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Old Glory:
The Flag of the United States of
America
On June 14, 1777, the Continental
Congress passed the first flag act. Although, most
people believe Betsy Ross designed the first flag, not many historians believe
she did. The American flag is made up of 3 colors
Red symbolizes bravery,
hardiness, and valor.
White symbolizes purity and
innocence.
Blue symbolizes
vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
The first U.S. flag had 13 red and
white stripes and 13 white stars symbolizing the 13 colonies. After the Revolutionary War, it was thought that each star and
stripe represented one state, and that their number had to be increased as the
Union expanded.
In 1818
as more states joined the Union, it was decided to change only the number of stars
and keep the 13 stripes to remember the original 13 colonies. The
last change to the flag was on July 4, 1960 when Hawaii became the 50th
state.
Changes to the flag always take
place on July 4th, the anniversary of our independency. There have been 26 changes to the flag since
1777.
National
Symbol
by Charles Evans Hughes
The flag is the
symbol of our national unity, our national
endeavor, our national aspiration.
The flag tells of the struggle for
independence, of union preserved,
of liberty and union one and inseparable, of the
sacrifices of brave
men and women to whom the ideals and honor of this nation have been
dearer than life.
It means America first;
it means an undivided allegiance.
It means America united, strong and efficient, equal to her tasks.
It means that you cannot be saved by the valor and devotion of your
ancestors, that to each generation comes its patriotic
duty; and
that upon your willingness to sacrifice and endure
as those before
you have sacrificed and endured rests the national
hope.
It speaks of equal rights, of the inspiration of free institutions
exemplified and vindicated, of liberty under law intelligently
conceived and impartially administrated. There is not a thread in it
but scorns self-indulgence, weakness, and rapacity.
It is eloquent of our community interests, outweighing all divergences
of opinion, and of our common destiny.
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