 27th the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777 The 48 star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49 star version became official on July 4 1959 The 50 star flag was ordered by then president Eisenhower on August 21 1959 and was adopted in July 1960 It is the longest used version of the U S flag and has been in use for over 63 years 4 First flag Main article Grand Union Flag nbsp The flag of the East India Company introduced in 1707 and flown at sea in the Indian Ocean nbsp The Grand Union Flag also known as the Continental Colors used between 1775 and 1777 The first flag resembling the modern stars and stripes was an unofficial flag sometimes called the Grand Union Flag or the Continental Colors It consisted of 13 red and white stripes with the Union Jack in the upper left hand corner It first appeared on December 3 1775 when Continental Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones flew it aboard Captain Esek Hopkin s flagship Alfred in the Delaware River 5 It remained the national flag until June 14 1777 6 At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 there were no flags with any stars on them the Second Continental Congress did not adopt flags with stars white in a blue field for another year The Grand Union Flag has historically been referred to as the first national flag of the United States 7 The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence likely by the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensign by adding white stripes 7 8 The name Grand Union was first applied to the Continental Colors by George Henry Preble in his 1872 book known as History of the American Flag 8 The flag very closely resembles the flag of the British East India Company in that era Sir Charles Fawcett argued in 1937 that the company flag inspired the design of the U S flag 9 Both flags could easily have been constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign one of the three maritime flags used throughout the British Empire at the time However the East India Company flag could have from nine to 13 stripes and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean 10 Benjamin Franklin once gave a speech endorsing the adoption of the company s flag by the United States as their national flag He said to George Washington While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design it need not be entirely new in its elements There is already in use a flag I refer to the flag of the East India Company 11 This was a way of symbolizing American loyalty to the Crown as well as the United States aspirations to be self governing as was the East India Company Some colonists also felt that the company could be a powerful ally in the American Revolutionary War as they shared similar aims and grievances against the British government s tax policies Colonists therefore flew the company s flag to endorse the company 12 The theory that the Grand Union Flag was a direct descendant of the flag of the East India Company has been criticized as lacking written evidence 13 on the other hand the resemblance is obvious and some of the Founding Fathers of the United States were aware of the East India Company s activities and of their free administration of India under Company rule 13 Flag Resolution of 1777 On June 14 1777 the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated Resolved That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white that the union be thirteen stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation 14 Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year While scholars still argue about this tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment 15 Both the stripes barry and the stars mullets have precedents in classical heraldry Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry However an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U S flag is the Valais 1618 coat of arms where seven mullets stood for seven districts Another widely repeated theory is that the design was inspired by the coat of arms of George Washington s family which includes three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field 16 Despite the similar visual elements there is little evidence 17 or no evidence whatsoever 18 to support the claimed connection with the flag design The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington published by the Fred W Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon calls it an enduring myth backed by no discernible evidence 19 The story seems to have originated with the 1876 play Washington A Drama in Five Acts by the English poet Martin Farquhar Tupper and was further popularized through repetition in the children s magazine St Nicholas 17 18 The first official U S flag flown during battle was on August 3 1777 at Fort Schuyler Fort Stanwix during the Siege of Fort Stanwix Massachusetts reinforcements brought news of the adoption by Congress of the official flag to Fort Schuyler Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers wives while material for the blue union was secured from Capt Abraham Swartwout s blue cloth coat A voucher is extant that Congress paid Capt Swartwout of Dutchess County for his coat for the flag 20 The 1777 resolution was probably meant to define a naval ensign In the late 18th century the notion of a national flag did not yet exist or was only nascent The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee On May 10 1779 Secretary of the Board of War Richard Peters expressed concern that it is not yet settled what is the Standard of the United States 21 However the term Standard referred to a national standard for the Army of the United States Each regiment was to carry the national standard in addition to its regimental standard The national standard was not a reference to the national or naval flag 22 The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement number of points nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white ones or vice versa 23 The appearance was up to the maker of the flag Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state s star with its initial 24 One arrangement features 13 five pointed stars arranged in a circle with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle as opposed to up the Betsy Ross flag Experts have dated the earliest known example of this flag to be 1792 in a painting by John Trumbull 25 Despite the 1777 resolution the early years of American independence featured many different flags Most were individually crafted rather than mass produced While there are many examples of 13 star arrangements some of those flags included blue stripes 26 as well as red and white Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in an October 3 1778 letter to Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies described the American flag as consisting of 13 stripes alternately red white and blue a small square in the upper angle next to the flagstaff is a blue field with 13 white stars denoting a new Constellation 27 John Paul Jones used a variety of 13 star flags on his U S Navy ships including the well documented 1779 flags of the Serapis and the Alliance The Serapis flag had three rows of eight pointed stars with red white and blue stripes However the flag for the Alliance had five rows of eight pointed stars with 13 red and white stripes and the white stripes were on the outer edges 28 Both flags were documented by the Dutch government in October 1779 making them two of the earliest known flags of 13 stars 29 Designer of the first stars and stripes nbsp Francis Hopkinson s flag for the U S an interpretation with 13 six pointed stars arranged in five rows 30 nbsp Hopkinson Flag for the U S Navy an interpretation 31 Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey a naval flag designer and a signer of the Declaration of Independence designed a flag in 1777 32 while he was the chairman of the Continental Navy Board s Middle Department sometime between his appointment to that position in November 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June 1777 The Navy Board was under the Continental Marine Committee 33 Not only did Hopkinson claim that he designed the U S flag but he also claimed that he designed a flag for the U S Navy Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own life when he sent a letter and several bills to Congress for his work These claims are documented in the Journals of the Continental Congress and George Hasting s biography of Hopkinson Hopkinson initially wrote a letter to Congress via the Continental Board of Admiralty on May 25 1780 34 In this letter he asked for a Quarter Cask of the Public Wine as payment for designing the U S flag the seal for the Admiralty Board the seal for the Treasury Board Continental currency the Great Seal of the United States and other devices However in three subsequent bills to Congress Hopkinson asked to be paid in cash but he did not list his U S flag design Instead he asked to be paid for designing the great Naval Flag of the United States in the first bill the Naval Flag of the United States in the second bill and the Naval Flag of the States in the third along with the other items The flag references were generic terms for the naval ensign that Hopkinson had designed a flag of seven red stripes and six white ones The predominance of red stripes made the naval flag more visible against the sky on a ship at sea By contrast Hopkinson s flag for the United States had seven white stripes and six red ones in reality six red stripes laid on a white background 35 Hopkinson s sketches have not been found but we can make these conclusions because Hopkinson incorporated different stripe arrangements in the Admiralty naval Seal that he designed in the Spring of 1780 and the Great Seal of the United States that he proposed at the same time His Admiralty Seal had seven red stripes 36 whereas his second U S Seal proposal had seven white ones 37 Remnants of Hopkinson s U S flag of seven white stripes can be found in the Great Seal of the United States and the President s seal 35 The stripe arrangement would have been consistent with other flags of the period that had seven stripes below the canton or blue area with stars For example two of the earliest known examples of Stars and Stripes flags were painted by a Dutch artist who witnessed the arrival of Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones squadron in Texel The Netherlands in 1779 The two flags have seven stripes below the canton 38 When Hopkinson was chairman of the Navy Board his position was like that of today s Secretary of the Navy 39 The payment was not made most likely because other people had contributed to designing the Great Seal of the United States 40 and because it was determined he already received a salary as a member of Congress 41 42 This contradicts the legend of the Betsy Ross flag which suggests that she sewed the first Stars and Stripes flag at the request of the government in the Spring of 1776 43 44 On 10 May 1779 a letter from the War Board to George Washington stated that there was still no design established for a national standard on which to base regimental standards but also referenced flag requirements given to the board by General von Steuben 45 On 3 September Richard Peters submitted to Washington Drafts of a Standard and asked for his Ideas of the Plan of the Standard adding that the War Board preferred a design they viewed as a variant for the Marine Flag Washington agreed that he preferred the standard with the Union and Emblems in the center 45 The drafts are lost to history but are likely to be similar to the first Jack of the United States 