Flag of the United States

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"American Flag" redirects here. For the song "American Flag" by Cat Power, see Moon Pix

The flag of the United States consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British crown and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include "the Stars and Stripes" or "Old Glory," with the latter nickname coined by Captain William Driver, a 19th-century shipmaster.

Because of its symbolism, the starred blue canton is called the "union." This part of the national flag can stand alone as a maritime flag called the Union Jack (no relation to the flag of the United Kingdom this term more commonly refers to). The Union Jack served as the naval jack for U.S. warships until 2002, when it was replaced by the so-called First Navy Jack as part of the War on Terrorism. However, the Union Jack continues to be used as a jack by U.S. vessels outside the Navy, including those of the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In blazons (a vexillological description using flag terminology), the U.S. flag is described as "a banner Gules, six bars Argent; the canton Azure charged with 50 mullets Argent." This means "a red flag with six white horizontal stripes; the upper quarter nearest the hoist is blue with 50 white stars."

[edit] Symbolism

One of the most widely used symbols of the United States is its flag. The national flag is widely used within the United States, and is frequently displayed, not only on public buildings, but on private residences, as well as iconically in forms such as decals for car windows, and clothing ornaments such as badges and lapel pins.

Many citizens understand the flag to represent the freedoms and rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights and perhaps most of all to be a symbol of individual and personal liberty as set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Through the Pledge of Allegiance and other political uses the flag has also come to be associated with U.S.A. nationalism, patriotism, and even militarism. The flag is a complex and contentious symbol, around which emotions run high.

In terms of the symbolism of the design itself, a book about the flag published by the Congress in 1977 states: "The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> George Washington is credited for saying: "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 Liberty."

Many people also take the red and white to stand for the blood of those who gave their lives for freedom, and the presumed purity of the freedom ideal, respectively.

[edit] Design

[edit] Specification

The basic design of the flag is specified by sections 1 and 2 of Title 4, United States Code (4 U.S.C. §§ 1, 2 (2004)). Executive Order 10834 which may be found as a note to section 1, specifies the proportions of the flag and the arrangement of the stars in the union. [1]. The specification gives the following values:

• Hoist (width) of flag: A = 1.0
• Fly (length) of flag: B = 1.9
• Hoist (width) of Union: C = 0.5385 (7/13, spanning seven stripes)
• Fly (length) of Union: D = 0.76 (1.9 × 2/5, two fifths of the flag length)
• E = F = 0.0538 (C/10, One tenth the width of the Union)
• G = H = 0.0633 (D/12, One twelfth the length of the Union)
• Diameter of star: K = 0.0616
• Width of stripe: L = 0.0769 (1/13)

Due to rounding errors, the above numbers are inconsistent, in that G and H do not fill up the width of the union, and E and F do not fill the height.

[edit] Flag ratios

Note that the flag ratio (B in the diagram) is not absolutely fixed by law. 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 x 38.00; 10.00 x 19.00; 8.95 x 17.00; 7.00 x 11.00; 5.00 x 9.50; 4.33 x 5.50; 3.50 x 6.65; 3.00 x 4.00; 3.00 x 5.70; 2.37 x 4.50; and 1.32 x 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 x 11.00), 1.27 (for 4.33 x 5.50) and 1.33 (for 3.00 x 4.00).

[edit] Colors

According to Flags of the World, the colors are specified by the General Services Administration "Federal Specification, Flag, National, United States of America and Flag, Union Jack," DDD-F-416E, dated November 27, 1981. It gives the colors by reference to "Standard Color Cards of America" maintained by the Color Association of the United States, Inc., as:

According to the book, "Our Flag" published by the House of Representatives, "The colors red, white, and blue did not have meanings for The Stars and Stripes when it was adopted in 1777." It goes on to say, on page 41 (page 47 of the PDF version)<ref>United States Government (1861). Our Flag (PDF), Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office. S. Doc 105-013.</ref> that the colors of the Great Seal of the United States, when it was adopted in 1782, were defined thus: "White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief [the broad band above the stripes] signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

Many people also take the red as a reference to the blood of patriots, especially members of the military, who fought for freedom^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Union

One legend states the union of the current 50-star flag was designed by Robert G. Heft in 1958 while living with his grandparents in Ohio. He was 17 years old at the time and did the flag design as a class project. His mother was a seamstress, but refused to do any of the work for him. He originally received a B- for the project. After discussing the grade with his teacher, it was agreed (somewhat jokingly) that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959. According to Heft, his teacher did keep to their agreement and changed his grade to an A for the project. ^{[citation needed]}

At the time, credit was given by the Executive Department to the U.S. Army Bureau of Heraldry for the design.

The reality is that when Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for Statehood, more than 1,500 designs were spontaneously submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower by Americans. Although some of them were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three, and probably more, of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag. These designs are in the Eisenhower Presidential Archives in Abilene, Kansas. Only a small fraction of them have ever been published.