45 nbsp 13 star Betsy Ross variant The origin of the stars and stripes design has been muddled by a story disseminated by the descendants of Betsy Ross The apocryphal story credits Betsy Ross for sewing one of the first flags from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington No such evidence exists either in George Washington s diaries or the Continental Congress s records Indeed nearly a century passed before Ross s grandson William Canby first publicly suggested the story in 1870 46 By her family s own admission Ross ran an upholstery business and she had never made a flag as of the supposed visit in June 1776 47 Furthermore her grandson admitted that his own search through the Journals of Congress and other official records failed to find corroborating evidence for his grandmother s story 48 George Henry Preble states in his 1882 text that no combined stars and stripes flag was in common use prior to June 1777 49 and that no one knows who designed the 1777 flag 50 Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that there was no first flag worth arguing over 51 Researchers accept that the United States flag evolved and did not have one design Marla Miller writes The flag like the Revolution it represents was the work of many hands 52 The family of Rebecca Young claimed that she sewed the first flag 53 Young s daughter was Mary Pickersgill who made the Star Spangled Banner Flag 54 55 She was assisted by Grace Wisher a 13 year old African American girl 56 Later flag acts See also Flag Acts nbsp 15 star 15 stripe Star Spangled Banner Flag nbsp The 48 star flag was in use from 1912 to 1959 the second longest used U S flag The current U S flag is the longest used flag having surpassed the 1912 version in 2007 nbsp Oil painting depicting the 39 historical U S flags In 1795 the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union For a time the flag was not changed when subsequent states were admitted probably because it was thought that this would cause too much clutter It was the 15 star 15 stripe flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write Defence of Fort M Henry later known as The Star Spangled Banner which is now the American national anthem The flag is currently on display in the exhibition The Star Spangled Banner The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History in a two story display chamber that protects the flag while it is on view 57 On April 4 1818 a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U S Naval Captain Samuel C Reid 58 in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 Independence Day following the admission of one or more new states 59 In 1912 the 48 star flag was adopted This was the first time that a flag act specified an official arrangement of the stars in the canton namely six rows of eight stars each where each star would point upward 59 The U S Army and U S Navy however has already been using standardized designs Throughout the 19th century different star patterns both rectangular and circular had been abundant in civilian use citation needed In 1960 the current 50 star flag was adopted incorporating the most recent change from 49 stars to 50 when the present design was chosen after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959 Before that the admission of Alaska in January 1959 had prompted the debut of a short lived 49 star flag 59 49 and 50 star unions nbsp A U S flag with gold fringe and a gold eagle on top of the flag pole When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the 1950s more than 1 500 designs were submitted to President Dwight D Eisenhower Although some were 49 star versions the vast majority were 50 star proposals At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50 star flag 60 At the time credit was given by the executive department to the United States Army Institute of Heraldry for the design citation needed The 49 and 50 star flags were each flown for the first time at Fort McHenry on Independence Day in 1959 and 1960 respectively 61 On July 4 2007 the 50 star flag became the version of the flag in the longest use surpassing the 48 star flag that was used from 1912 to 1959 62 Flower Flag arrives in Asia The U S flag was brought to the city of Canton Guǎngzhōu in China in 1784 by the merchant ship Empress of China which carried a cargo of ginseng 63 There it gained the designation Flower Flag Chinese 花旗 pinyin huaqi Cantonese Yale fakei 64 According to a pseudonymous account first published in the Boston Courier and later retold by author and U S naval officer George H Preble When the thirteen stripes and stars first appeared at Canton much curiosity was excited among the people News was circulated that a strange ship had arrived from the further end of the world bearing a flag as beautiful as a flower Every body went to see the kwa kee chuen 花旗船 Fakeisyuhn or flower flagship This name at once established itself in the language and America is now called the kwa kee kwoh 花旗國 Fakeigwok the flower flag country and an American kwa kee kwoh yin 花旗國人 Fakeigwokyahn flower flag countryman a more complimentary designation than that of red headed barbarian the name first bestowed upon the Dutch 65 66 In the above quote the Chinese words are written phonetically based on spoken Cantonese The names given were common usage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries 67 Chinese now refer to the United States as Meiguo from Mandarin simplified Chinese 美国 traditional Chinese 美國 Mei is short for Meilijian simplified Chinese 美利坚 traditional Chinese 美利堅 phono semantic matching of American and guo means country so this name is unrelated to the flag However the flower flag terminology persists in some places today for example American ginseng is called flower flag ginseng simplified Chinese 花旗参 traditional Chinese 花旗參 in Chinese and Citibank which opened a branch in China in 1902 is known as Flower Flag Bank 花旗银行 67 Similarly Vietnamese also uses the borrowed term from Chinese with Sino Vietnamese reading for the United States as Hoa Kỳ from 花旗 Flower Flag Even though the United States is also called nước Mỹ or simpler Mỹ colloquially in Vietnamese before the name Meiguo was popular amongst Chinese Hoa Kỳ is always recognized as the formal name for the United States with the Vietnamese state officially designates it as Hợp chung quốc Hoa Kỳ chữ Han 合眾國花旗 lit United states of the Flower Flag 68 By that in Vietnam the U S is also nicknamed xứ Cờ Hoa land of Flower Flag based on the Hoa Kỳ designation 69 Additionally the seal of Shanghai Municipal Council in Shanghai International Settlement from 1869 included the U S flag as part of the top left hand shield near the flag of the U K as the U S participated in the creation of this enclave in the Chinese city of Shanghai It is also included in the badge of the Gulangyu Municipal Police in the International Settlement of Gulangyu Amoy 70 President Richard Nixon presented a U S flag and Moon rocks to Mao Zedong during his visit to China in 1972 They are now on display at the National Museum of China citation needed The U S flag took its first trip around the world in 1787 1790 on board the Columbia 64 William Driver who coined the phrase Old Glory took the U S flag around the world in 1831 32 64 The flag attracted the notice of the Japanese when an oversized version was carried to Yokohama by the steamer Great Republic as part of a round the world journey in 1871 71 Civil War and the flag nbsp Our Banner in the Sky 1861 by Frederic Edwin Church Prior to the Civil War the American flag was rarely seen outside of military forts government buildings and ships This changed following the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861 The flag flying over the fort was allowed to leave with the Union troops as they surrendered It was taken across Northern cities which spurred a wave of Flagmania The Stars and Stripes which had had no real place in the public conscious suddenly became a part of the national identity The flag became a symbol of the Union and the sale of flags exploded at this time Historian Adam Goodheart wrote For the first time American flags were mass produced rather than individually stitched and even so manufacturers could not keep up with demand As the long winter of 1861 turned into spring that old flag meant something new The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for and many thousands die for 72 In the Civil War the flag was allowed to be carried into battle reversing the 1847 regulation which prohibited this During the American War of Independence and War of 1812 the army was not officially sanctioned to carry the United States flag into battle It was not until 1834 that the artillery was allowed to carry the American flag the army would be granted to do the same in 1841 However in 1847 in the middle of the war with Mexico the flag was limited to camp use and not allowed to be brought into battle 73 Some wanted to remove the stars of the states which had seceded but Abraham Lincoln was opposed believing it would give legitimacy to the Confederate states 74 Historical progression of designs Main article History of the flags of the United States See also List of U S states by date of admission to the Union In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag the star patterns for the flags are merely the usual patterns often associated with the United States Navy Canton designs prior to the proclamation of the 48 star flag had no official arrangement of the stars Furthermore the exact colors of the flag were not standardized until 1934 75 76 Number ofstars Number ofstripes Design s Arrangement of stars States representedby new stars Dates in use Duration 0 13 nbsp King s Colours before stars red and white stripes represent Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia December 3 1775 77 June 14 1777 1 1 2 years 13 13 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Various 3 2 3 2 3orSquareorCircleor4 5 4 Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia June 14 1777 May 1 1795 18 years 15 15 nbsp nbsp 5 rows of 3 Vermont Kentucky May 1 1795 July 3 1818 23 years 20 13 nbsp nbsp 4 rows of 5orPentagram Tennessee Ohio Louisiana Indiana Mississippi July 4 1818 July 3 1819 1 year 21 13 nbsp 5 4 6 6 Illinois July 4 1819 July 3 1820 1 year 23 13 nbsp 6 5 6 6 Alabama Maine July 4 1820 July 3 1822 2 years 24 13 nbsp 4 rows of 6 Missouri July 4 1822 July 3 18361831 term Old Glory coined 14 years 25 13 nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 5 7 7or5 rows of 5 Arkansas July 4 1836 July 3 1837 1 year 26 13 nbsp nbsp 7 6 6 7orInverted pentagram with large star in center Michigan July 4 1837 July 3 1845 8 years 27 13 nbsp 7 6 7 7 Florida July 4 1845 July 3 1846 1 year 28 13 nbsp 4 rows of 7 Texas July 4 1846 July 3 1847 1 year 29 13 nbsp nbsp 8 7 6 8orDiamond pattern Iowa July 4 1847 July 3 1848 1 year 30 13 nbsp 5 rows of 6 Wisconsin July 4 1848 July 3 1851 3 years 31 13 nbsp 7 5 6 6 7 California July 4 1851 July 3 1858 7 years 32 13 nbsp 7 6 6 6 7 Minnesota July 4 1858 July 3 1859 1 year 33 13 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 7 7 5 7 7 orVarious patterns Oregon July 4 1859 July 3 1861 2 years 34 13 nbsp nbsp 7 7 6 7 7orCircle pattern Kansas July 4 1861 July 3 1863 2 years 35 13 nbsp nbsp 5 rows of 7orCircle pattern West Virginia July 4 1863 July 3 1865 2 years 36 13 nbsp nbsp 8 6 8 6 8orWagon wheel pattern Nevada July 4 1865 July 3 1867 2 years 37 13 nbsp nbsp nbsp 7 8 7 8 7or8 7 7 7 8orTwo concentric rings Nebraska July 4 1867 July 3 1877 10 years 38 13 nbsp nbsp 7 8 8 8 7orCircle pattern Colorado July 4 1877 July 3 1890 13 years 43 13 nbsp 8 7 7 7 7 7 North Dakota South Dakota Montana Washington Idaho July 4 1890 July 3 1891 1 year 44 13 nbsp 8 7 7 7 7 8 Wyoming July 4 1891 July 3 1896 5 years 45 13 nbsp 8 7 8 7 8 7 Utah July 4 1896 July 3 1908 12 years 46 13 nbsp 8 7 8 8 7 8 Oklahoma July 4 1908 July 3 1912 4 years 48 13 nbsp 6 rows of 8 New Mexico 78 Arizona July 4 1912 July 3 1959 47 years 49 13 nbsp 7 rows of 7 Alaska July 4 1959 July 3 1960 1 year 50 13 nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 rows of 6 alternating with 4 rows of 5 Hawaii July 4 1960 present 63 yearsSymbolismThe flag of the United States is the nation s most widely recognized symbol 79 Within the United States flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows and on clothing ornamentation such as badges and lapel pins Owing to the United States s emergence as a superpower in the 20th century the flag is among the most widely recognized symbols in the world and is used to represent the United States 80 The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism and is flown on many occasions with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers Reverence for the flag has at times reached religion like fervor in 1919 William Norman Guthrie s book The Religion of Old Glory discussed the cult of the flag 81 and formally proposed vexillolatry 82 Despite a number of attempts to ban the practice desecration of the flag remains protected as free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution Scholars have noted the irony that t he flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest 83 Comparing practice worldwide Testi noted in 2010 that the United States was not unique in adoring its banner for the flags of Scandinavian countries are also beloved domesticated commercialized and sacralized objects 84 Color symbolismWhen the flag was officially adopted in 1777 the colors of red white and blue were not given an official meaning However when Charles Thomson Secretary of the Continental Congress presented a proposed U S seal in 1782 he explained its center section in this way The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America White signifies purity and innocence Red hardiness amp valor and Blue the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance perseverance amp justice 85 These meanings have broadly been accepted as official with some variation 85 but there are other extant interpretations as well In 1986 president Ronald Reagan gave his own interpretation saying The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice white for pure intentions and high ideals and blue for vigilance and justice 85 Additionally an interpretation attributed to George Washington claims that 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 our liberty 86 DesignSpecifications nbsp The basic design of the current flag is specified by 4 U S C 1 1947 The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes alternate red and white and the union of the flag shall be forty eight stars white in a blue field 4 U S C 2 outlines the addition of new stars to represent new states with no distinction made for the shape size or arrangement of the stars Executive Order 10834 1959 specifies a 50 star design for use after Hawaii was added as a state and Federal Specification DDD F 416F 2005 provides additional details about the production of physical flags for use by federal agencies 87 Hoist height of the flag A 1 0 Fly width of the flag B 1 9 88 Hoist height of the canton union C 0 5385 A 7 13 spanning seven stripes Fly width of the canton D 0 76 B 2 5 two fifths of the flag width E F 0 0538 C 10 one tenth of the height of the canton G H 0 0633 D 12 one twelfth of the width of the canton Diameter of star K 0 0616 approximately L 4 5 four fifths of the stripe width Width of stripe L 0 0769 A 13 one thirteenth of the flag height Strictly speaking the executive order establishing these specifications governs only flags made for or by the federal government 89 In practice most U S national flags available for sale to the public follow the federal star arrangement but have a different width to height ratio common sizes are 2 3 ft or 4 6 ft flag ratio 1 5 2 5 4 ft or 5 8 ft 1 6 or 3 5 ft or 6 10 ft 1 667 Even flags flown over the U S Capitol for sale to the public through Representatives or Senators are provided in these sizes 90 Flags that are made to the prescribed 1 9 ratio are often referred to as G spec for government specification flags Colors Federal Specification DDD F 416F specifies the exact red white and blue colors to be used for physical flags procured by federal agencies with reference to the Standard Color Reference of America 10th edition a set of dyed silk fabric samples produced by The Color Association of the United States The colors are White No 70001 Old Glory Red No 70180 and Old Glory Blue No 70075 CIE coordinates for the colors of the 9th edition of the Standard Color Reference were carefully measured and cross checked by color scientists from the National Bureau of Standards in 1946 with the resulting coordinates adopted as a formal specification 91 These colors form the standard for cloth and there is no perfect way to convert them to RGB for display on screen or CMYK for printing The relative coordinates in the following table were found by scaling the luminous reflectance relative to the flag s white Federal Specification DDD F 416F cloth color specifications 92 Name Absolute Relative CIELAB D65 Munsell sRGB GRACoL 2006 L a b H V C R G B 8 bit hex C M Y K White 88 7 0 2 5 4 2 5Y 8 8 0 7 1 000 1 000 1 000 FFFFFF 000 000 000 000 Old Glory Red 33 9 51 2 24 7 5 5R 3 3 11 1 698 132 203 B22234 196 1 000 757 118 Old Glory Blue 23 2 13 1 26 4 8 2PB 2 3 6 1 234 233 430 3C3B6E 886 851 243 122 As with the design the official colors are only officially required for flags produced for the U S federal government and other colors are often used for mass market flags printed reproductions and other products intended to evoke flag colors The practice of using more saturated colors than the official cloth is not new As Taylor Knoche and Granville wrote in 1950 The color of the official wool bunting of the blue field is a very dark blue but printed reproductions of the flag as well as merchandise supposed to match the flag present the color as a deep blue much brighter than the official wool 93 Sometimes Pantone Matching System PMS alternatives to the dyed fabric colors are recommended by US government agencies for use in websites or printed documents One set was given on the website of the U S embassy in London as early as 1996 the website of the U S embassy in Stockholm claimed in 2001 that those had been suggested by Pantone and that the U S Government Printing Office preferred a different set A third red was suggested by a California Military Department document in 2002 94 In 2001 the Texas legislature specified that the colors of the Texas flag should be 1 the same colors used in the United States flag and 2 defined as numbers 193 red and 281 dark blue of the Pantone Matching System 95 The current internal style guide of the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs specifies PMS 282C blue and PMS 193C red and gives RGB and CMYK conversions generated by Adobe InDesign 96 Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs style guidelines 96 Pantone Identifier RGB CMYK R G B 8 bit hex C M Y K White 1 00 1 00 1 00 FFFFFF 0 00 0 00 0 00 0 00 PMS 193C 0 72 0 10 0 26 B31942 0 00 1 00 0 66 0 13 PMS 282C 0 04 0 19 0 38 0A3161 1 00 0 68 0 00 0 54 Decoration Traditionally the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag as long as it does not deface the flag proper Ceremonial displays of the flag such as those in parades or on indoor posts often use fringe to enhance the flag s appearance Traditionally the Army and Air Force use a fringed flag for parades color guard and indoor display while the Navy Marine Corps and Coast Guard use a fringeless flag for all occasions citation needed The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835 and the Army used it officially in 1895 No specific law governs the legality of fringe Still a 1925 opinion of the attorney general addresses the use of fringe and the number of stars is at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy as quoted from a footnote in previous volumes of Title 4 of the United States Code law books This opinion is a source for claims that a flag with fringe is a military ensign rather than a civilian However according to the Army Institute of Heraldry which has official custody of the flag designs and makes any change ordered there are no implications of symbolism in using fringe 97 Individuals associated with the sovereign citizen movement and tax protester conspiracy arguments have claimed based on the military usage that the presence of a fringed flag in a civilian courtroom changes the nature or jurisdiction of the court 98 99 Federal and state courts have rejected this contention 99 100 101 Display and useThe flag is customarily flown year round at most public buildings and it is not unusual to find private houses flying full size 3 by 5 feet 0 91 by 1 52 m flags Some private use is year round but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day Veterans Day Presidents Day Flag Day and on Independence Day On Memorial Day it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U S war veterans Also on Memorial Day it is common to fly the flag at half staff until noon to remember those who lost their lives fighting in U S wars nbsp An American flag on the U S embassy in Warsaw during a German air raid in September 1939 nbsp The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building in 1977 The VAB has the largest U S flag ever used on a building with the Bicentennial Star opposite the flag nbsp Gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery decorated with U S flags on Memorial Day nbsp A dumpster in Chicago painted to resemble the American flag Flag etiquette Main article United States Flag Code nbsp The proper stationary vertical display The union blue box of stars should always be in the upper left corner nbsp A tattered flag at Spokane Valley Police Headquarters Spokane Washington nbsp A proper and respectful manner of disposing of a damaged flag is a ceremonial burning as seen here at Misawa Air Base The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the flag s use display and disposal For example the flag should never be dipped to any person or thing unless it is the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation This tradition may come from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London where countries were asked to dip their flag to King Edward VII the American flag bearer did not Team captain Martin Sheridan is famously quoted as saying this flag dips to no earthly king though the true provenance of this quotation is unclear 102 103 The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and should be illuminated if flown at night The flag should be repaired or replaced if the edges become tattered through wear When a flag is so tattered that it can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States it should be destroyed in a dignified manner preferably by burning 104 The American Legion and other organizations regularly conduct flag retirement ceremonies often on Flag Day June 14 The Boy Scouts of America recommends that modern nylon or polyester flags be recycled instead of burned due to hazardous gases produced when such materials are burned 105 The Flag Code prohibits using the flag for any advertising purpose and also states that the flag should not be embroidered printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions handkerchiefs napkins boxes or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use 106 Both of these codes are generally ignored almost always without comment Section 8 entitled Respect For Flag states in part The flag should never be used as wearing apparel bedding or drapery and No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform Section 3 of the Flag Code 107 defines the flag as anything by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag of the United States of America An additional provision that is frequently violated at sporting events is part c The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally but always aloft and free 108 Although the Flag Code is U S federal law there is no penalty for a private citizen or group failing to comply with the Flag Code and it is not widely enforced punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech 109 Passage of the proposed Flag Desecration Amendment would overrule the legal precedent that has been established Display on vehicles nbsp Truck with backward flag sticker When the flag is affixed to the right side of a vehicle of any kind e g cars boats planes any physical object that moves it should be oriented so that the canton is towards the front of the vehicle as if the flag were streaming backward from its hoist as the vehicle moves forward Therefore U S flag decals on the right sides of vehicles may appear to be reversed with the union to the observer s right instead of left as more commonly seen citation needed The flag has been displayed on every U S spacecraft designed for crewed flight starting from John Glenn s Friendship 7 flight in 1962 including Mercury Gemini Apollo Command Service Module Apollo Lunar Module and the Space Shuttle 110 The flag also appeared on the S IC first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle used for Apollo Nevertheless Mercury Gemini and Apollo were launched and landed vertically instead of horizontally as the Space Shuttle did on its landing approach so the streaming convention was not followed These flags were oriented with the stripes running horizontally perpendicular to the direction of flight Display on uniforms On some U S military uniforms flag patches are worn on the right shoulder following the vehicle convention with the union toward the front This rule dates back to the Army s early history when mounted cavalry and infantry units would designate a standard bearer who carried the Colors into battle As he charged his forward motion caused the flag to stream back Since the Stars and Stripes are mounted with the canton closest to the pole that section stayed to the right while the stripes flew to the left 111 Several U S military uniforms such as flight suits worn by members of the United States Air Force and Navy have the flag patch on the left shoulder 112 113 Other organizations that wear flag patches on their uniforms can have the flag facing in either direction The congressional charter of the Boy Scouts of America stipulates that Boy Scout uniforms should not imitate U S military uniforms consequently the flags are displayed on the right shoulder with the stripes facing front the reverse of the military style 114 Law enforcement officers often wear a small flag patch either on a shoulder or above a shirt pocket Every U S astronaut since the crew of Gemini 4 has worn the flag on the left shoulder of his or her space suit except for the crew of Apollo 1 whose flags were worn on the right shoulder In this case the canton was on the left nbsp A subdued color flag patch similar to the style worn on the United States Army s ACU uniform The patch is customarily worn reversed on the right upper sleeve nbsp Flag of the United States on American astronaut Neil Armstrong s space suit nbsp Patch with the union to the front as seen on a Navy uniform Postage stamps nbsp Flags depicted on U S postage stamp issues nbsp Image of the Star spangled banner flag in the National Museum of American History being observed by George W Bush The flag did not appear on U S postal stamp issues until the Battle of White Plains Issue was released in 1926 depicting the flag with a circle of 13 stars The 48 star flag first appeared on the General Casimir Pulaski issue of 1931 though in a small monochrome depiction The first U S postage stamp to feature the flag as the sole subject was issued July 4 1957 Scott catalog number 1094 115 Since then the flag has frequently appeared on U S stamps Display in museums In 1907 Eben Appleton New York stockbroker and grandson of Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead the commander of Fort McHenry during the 1814 bombardment loaned the Star Spangled Banner Flag to the Smithsonian Institution In 1912 he converted the loan into a gift Appleton donated the flag with the wish that it would always be on view to the public In 1994 the National Museum of American History determined that the Star Spangled Banner Flag required further conservation treatment to remain on public display In 1998 teams of museum conservators curators and other specialists helped move the flag from its home in the Museum s Flag Hall into a new conservation laboratory Following the reopening of the National Museum of American History on November 21 2008 the flag is now on display in a special exhibition The Star Spangled Banner The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem where it rests at a 10 degree angle in dim light for conservation purposes 57 Places of continuous display nbsp Marine Corps War Memorial Arlington Virginia nbsp Flags covering the National Mall nbsp Astronaut James Irwin salutes the flag during the 1971 Apollo 15 lunar mission U S flags are displayed continuously at certain locations by presidential proclamation acts of Congress and custom Replicas of the Star Spangled Banner Flag 15 stars 15 stripes are flown at two sites in Baltimore Maryland Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine 116 and Flag House Square 117 Marine Corps War Memorial Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima Arlington Virginia 118 The Battle Green in Lexington Massachusetts site of the first shots fired in the Revolution 119 The White House Washington D C 120 Fifty U S flags are displayed continuously at the Washington Monument Washington D C 121 At continuously open U S Customs and Border Protection Ports of Entry 122 A Civil War era flag for the year 1863 flies above Pennsylvania Hall Old Dorm at Gettysburg College 123 This building occupied by both sides at various points of the Battle of Gettysburg served as a lookout and battlefield hospital Grounds of the National Memorial Arch in Valley Forge NHP Valley Forge Pennsylvania 124 By custom at the Maryland home birthplace and grave of Francis Scott Key at the Worcester Massachusetts war memorial at the plaza in Taos New Mexico since 1861 at the United States Capitol since 1918 and at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood South Dakota Newark Liberty International Airport s Terminal A Gate 17 2001 2021 125 and Boston Logan Airport s Terminal B Gate 32 and Terminal C Gate 19 in memoriam of the events of September 11 2001 126 Slover Mountain Colton Liberty Flag in Colton California July 4 1917 to c 1952 amp 1997 to 2012 127 128 129 130 At the ceremonial South Pole as one of the 12 flags representing the signatory countries of the original Antarctic Treaty On the Moon six crewed missions successfully landed at various locations and each had a flag raised at the site Exhaust gases when the Ascent Stage launched to return the astronauts to their Command Module Columbia for return to Earth blew over the flag the Apollo 11 mission had placed 131 Particular days for display nbsp The New York Stock Exchange at Christmas time The flag should especially be displayed at full staff on the following days 132 January 1 New Year s Day third Monday of the month Martin Luther King Jr Day and 20 Inauguration Day once every four years which by tradition is postponed to the 21st if the 20th falls on a Sunday February 12 Lincoln s birthday and the third Monday legally known as Washington s Birthday but more often called Presidents Day March April Easter Sunday date varies May Second Sunday Mothers Day third Saturday Armed Forces Day and last Monday Memorial Day half staff until noon June 14 Flag Day third Sunday Father s Day July 4 Independence Day September First Monday Labor Day 17 Constitution Day and last Sunday Gold Star Mother s Day 133 October Second Monday Columbus Day and 27 Navy Day November 11 Veterans Day and fourth Thursday Thanksgiving Day December 25 Christmas Day and such other days as may be proclaimed by the president of the United States the birthdays of states date of admission and on state holidays 134 Display at half staff nbsp An American flag now flies over Gate 17 of Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark New Jersey departure gate of United Airlines Flight 93 on 9 11 The flag is displayed at half staff half mast in naval usage as a sign of respect or mourning Nationwide this action is proclaimed by the president statewide or territory wide the proclamation is made by the governor In addition there is no prohibition against municipal governments private businesses or citizens flying the flag at half staff as a local sign of respect and mourning However many flag enthusiasts feel this type of practice has somewhat diminished the meaning of the original intent of lowering the flag to honor those who held high positions in federal or state offices President Dwight D Eisenhower issued the first proclamation on March 1 1954 standardizing the dates and periods for flying the flag at half staff from all federal buildings grounds and naval vessels other congressional resolutions and presidential proclamations ensued However they are only guidelines to all other entities typically followed at state and local government facilities and encouraged of private businesses and citizens citation needed To properly fly the flag at half staff one should first briefly hoist it top of the staff then lower it to the half staff position halfway between the top and bottom of the staff Similarly when the flag is to be lowered from half staff it should be first briefly hoisted to the top of the staff 135 Federal statutes provide that the flag should be flown at half staff on the following dates May 15 Peace Officers Memorial Day unless it is the third Saturday in May Armed Forces Day then full staff 136 Last Monday in May Memorial Day until noon September 11 Patriot Day 137 First Sunday in October Start of Fire Prevention Week in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service 138 139 December 7 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 140 For 30 days Death of a president or former president For 10 days Death of a vice president Supreme Court chief justice retired chief justice or speaker of the House of Representatives From death until the day of interment Supreme Court associate justice member of the Cabinet former vice president president pro tempore of the Senate or the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives Also for federal facilities within a state or territory for the governor On the day after the death Senators members of Congress territorial delegates or the resident commissioner of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Desecration nbsp U S flag being burned in protest on the eve of the 2008 election The flag of the United States is sometimes burned as a cultural or political statement in protest of the policies of the U S government or for other reasons both within the U S and abroad The United States Supreme Court in Texas v Johnson 491 U S 