[edit] Decoration

Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag itself 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 utilize fringe to enhance the beauty of the flag. 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, but a 1925 opinion of the attorney general approves the use of fringe "...at the descretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy...". The United States Institute of Heraldry also confirms that there are no implications of symbolism in the use of fringe. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

[edit] Flag etiquette

The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the use, display, and disposal of the flag. 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 comes from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where countries were asked to dip their flag to King Edward VII: the American team captain Martin Sheridan refused, famously proclaiming that "this flag dips to no earthly king."<ref>London Olympics 1908 & 1948</ref>)

Although the Flag Code is U.S. Federal law, there is no penalty for failure to comply with the Flag Code and it is not widely enforced — indeed, punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Passage of the proposed Flag Desecration Amendment would overrule legal precedent that has been established in this area.

[edit] Folding the 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. This is said to invoke the image of the three-point hats popular during the American Revolutionary War. (The Philippines, a former American territory, also has this custom for folding its flag.) 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 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.
7. When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.

[edit] Display

The flag is customarily flown year-round from most public buildings, and it is far from unusual to find private houses flying full-size flags. Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day, Veteran's 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 dead.

[edit] Places of continuous display

By presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom, American flags are displayed continuously at certain locations.

• 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 (Presidential Proclamation No. 2795, July 2, 1948) and Flag House Square (Public Law 83-319, approved March 26, 1954).

• United States Marine Corps War Memorial (Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima), Arlington, Virginia (Presidential Proclamation No. 3418, June 12, 1961).

• Lexington, Massachusetts Town Green (Public Law 89-335, approved November 8, 1965).

• The White House, Washington, DC (Presidential Proclamation No.4000, September 4, 1970).

• Fifty U.S. Flags are displayed continuously at the Washington Monument, Washington, DC. (Presidential Proclamation No. 4064, July 6, 1971, effective July 4, 1971).

• By order of Richard Nixon at United States Customs Service Ports of Entry that are continuously open (Presidential Proclamation No. 4131, May 5, 1972).

• By Congressional decree, a Civil War era flag (for the year 1863) flies above Pennsylvania Hall (Old Dorm) at Gettysburg College. 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 (Public Law 94-53, approved July 4, 1975).

• Mount Slover limestone quarry (Colton Liberty Flag), in Colton, California (Act of Congress). First raised July 4, 1917.[2]

• Washington Camp Ground, part of the former Middlebrook encampment, Bridgewater, New Jersey, Thirteen Star Flag, by Act of Congress.

• 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.

• In addition, the American flag is presumed to be in continual display on the surface of the Earth's Moon, having been placed there by the astronauts of Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17. It is possible that Apollo 11's flag was knocked down by the force of return to lunar orbit.

[edit] History

The flag has gone through 26 changes since the new union of 13 states first adopted it. The 48-star version holds the record, 47 years, for the longest time the flag has gone unchanged. The current 50-star version will tie the record if it is still in use on July 4, 2007.

At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, one commonly flown flag was the Continental Colors. This flag may have been initially flown by order of George Washington and it is thought it was first raised by Washington's troops at Prospect Hill on New Year's Day in 1776, although there is good reason to believe the flag was actually the King's Colors. At the time of the American Revolution the East India Company flag would have been identical to the Grand Union Flag. The flag probably inspired the Stars and Stripes (as argued by Sir Charles Fawcett in 1937). [3] Comparisons between the Stars and Stripes and the Company's flag from historical records present some convincing arguments. The John Company flag dates back to the 1600s whereas the United States adopted the Stars and Stripes in 1777[4]. This flag formed the basis of the Stars and Stripes, consisting of 13 red and white stripes (although sometimes red-white-blue stripes were used) with the original British Union Jack in the canton. The Grand Union Flag is similar to the East India Company flag of the same era, although the East India Company flag could have from 9 to 13 stripes, and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean.

The red-and-white stripe — and later, stars-and-stripes — motif of the flag may have been based on the Washington family coat-of-arms, which consisted of a shield "argent, two bars gules, above, three mullets gules" (a white shield with two red bars below three red stars). A 14th century stained-glass image of the coat of arms can be found on the "Washington Window" in Selby Abbey in Selby, North Yorkshire, England. Since 1937, the District of Columbia has used a flag based on this design. However, it is much more likely that it is based on the flag of the Sons of Liberty, which used a 13 red and white stripe combination.

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year. A false tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June of 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment.<ref>Guenter (1990)</ref>

The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement for the stars. The pictured flag shows the thirteen stars arranged in a circle, the so-called Betsy Ross flag. Although the Betsy Ross legend is not taken seriously by most historians, the design itself is the oldest version of any US flag to appear on any physical relic: it is historically referenced in contemporary battlefield paintings by John Trumbull and Charles Willson Peale, which depict the circular star arrangement. Popular designs at the time were varied and most were individually crafted rather than mass-produced. Given the scant archeological and written evidence, it is unknown which design was the most popular at that time; one preference was to arrange the stars in rows of 3, 2, 3, 2, and 3, as seen in the table below, or more commonly in rows of 4-5-4.

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 "The Star-Spangled Banner," now the national anthem.

Finally in 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid<ref>United States Government (1861). Our Flag (PDF), Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office. S. Doc 105-013.</ref> in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, and a new star would be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would remain at thirteen to honor the original colonies.