397 1989 and reaffirmed in U S v Eichman 496 U S 310 1990 has ruled that due to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution it is unconstitutional for a government whether federal state or municipal to prohibit the desecration of a flag due to its status as symbolic speech However content neutral restrictions may still be imposed to regulate the time place and manner of such expression If the flag that was burned was someone else s property as it was in the Johnson case since Johnson had stolen the flag from a Texas bank s flagpole the offender could be charged with petty larceny a flag usually sells at retail for less than US 20 or with destruction of private property or possibly both Desecration of a flag representing a minority group may also be charged as a hate crime in some jurisdictions 141 Folding for storage nbsp Folding the U S flag Though not part of the official Flag Code according to military custom flags should be folded into a triangular shape when not in use To properly fold the flag Begin by holding it waist high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars holding the bottom and top edges securely Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside Make a rectangular fold then a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open top edge of the flag starting the fold from the left side over to the right Turn the outer end point inward parallel to the open edge to form a second triangle The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner usually thirteen triangular folds as shown at right On the final fold any remnant that does not neatly fold into a triangle or in the case of exactly even folds the last triangle is tucked into the previous fold When the flag is completely folded only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible There is also no specific meaning for each fold of the flag However there are scripts read by non government organizations and also by the Air Force that are used during the flag folding ceremony These scripts range from historical timelines of the flag to religious themes 142 143 Use in funerals nbsp A flag prepared for presentation to the next of kin Traditionally the flag of the United States plays a role in military funerals 144 and occasionally in funerals of other civil servants such as law enforcement officers fire fighters and U S presidents A burial flag is draped over the deceased s casket as a pall during services Just prior to the casket being lowered into the ground the flag is ceremonially folded and presented to the deceased s next of kin as a token of respect 145 Surviving historical flagsThis is a list of surviving flags that have been displayed at or otherwise associated with notable historical battles or events Revolutionary War Forster Flag 1775 Historians believe the Manchester Company of the First Essex County Militia Regiment carried this flag during the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 1775 The militia unit was activated but was not involved in the day s fighting This flag is historic because it is the oldest surviving flag depicting the 13 colonies This flag may have been a British ensign flag that had its Union Jack removed and replaced with 13 white stripes before or after the battles of Lexington and Concord The slight variation in the canton area suggests something else might have been sewn into place before 146 The flag gets its name from Samuel Forster a First Lieutenant in the Manchester Company He took possession of the flag and his descendants passed it down until donating it to the American Flag Heritage Foundation in 1975 two hundred years later 147 In April 2014 the foundation sold the flag at auction 148 149 Westmoreland Flag 1775 Flag used by the 1st Battalion of Westmoreland County Pennsylvania In 1774 the town of Hanna the county seat of Westmoreland County began preparations for a conflict with the mother country as tensions between the two sides began to heat up The town decided in May 1775 following the battles of Lexington and Concord to create two battalions The town sheriff John Proctor would have command over the 1st and the unit would see action at Trenton and Princeton Due to the flag s remarkable condition it is speculated that it never flew in many battles if at all The flag is said to have been made in the fall of 1775 from a standard British red ensign This flag is one of two surviving revolutionary flags that feature a coiled rattlesnake along with the flag of the United Company of the Train of Artillery After the war in 1810 Alexander Craig a captain in the 2nd battalion was given the flag It would stay with the Craig family until donated to the Pennsylvania State Library in 1914 150 151 Brandywine Flag 1777 This flag is stated in most research as being the flag of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment However the Independence National Historical Park which currently owns the flag states it is the flag of the Chester County Militia 152 The flags gets its name for being used at the Battle of Brandywine which took place on September 11 1777 less than three months after the passage of the first flag act making it one of the earliest stars and stripes 153 154 Dansey Flag 1777 Flag used by a Delaware militia early in the war Before the Battle of Brandywine a soldier with the British 33rd Regiment of foote named William Dansey captured the militia s flag during a skirmish in Newark Delaware Dansey would take the flag back to England as a war trophy It would remain in his family until 1927 after being auctioned off to the Delaware Historical Society This flag would have been one of the earliest to use 13 stripes to represent the united colonies Another interesting note about this flag is that it was most likely a Division color instead of being used by one militia regiment 155 156 First Pennsylvania Rifles Flag 1776 Battle colors for the First Pennsylvania Regiment This regiment also known as the First Pennsylvania Rifles was formed in 1775 following an act passed by the Continental Congress calling for ten companies of marksmen The regiment would participate in many significant battles during the Revolution such as the siege of Boston Trenton Princeton Brandywine and Monmouth They would be dissolved in November 1783 following the treaty of Paris The earliest mention of this flag was mentioned in a 1776 letter by one of its soldiers The flag would be with the unit until the end of the war 157 Third New York Regiment Flag 1779 The Third New York was formed in 1775 on five month enlistments that expired later that year In 1776 however the regiment would be re established twice once in January and the other in December During the war the Third New York saw action in Canada White Plains and New York during which it participated in the defense of Fort Stanwix In 1780 the soldiers of the third were transferred over to the 1st New York Regiment While not the most famous of regiments in turns of battles fought it does leave behind a legacy that can be seen in the flag of New York In 1778 New York adopted a coat of arms for the state The following year the regiment s colonel Peter Gansevoort gifted the unit a blue regimental flag bearing the newly adopted arms This flag would serve as the basis of the current flag of New York 158 159 War of 1812 Star Spangled Banner Flag 1814 Flag that flew over Fort McHenry during a British bombardment in the War of 1812 This flag is depicted by Francis Scott Key in the song Star Spangled Banner which would later become the national anthem of the United States 160 Details 30 x 34 ft Currently 15 horizontal stripes alternating red and white stripes 14 stars one missing Stars arranged in a staggered 3 3 3 3 3 pattern Antebellum Period Fillmore Flag A historic Bennington flag currently maintained by the Bennington Museum held to be an heirloom from president Millard Fillmore s family Though it is sometimes taken to be an authentic artifact of the Battle of Bennington curators date it no earlier than the 19th century based on its construction The Bennington Museum estimates it was made sometime between 1812 and 1820 though one estimate places it as late as 1876 161 162 Old Glory Flag This flag was the first American Flag to be given the name Old Glory The flag was made in 1824 and was a gift to William Driver a sea captain by his mother He named the flag Old Glory and took it with him during his time at sea In 1861 the flag s original stars were replaced with 34 new ones and an anchor was added to the corner of the canton During the Civil war Driver hid his flag until Nashville became under union hands to which he flew the flag above the Tennessee capitol building 163 Matthew Perry Expedition Flag 1853 On July 14 1853 this flag was raised over Uraga Japan during the Perry Expedition in doing so it became the first American Flag to officially fly in mainland Japan In 1855 it was presented to the US Naval Academy In 1913 it received a linen backing during preservation treatments by Amelia Fowler who would also work on restoring the Star Spangled Banner Nearly a century after its historic voyage to Japan in 1945 the flag once again returned and was present at the formal surrender of Japan on board the USS Missouri on September 2 1945 Owing to its condition it had to be presented on its reverse side As of 2021 the U S Naval Academy possesses the flag 164 Civil War Fort Sumter Flag 1861 During the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861 the flagpole was hit by artillery fire The flag was raised again from a makeshift pole and was taken down after the Union garrison surrendered The terms of surrender allowed the U S artillery to fire a salute for the flag The flag was taken by the departing commander of the fort and was displayed to the public on a tour of the northern states From this point private citizens display of the United States flag became much more common Four years after the flag was lowered at Fort Sumter it flew over the fort again on April 14 1865 following the Confederate surrender Later that day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated 165 Abraham Lincoln Assassination Flag 1865 Flag that was placed under the head of President Abraham Lincoln following his fatal shooting while he was still in the presidential box 166 Reconstruction Little Big Horn Guidon Guidon used by the 7th U S Cavalry during the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 The battle is infamous for all U S cavalry troops engaged in battle were killed including Lt Col George A Custer Sgt Ferdinand Culbertson discovered this flag under the body of one of the slain soldiers In 2010 this flag was sold for 2 2 million 167 World War II Iwo Jima Flag 1945 American flag that was raised above Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in WW2 The photo of this flag being raised by U S Marines was captured in the 1945 Pulitzer Prize winning photo Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima 168 Cold War Freedom 7 Flag 1961 This American Flag flew on the Freedom 7 mission to space becoming the first American flag to leave the Earth s atmosphere The flag was a last minute addition after a local student council president asked a reporter if this flag could be taken on board The reporter took it to the head of the NASA space task group to which he agreed In 1995 the flag was again taken to space to commemorate the 100th American crewed space mission 169 Modern day 9 11 Flag 2001 Flag is believed to have been from a yacht called the Star of America owned by Shirley Dreifus and her late husband Spiros E Kopelakis The Yacht and its flag were docked in the Hudson River on the morning of 9 11 The flag was later found by three members of the New York Fire Department George Johnson Billy Eisengrein and Dan McWilliams who raised it over the rubble on a tilted flag pole thought to be from the grounds of the Marriot hotel This was captured in a photograph taken by Thomas Franklin who worked for the New Jersey based newspaper The Record The photograph soon made its way to the Associated Press and from there it became shown worldwide on many newspapers front pages The photo has been compared to Joe Rosenthal s WW2 Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima Lori Ginker and Ricky Flores captured other photos of the same event from different angles Shortly after the famous photograph was taken the flag disappeared Another flag thought to be the real one was toured around the country but it was later found that the size of this flag was not the same as the one in the photograph The one in the photo was 3x5 while the one the city possessed was larger The flag would remain missing for nearly 15 years until a man named Brian turned an American flag into a fire station along with its halyard Investigators determined that his flag was genuine after comparing dust samples and event photographs 170 Today the 9 11 Memorial Museum possesses the flag 171 Related flagsThe U S flag has inspired many other flags for regions political movements and cultural groups resulting in a stars and stripes flag family The other national flags belonging to this family are Chile Cuba Greece Liberia Malaysia Puerto Rico Togo and Uruguay 172 The flag of Bikini Atoll is symbolic of the islanders belief that a great debt is still owed to the people of Bikini because in 1954 the United States government detonated a thermonuclear bomb on the island as part of the Castle Bravo test 173 The Republic of the United States of Brazil briefly used a flag inspired by the U S flag between 15 and 19 November 1889 proposed by the lawyer Ruy Barbosa The flag had 13 green and yellow stripes as well as a blue square with 21 white stars for the canton The flag was vetoed by the then provisional president Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca citing concerns that it looked too similar to the American flag 174 The flag of Liberia bears a close resemblance showing the origin of the country in free people of color from North America and primarily the United States 175 The Liberian flag has 11 similar red and white stripes which stand for the 11 signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence as well as a blue square with only a single large white star for the canton The flag is the only current flag in the world modeled after and resembling the American flag as Liberia is the only nation in the world that was founded colonized established and controlled by settlers who were free people of color and formerly enslaved people from the United States and the Caribbean aided and supported by the American Colonization Society beginning in 1822 176 Despite Malaysia having no historical connections with the U S the flag of Malaysia greatly resembles the U S flag Some theories posit that the flag of the British East India Company influenced both the Malaysian and U S flag 9 The flag of El Salvador from 1865 to 1912 El Salvador s flag at that time was based on the flag of the United States with a field of alternating blue and white stripes and a red canton containing white stars 177 The flag of Brittany was inspired in part by the American flag 178 The flag of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus an unrecognized state that existed from 1917 to 1922 during the Russian Civil War was divided into seven horizontal stripes that altered between green and white In the right top corner was placed a blue canton with seven five pointed yellow stars Six of those were placed in two horizontal rows each containing three stars Next to them on the right was placed another star in the middle of the height of two rows The stars were slightly sued to the left The seven stars and seven stripes represented the seven regions of the country 179 Possible future design of the flagSee also 51st state nbsp An artist s rendering of one possible design for a 51 star flag with stars arranged in a 9 8 9 8 9 8 pattern nbsp An artist s rendering of a possible design for a 52 star flag with stars arranged in a 7 6 7 6 7 6 7 6 pattern such as might accommodate the admission of two additional states into the Union If a new U S state were to be admitted it would require a new design of the flag to accommodate an additional star for a 51st state 180 51 star flags have been designed and used as a symbol by supporters of statehood in various jurisdictions According to the U S Army Institute of Heraldry the United States flag never becomes obsolete Any approved American flag may continue to be used and displayed until no longer serviceable 181 See also nbsp Heraldry portal nbsp United States portal Ensign of the United States Flag Day Flags of the Confederate States of America Flags of the United States Armed Forces Flags of the U S states Flag Desecration Amendment Fort Sumter Flag List of flags of the United States Nationalism in the United States Article sections Colors standards and guidons United States Flag desecration United States Associated people Robert Anderson 1805 1871 lowered the Fort Sumter Flag which became a national symbol and he a hero Francis Bellamy 1855 1931 creator of the Pledge of Allegiance Thomas E Franklin 1966 present photographer of Ground Zero Spirit better known as Raising the Flag at Ground Zero Christopher Gadsden 1724 1805 after whom the Gadsden flag is named Francis Hopkinson 1737 1791 designed the U S flag in 1777 Jasper Johns born 1930 painter of Flag 1954 55 inspired by a dream of the flag Katha Pollitt 1949 present author of a controversial essay on post 9 11 America and her refusal to fly a U S flag George Preble 1816 1885 author of History of the American Flag 1872 and photographer of the Fort McHenry flag Joe Rosenthal 1911 2006 photographer of Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima Betsy Ross 1752 1836 said to have sewn the first U S flag in a popular legend and after whom the Betsy Ross flag is namedExplanatory notes Spanish is also widely spoken here but it s only official in New Mexico References Warner John 1998 Senate Concurrent Resolution 61 PDF U S Government Printing Office Archived PDF from the original on May 6 2009 Retrieved April 5 2014 History of the American Flag www infoplease com Retrieved December 13 2015 USFlag org A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America OLD GLORY www usflag org Retrieved December 13 2015 Streufert Duane A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America The 50 Star Flag USFlag org Retrieved September 12 2013 The Administration of the Continental Navy of the American Revolution U S Naval Institute July 1 1905 Retrieved June 24 2023 Joint Committee on Printing United States Congress 1989 Our Flag H Doc 100 247 Washington U S Government Printing Office p 3 a b Leepson Marc 2004 Flag An American Biography a b Ansoff Peter 2006 The Flag on Prospect Hill PDF Raven A Journal of Vexillology 13 91 98 doi 10 5840 raven2006134 Archived from the original PDF on February 5 2015 a b The Striped Flag of the East India Company and its Connexion with the American Stars and Stripes at Flags of the World East India Company United Kingdom at Flags of the World Johnson Robert 2006 Saint Croix 1770 1776 The First Salute to the Stars and Stripes AuthorHouse p 71 ISBN 978 1425970086 Horton Tom 2014 Exposing the Origins of Old Glory s stripes History s Lost Moments The Stories Your Teacher Never Told You Vol 5 Trafford Publishing ISBN 978 1490744698 a b Saltires and Stars amp Stripes The Economic Times September 22 2014 Retrieved May 23 2017 A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation U S Congressional Documents and Debates 1774 1875 American Memory Library of Congress Guenter 1990 Washington Window Archived from the original on February 4 2013 Retrieved April 25 2013 a b Vile John R 2018 The American Flag An Encyclopedia of the Stars and Stripes in U S History Culture and Law ABC CLIO p 342 ISBN 978 1 4408 5789 8 a b Leepson Marc 2007 Chapter Ten The Hundredth Anniversary Flag An American Biography Macmillan ISBN 978 1 4299 0647 0 Capps Alan Coat of Arms The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington Mount Vernon Ladies Association Retrieved January 8 2020 Connell R W Mack W P 2004 Naval Ceremonies Customs and Traditions Naval Institute Press p 140 ISBN 978 1 55750 330 5 Retrieved October 27 2014 Mastai 60 Furlong Rear Admiral William Rea McCandless Commodore Byron 1981 So Proudly We Hail Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press pp 115 116 Williams Earl P Jr October 2012 Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags PDF NAVA News 216 7 9 Archived PDF from the original on March 6 2016 Retrieved February 16 2017 Lane Megan November 14 2011 Five hidden messages in the American flag BBC News Retrieved October 30 2013 Cooper Grace Rogers 1973 Thirteen Star Flags Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press Cooper Grace Rogers 1973 Thirteen Star Flags Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press pp 9 in paper pp 21 80 in pdf CiteSeerX 10 1 1 639 8200 In 1792 Trumbull painted thirteen stars in a circle in his General George Washington at Trenton in the Yale University Art Gallery In his unfinished rendition of the Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown dates not established the circle of stars is suggested and one star shows six points while the thirteen stripes are red white and blue How accurately the artist depicted the star design that he saw is not known At times he may have offered a poetic version of the flag he was interpreting which was later copied by the flag maker The flag sheets and the artists do not agree Cooper Grace Rogers 1973 Thirteen Star Flags Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press p 3 Furlong p 130 Moeller Henry W 1992 Unfurling the History of the Stars and Stripes Mattituck NY Amereon House pp 25 26 color plates 5A 5B Williams Earl P Jr October 2012 Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags PDF NAVA News 216 7 9 Archived PDF from the original on March 6 2016 Williams 2012 p 7 Hess Debra 2008 The American Flag Benchmark Books p 21 ISBN 978 0 7614 3389 7 Hastings George E 1926 The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson Chicago University of Chicago Press p 218 Hastings p 240 a b Williams pp 7 9 Moeller Henry W Ph D January 2002 Two Early American Ensigns on the Pennsylvania State Arms NAVA News 173 4 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Patterson Richard Sharpe Dougall Richardson 1978 1976 i e 1978 The Eagle and the Shield A History of the Great Seal of the United States Department and Foreign Service series 161 Department of State publication 8900 Washington Office of the Historian Bureau of Public Affairs Dept of State for sale by the Supt of Docs U S Govt Print Off p 37 LCCN 78602518 OCLC 4268298 Furlong William Rea McCandless Byron 1961 So Proudly We Hail The History of the Unites States Flag Washington Smithsonian Institution Press p 130 Zall Paul M 1976 Comical Spirit of Seventy Six The Humor of Francis Hopkinson San Marino California Huntington Library p 10 Williams Earl P Jr Spring 1988 The Fancy Work of Francis Hopkinson Did He Design the Stars and Stripes Prologue Quarterly of the National Archives 20 1 47 48 Journals of the Continental Congress Friday October 27 1780 Library of Congress Retrieved September 3 2010 Furlong William Rea McCandless Byron 1981 So Proudly We Hail The History of the United States Flag Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press pp 98 101 ISBN 978 0 87474 448 4 Federal Citizen Information Center The History of the Stars and Stripes Archived September 3 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 7 2008 Embassy of the United States of America 1 Retrieved April 11 2008 a b c Furlong William Rea McCandless Byron 1981 So Proudly We Hail The History of the United States Flag Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press pp 117 118 ISBN 978 0 87474 448 4 Crews Ed The Truth About Betsy Ross Retrieved June 27 2009 Canby George Balderston Lloyd 1917 The Evolution of the American flag Philadelphia Ferris and Leach pp 48 103 Canby William J The History of the Flag of the United States A Paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania March 1870 Independence Hall Association Archived from the original on February 20 2015 Retrieved February 24 2015 Preble 1880 p 244 Preble 1880 p 256 Ulrich Laurel Thatcher October 2007 How Betsy Ross Became Famous Common Place Vol 8 no 1 Archived from the original on April 4 2009 Retrieved February 15 2009 Miller Marla R 2010 Betsy Ross and the Making of America New York Henry Holt and Company LLC p 181 ISBN 978 0 8050 8297 5 Schaun George and Virginia Historical Portrait of Mrs Mary Young Pickersgill The Greenberry Series on Maryland 5 Annapolis MD Greenberry Publications 356 Furlong William Rea McCandless Byron 1981 So Proudly We Hail The History of the United States Flag Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press p 137 ISBN 978 0 87474 448 4 The Star Spangled Banner Making the Flag National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution Retrieved October 5 2009 Yuen Helen and Asantewa Boakyewa May 30 2014 The African American girl who helped make the Star Spangled Banner O Say Can You See Smithsonian Retrieved October 9 2018 a b The Star Spangled Banner Online Exhibition National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution Retrieved April 4 2012 United States Government 1861 Our Flag PDF Washington D C United States Government Printing Office S Doc 105 013 a b c United States Embassy Stockholm October 5 2005 United States Flag History United States Embassy Archived from the original on February 25 2008 Retrieved February 3 2009 These designs are in the Eisenhower Presidential Archives in Abilene Kansas Only a small fraction of them have ever been published Rasmussen Frederick A half century ago new 50 star American flag debuted in Baltimore The Baltimore Sun Archived from the original on June 21 2017 Retrieved June 20 2019 Institution Smithsonian Facts about the United States Flag Smithsonian Institution Retrieved May 20 2023 Preble George Henry 1880 History of the Flag of the United States of America second revised ed Boston A Williams and Co p 298 a b c March Eva 1917 The Little Book of the Flag Boston Houghton Mifflin Company p 92 Curiosa Sinica Boston Courier June 15 1843 Chinese Etymologies Kendall s Expositor Vol 3 no 14 Washington D C William Greer June 27 1843 p 222 via Google Books a b See Chinese English Dictionary Archived April 26 2011 at the Wayback MachineOlsen Kay Melchisedech Chinese Immigrants 1850 1900 2001 p 7 Philadelphia s Chinatown An Overview Archived June 24 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Leonard George The Beginnings of Chinese Literature in America the Angel Island Poems dead link Phương Lan July 10 2007 Bộ Ngoại giao Đề nghị thống nhất sử dụng ten gọi Hợp chung quốc Hoa Kỳ Ministry of Foreign Affairs Request to unify the use of the name Hợp chung quốc Hoa Kỳ Viet Nam Government Portal in Vietnamese Government of Vietnam Retrieved September 14 2023 Đ N C T Xứ Cờ Hoa Land of Flag Flower Đa Nẵng Online in Vietnamese Retrieved September 14 2023 International Settlement of Kulangsu Gulangyu China at Flags of the World American Flag Raised Over Buddhist Temple in Japan on July 4 1872 Archived February 2 2013 at the Wayback Machine Goodheart Adam 2011 Prologue Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group ISBN 978 0 307 59666 6 Retrieved July 31 2015 via adamgoodheart com a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help The American Flag Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict VZ Publications 2006 p 68 Leepson Marc 2005 Flag An American Biography Thomas Dunne Books pp 94 109 For alternate versions of the flag of the United States see the Stars of the U S Flag page Archived February 22 2005 at the Wayback Machine at the Flags of the World website Further information Territorial evolution of the United States Facts about the United States Flag Smithsonian Institution Retrieved April 22 2022 Leepson Marc 2005 Flag An American Biography New York St Martin s Press The Officially Unofficial Kind of Illegal 47 Star Flag Comes in for Repairs September 8 2011 Archived from the original on August 18 2022 Retrieved June 21 2022 Marmo Jennifer 2010 The American flag and the body How the flag and the body create an American meaning Kaleidoscope A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research 9 What the American Flag Symbolizes Around The World December 28 2018 Retrieved January 30 2019 Guthrie William Norman 1919 The Religion of Old Glory reprint ed New York George H Doran Company p 370 ISBN 978 1178236354 Retrieved April 27 2018 The Flag Bulletin Vol 23 Winchester Massachusetts Flag Research Center 1984 p 107 Retrieved April 27 2018 a formal book length proposal for vexillolatry was made by William Norman Guthrie in his The Religion of Old Glory New York Doran l9l9 2 Archived August 6 2017 at the Wayback Machine This Is Why It s Legal to Burn the American Flag Arnaldo Testi Capture the Flag The Stars and Stripes in American History New York University Press 2010 p 2 ISBN 978 0 8147 8322 1 a b c Greenstein Nicole July 4 2013 Why the U S Flag is Red White and Blue Time via time com Telfair Marriott Minton April 1929 The Origin of the American Flag Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 8 32 Society for Army Historical Research 114 120 JSTOR 44220286 General Services Administration Federal Specification DDD F 416F Flag National United States of America and Flag Union Jack March 31 2005 PDF available from everyspec com The flag ratio B A in the diagram is not absolutely fixed Although the diagram in Executive Order 10834 gives a ratio of 1 9 earlier in the order is a list of flag sizes authorized for executive agencies This list permits eleven specific flag sizes specified by height and width for such agencies 20 00 38 00 10 00 19 00 8 95 17 00 7 00 11 00 5 00 9 50 4 33 5 50 3 50 6 65 3 00 4 00 3 00 5 70 2 37 4 50 and 1 32 2 50 Eight of these sizes conform to the 1 9 ratio within a small rounding error less than 0 01 However three of the authorized sizes vary significantly 1 57 for 7 00 11 00 1 27 for 4 33 5 50 and 1 33 for 3 00 4 00 Ex Ord No 10834 August 21 1959 24 F R 6865 governing flags manufactured or purchased for the use of executive agencies Section 22 Section 32 explains that As used in this order the term executive agencies means the executive departments and independent establishments in the executive branch of the Government including wholly owned Government corporations Architect of the Capitol Flag Request Form Archived April 28 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on July 1st 2017 Reimann Genevieve Judd Deane B Keegan Harry J 1946 Spectrophotometric and Colorimetric Determination of the Colors of the TCCA Standard Color Cards Journal of the Optical Society of America 36 3 128 159 doi 10 1364 JOSA 36 000128 PMID 21023091 In the 9th edition of the Standard Color Card of America White Old Glory Red and Old Glory Blue were respectively Cable No 70001 Cable No 70180 and Cable No 70075 The Munsell renotation coordinates for these were taken directly from the Reimann et al paper the CIELAB D65 coordinates were found by converting the xyY values in that paper to be relative to CIE Illuminant D65 from Illuminant C using the CAT02 chromatic adaptation transform and relative to a perfect diffuse reflector as white The relative values in the table were found by taking Cable No 70001 s luminosity to be that of the white point and were converted to D65 or D50 also using the CAT02 transformation The values for CMYK were found by converting from the CIELAB D50 values using the Adobe CMM and the GRACoL 2006 ICC profile in Adobe Photoshop Helen Taylor Lucille Knoche and Walter Granville eds 1950 Descriptive Color Names Dictionary Container Corporation of America In 1996 U S Flag Facts at the website of the U S embassy in London listed the colors red PMS 193 and blue PMS 282 presumably PMS solid coated colors By October 2002 these had changed to red PMS 193 and blue PMS 281 These latter PMS equivalents are listed on many websites including various other U S Government organizations such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation s website Archived May 22 2010 at the Wayback Machine See also United States of America Archived July 13 2010 at the Wayback Machine Flags of the World The website of the U S Embassy in Stockholm instead lists PMS 186 and PMS 288 as the colors specified by the U S Government Printing Office Colors of the U S Flag United States Embassy Stockholm November 2001 The Military Department of the State of California suggested PMS 200 for red in a 2002 document Flags over California a history and guide The Government Code Title 11 State Symbols and Honors Subtitle A Chapter 3100 Statutes legis state tx us Retrieved on May 27 2011 a b ECA Design Guidelines PDF Report Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Office of Public Affairs and Strategic Communications January 2017 Retrieved January 21 2023 Fringe on the American Flag Archived from the original on September 11 2006 Retrieved June 27 2006 Ross Winston December 30 2012 Sovereign Citizens Are a Sometimes Violent Fringe Group Rejecting All Government Retrieved July 8 2019 a b Rebuttal of martial law flag claims by tax protesters Archived May 2 2016 at the Wayback Machine Evans legal com Retrieved on May 27 2011 See McCann v Greenway 952 F Supp 647 W D Mo 1997 which discusses various court opinions denying any significance related to trim used on a flag state co us Colorado Court of Appeals Order Order Affirmed Colorado v Drew Munsinger 13 May 2010 PDF courts state co us Archived PDF from the original on May 13 2014 Retrieved April 19 2015 LA84 Foundation Archived September 9 2008 at the Wayback Machine PDF Retrieved on May 27 2011 London Olympics 1908 amp 1948 BBC Retrieved on May 27 2011 How to Properly Dispose of Worn Out U S Flags U S Department of Defense Retrieved October 22 2023 Consider Recycling not Burning a Retired Flag Boy Scouts of America 2012 Retrieved July 6 2012 4 U S Code Sec 8 i 4 U S Code Chapter 1 Sec 3 Green Michael June 13 2019 What Does It Mean To Disrespect The U S Flag brandingthenations com Retrieved February 3 2020 Texas v Johnson 491 U S 397 1989 United States v Eichman 496 U S 310 1990 Flag Day Flying High The Stars and Stripes in Space NASA June 11 2019 Retrieved June 8 2020 Smith Stewart September 23 2019 Why the U S Flag Is Worn Backward on Army Uniforms The Balance Dotdash Retrieved April 20 2020 SUBJECT Air Force Guidance Memorandum to AFI 36 2903 Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel PDF Static e publishing af mil Archived from the original PDF on November 2 2018 Retrieved October 15 2017 Navy aviators ditch new flight suit wear rules Navytimes com Retrieved October 27 2014 Self Peter March 11 2014 Is the American flag backward on Scout uniforms Scoutingmagazine org Scouting Retrieved November 18 2014 Imitation of United States Army Navy or Marine Corps uniforms is prohibited in accordance with the provisions of the organization s Congressional Charter Scott s Specialized Catalogue of United States Postage Stamps Presidential Proclamation No 2795 July 2 1948 Code of Federal Regulations of the United States Title 3 Compilation 1943 1948 HathiTrust Google Books University of Michigan scan pages 212 213 Public Law 83 319 approved March 26 1954 Presidential Proclamation No 3418 June 12 1961 Public Law 89 335 approved November 8 1965 Presidential Proclamation No 4000 September 4 1970 Presidential Proclamation No 4064 July 6 1971 effective July 4 1971 Presidential Proclamation No 4131 May 5 1972 Gettysburg College News Detail Archived June 17 2010 at the Wayback Machine Gettysburg edu Retrieved on May 27 2011 Pub L 94 53 89 Stat 259 S J Res 98 approved July 4 1975 Flag Flying at Newark Airport Terminal Honoring Flight 93 Victims Retired Today After 20 Years Ocean County Scanner News September 11 2021 Retrieved March 22 2023 Guzman Dan September 8 2016 At Logan Some 9 11 Tributes Go Unnoticed By Most Of The Flying Public wbur org Retrieved March 22 2023 With the consent of Congress Old Glory kept perpetual shine Archived July 17 2011 at the Wayback Machine PE Press Archive With the consent of Congress Slover Mountain The Sun May 14 2008 Archived May 18 2013 at the Wayback Machine By Act of Congress California Portland Cement Co Calportland Media Center Calportland com Retrieved October 15 2017 Moskowitz Clara July 27 2012 Apollo Moon Landing Flags Still Standing Photos Reveal Space com Retrieved January 14 2019 4 U S Code 6 Time and occasions for display LII Legal Information Institute Retrieved October 15 2017 36 U S Code 111 Gold Star Mother s Day LII Legal Information Institute Retrieved October 15 2017 MDVA Flag Information Archived April 6 2013 at the Wayback Machine Mdva state mn us Retrieved on May 27 2011 U S Code Title 4 Chapter 1 7 Archived November 7 2011 at the Wayback Machine 36 U S C Sec 136 Archived December 30 2022 at the Wayback Machine None Retrieved on May 27 2011 Patriot Day 2005 Archived July 12 2017 at the Wayback Machine Georgewbush whitehouse archives gov Retrieved on May 27 2011 Public Law 107 51 Archived February 7 2009 at the Wayback Machine Ushistory org Retrieved on May 27 2011 Presidential Proclamation Fire Prevention Week The White House Archived October 31 2009 at the Wayback Machine Whitehouse gov Retrieved on May 27 2011 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2007 Archived July 12 2017 at the Wayback Machine Georgewbush whitehouse archives gov Retrieved on May 27 2011 Sahouri Andrea May Miskimen Gage Gehr Danielle December 20 2019 Iowa man sentenced to 16 years for setting LGBTQ flag on fire Des Moines Register Flag Folding Ceremony Air Force Script PDF Archived from the original PDF on February 17 2013 Retrieved December 25 2012 Flag Folding Procedures The American Legion Legion org Retrieved September 8 2013 Sequence of Events for an Army Honors Funeral At Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery Archived from the original on January 25 2009 Retrieved February 6 2009 Flag Presentation Protocol Virginia Army National Guard Archived from the original on May 11 2009 Retrieved February 6 2009 Studio Inside The Conservator s April 2 2014 The Forster Flag and the conservation of a Revolutionary War textile Inside the Conservator s Studio Retrieved October 8 2021 The Historic Forster Flag Auction in New York Doyle Auction House Retrieved October 8 2021 Forster Flag sold The Flag Heritage Foundation Retrieved October 8 2021 The Forster Flag Manchester Historical Museum Archived from the original on April 23 2021 Retrieved October 8 2021 Burke Mike June 14 2018 Don t Tread on Me The Flag of Colonel John Proctor s 1st Battalion of Westmoreland County Pa Home Retrieved October 8 2021 Westmoreland County Pennsylvania U S Colonel John Proctor s 1st Battalion Flag 1791 1793 American Relic Hysteries July 23 2015 Retrieved October 8 2021 In honor of FlagDay Twitter Retrieved October 8 2021 The Brandywine flag used by the Chester County Militia Twitter Retrieved October 8 2021 Textile Conservation of the Brandywine Flag Inside the Conservator s Studio July 4 2012 Retrieved October 8 2021 Byrne Tom August 30 2019 Enlighten Me Reuniting pieces of the First State s Revolutionary history www delawarepublic org Retrieved October 8 2021 Object Record Delaware Historical Society Weathered Revolutionary War flag to unfold its story The State Museum of Pennsylvania statemuseumpa org Archived from the original on October 9 2021 Retrieved October 8 2021 The 3rd New York Regiment of the Continental Line 1777 1781 Fort Stanwix National Monument U S National Park Service Retrieved October 8 2021 The 3rd New York Regiment of the Continental Line 1777 1781 U S National Park Service www nps gov Retrieved October 8 2021 Star Spangled Banner Smithsonian Institution Retrieved October 8 2021 A60 Flag Highlights From The Collection Bennington Museum March 6 2007 Archived from the original on September 27 2007 Retrieved March 14 2008 Early Date 1812 Late Date 1820 Cooper Grace Rogers November 6 1973 Thirteen Star Flags Keys to identification Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology Number 21 Washington D C Smithsonian Institution Press pp 29 30 hdl 10088 2420 GR113 072 929 9 0973 72 8229 Retrieved March 14 2008 Old Glory flag National Museum of American History Retrieved October 8 2021 Object 89 Perry s Flag Present at Japanese 1853 Opening amp WWII Surrender www usna edu Retrieved October 8 2021 Battle of Fort Sumter April 1861 U S National Park Service www nps gov Retrieved October 8 2021 Artifact of the Assassination The Lincoln Flag and the Gourlay Family Fords Theatre May 21 2015 Retrieved October 8 2021 Brown Matthew December 10 2010 Custer s Last Flag sells for 2 2 million NBC News Retrieved October 8 2021 Iconic Artifacts National Museum of the Marine Corps Retrieved October 8 2021 Flag United States Freedom 7 Flight Smithsonian Institution Retrieved October 9 2021 Returning the Ground Zero flag How detectives solved the mystery of the missing Stars and Stripes Police1 September 9 2019 Retrieved October 9 2021 Iconic Ground Zero Flag Donated to 9 11 Memorial Museum National September 11 Memorial amp Museum 911memorial org Retrieved October 9 2021 Znamierowski Alfred 2013 The World Encyclopedia of Flags The Definitive Guide to International Flags Banners Standards and Ensigns with Over 1400 Illustration Lorenz Books p 114 ISBN 978 0 7548 2629 3 Bikinian Anthem amp Flag Bikiniatoll com March 1 1954 Retrieved September 8 2013 Um estudo historico perceptual A Bandeira Brasileira sem Brasil Archived 2011 07 26 at the Wayback Machine Seysell Ricardo Universidade Estadual Paulista 2006 Retrieved on 10 October 2010 in Portuguese President Sirleaf Worships at Abyssinian Baptist Church Pleads with African Americans to Serve as Ambassadors for Liberia Ministry of State Presidential Affairs Executive Mansion Government of Liberia September 23 2012 Archived from the original on July 20 2014 Retrieved July 16 2014 Burin Eric 2008 Slavery and the Peculiar Solution A History of the American Colonization Society University Press of Florida pp 20 28 ISBN 978 0813032733 Arbizu Gregorio May 4 1865 Decreto del Gobierno designado los colores del pabellon nacional y atributos del escudo de armas de la republica PDF El Constitucional Diario Oficial in Spanish 1 82 1 14 in Archives Archived from the original PDF on June 14 2021 Retrieved June 14 2021 Regionalism after Regionalisation AUP Dissertation Series Amsterdam University Press 2014 p 223 ISBN 978 9056294281 The Flag Bulletin vol 148 The Flag Research Center 1992 p 184 4 U S Code 2 Same additional stars LII Legal Information Institute Retrieved January 20 2017 Top Ten American Flag Myths The American Legion Retrieved July 8 2019 BibliographyAllentown Art Museum The American Flag in the Art of Our Country Allentown Art Museum 1976 Herbert Ridgeway Collins Threads of History Americana Recorded on Cloth 1775 to the Present Smithsonian Institution Press 1979 Grace Rogers Cooper Thirteen star Flags Keys to Identification Smithsonian Institution Press 1973 David D Crouthers Flags of American History Hammond 1978 Louise Lawrence Devine The Story of Our Flag Rand McNally 1960 William Rea Furlong Byron McCandless and Harold D Langley So Proudly We Hail The History of the United States Flag Smithsonian Institution Press 1981 Scot M Guenter The American Flag 1777 1924 Cultural Shifts from Creation to Codification Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 1990 online Archived May 24 2012 at the Wayback Machine George E Hastings The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson University of Chicago Press 1926 Kevin Keim amp Peter Keim A Grand Old Flag A History of the United States through its Flags DK Publishing 2007 ISBN 978 0 7566 2847 5 Flag An American Biography Thomas Dunne Books St Martin s Press 2005 David Roger Manwaring Render Unto Caesar The Flag Salute Controversy University of Chicago Press 1962 Boleslaw Mastai and Marie Louise D Otrange Mastai The Stars and the Stripes The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present Knopf 1973 Henry W Moeller Ph D Two Early American Ensigns on the Pennsylvania State Arms NAVA News Issue 173 Jan Mar 2002 Milo Milton Quaife The Flag of the United States 1942 Milo Milton Quaife Melvin J Weig and Roy Applebaum The History of the United States Flag from the Revolution to the Present Including a Guide to Its Use and Display Harper 1961 Richard S Patterson and Richardson Dougall The Eagle and the Shield A History of the Great Seal of the United States U S Government Printing Office 1978 1976 i e 1978 Albert M Rosenblatt Flag Desecration Statutes History and Analysis Archived August 11 2016 at the Wayback Machine Washington University Law Quarterly 1972 193 237 George and Virginia Schaun Historical Portrait of Mrs Mary Young Pickersgill The Greenberry Series on Maryland Greenberry Publications Volume 5 Leonard A Stevens Salute The Case of The Bible vs The Flag Coward McCann amp Geoghegan 1973 Arnaldo Testi Capture the Flag The Stars and Stripes in American History New York University Press 2010 192 pages A European perspective on the symbolism and political social and cultural significance of the flag Earl P Williams Jr NAVA News Issue 216 Oct Dec 2012 Paul M Zall Comical Spirit of Seventy Six The Humor of Francis Hopkinson The Huntington Library 1976 Chadwick Patricia The Women Behind the Flag Archived August 6 2018 at the Wayback Machine Further reading Identity and Marking Standards PDF Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Washington D C United States Department of State June 2012 Archived from the original PDF on February 14 2013 Retrieved February 14 2013 External linksFlag of the United States at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Definitions from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Data from Wikidata United States at Flags of the World Encyclopedia Smithsonian Facts About the United States Flag Text of the United States Flag Code chap 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code Executive Order No 10798 with specifications and regulations for the current flag July 1942 United We Stand Archived May 11 2012 at the Wayback Machine National Museum of American History online exhibition highlighting some 500 magazines featuring the American flag on their cover during World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flag of the United States amp oldid 1220281720, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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