When the flag design changes, the change always takes place on July 4, as a consequence of the Flag Act of April 4, 1818. July 4, Independence Day in the United States, commemorates the founding of the nation. The most recent change, from forty-nine stars to fifty, occurred in 1960 when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.

The origin of the U.S. flag design is uncertain. A popular story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch by George Washington who personally commissioned her for the job. However, no evidence for this theory exists beyond Ross' descendants' much later recollections of what she told her family. Another woman, Rebecca Young, has also been credited as having made the first flag by later generations of her family. Rebecca Young's daughter was Mary Pickersgill, who made the Star Spangled Banner Flag. The British historian Sir Charles Fawcett has suggested that the design of the flag may have been derived from the flag and jack of the British East India Company. Comparisons between the 2 flags support Fawcett's suggestion. Another popular theory is that the flag was designed by Francis Hopkinson. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own lifetime, when he sent a bill to Congress for his work. He asked for a "Quarter Cask of the Public Wine" as payment initially. The payment was not made, however, because it was determined he had already received a salary as a member of Congress. It should be noted that no one at the time contested his claim to have designed the flag.

[edit] First salute

The Netherlands were the first country to salute the Grand Union flag, when gun salutes by American ships were returned by officials on Dutch islands in the West Indies in late 1776: on St. Croix in October, and on St. Eustatius in November. (Though later, the better documented St. Eustatius incident involving the USS Andrew Doria is traditionally regarded as the "first salute".) France was the first country to salute the Stars and Stripes, when a fleet off the French mainland returned a gun salute by Captain John Paul Jones commanding the USS Ranger on February 14, 1778.[5]

[edit] US stars and design duration

In the following table depicting the 27 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for each flag are merely the usual patterns, often associated with the United States Navy. With the exception of the 48-, 49-, and 50-star flags, as there was no official arrangement of the stars until the proclamation of the 48-star flag by President William Howard Taft on 29 October 1912. The exact colors of the flag were not standardized until 1934. (For alternate versions of the flag of the United States, see the Stars of the U.S. Flag page at the Flags of the World website.)

Further information: Territorial evolution of the United States

[edit] Symmetry

Most of these arrangements of stars exhibit some form of symmetry.

• Symmetry with respect to horizontal axis: 50, 49, 48, 46, 44, 38, 37, 36, 34, 33, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 20, 15, 13 (standard)
• Symmetry with respect to vertical axis: 50, 48, 46, 45, 44, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 21, 20, 15, 13 (standard and Betsy Ross)
• Both, hence also point symmetry: 50, 48, 46, 45, 44, 37, 36, 34, 33, 32, 28, 26, 24, 20, 15, 13 (standard)
• No symmetry: 43,
• Chessboard pattern: 50, 49, 45, 15, 13 (standard)
• Rectangle of stars: 48, 35, 30, 28, 24, 20

[edit] Future of the flag

The United States Army Institute of Heraldry has plans for flags with up to 56 stars using a similar staggered star arrangement in case additional states accede.

There are ongoing statehood movements in Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Other insular areas such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa may eventually want stars as well.

[edit] Gallery

[edit] Associated people

• Francis Bellamy, creator of the Pledge of Allegiance
• William Driver, who owned and named "Old Glory"
• Charles Fawcett, British historian who suggested the design is based on the flag of the British East India Company
• Christopher Gadsden, after whom the Gadsden flag is named
• Robert G. Heft, designer of the current flag's canton
• Francis Hopkinson, designer (according to some historians)
• Francis Scott Key, writer of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
• Mary Young Pickersgill, maker of the banner hoisted over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore
• Katha Pollitt, author of a controversial essay on post-9/11 America and her refusal to fly an American flag
• George H. Preble, author of History of the American Flag (1872) and photographer of the Fort McHenry flag
• Joe Rosenthal, photographer of Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
• Betsy Ross, designer (according to legend)
• George Washington, who first flew the Grand Union Flag and on whose family arms the design may be based

[edit] See also

• American ensign
• Flags of the United States
• Flags of the U.S. states
• Flags of the United States armed forces
• Flags of the Confederate States of America
• Gallery of flags of United States cities
• US Navy Jack
• Old Glory
• Nationalism in the United States

[edit] Article sections

• Flag desecration: United States
• Colours and guidons: US Army Colors

[edit] Notes and references

• Allentown Art Museum. The American Flag in the Art of Our Country. Allentown Art Museum, 1976.
• Collins Herbert Ridgeway. Threads of History: Americana Recorded on Cloth 1775 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979.
• Cooper Grace Rogers. Thirteen-star Flags: Keys to Identification. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.
• Crouthers David D. Flags of American History. Hammond,

1978

• Devine Louise Lawrence. The Story of Our Flag. Rand McNally, 1960
• Furlong William Rea, 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
• Manwaring David Roger. Render Unto Caesar: The Flag-Salute Controversy. University of Chicago Press, 1962.
• Mastai Boleslaw 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.
• Quaife Milo Milton. The Flag of the United States.

1942.

• Quaife Milo Milton, 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.
• Rosenblatt Albert M. "Flag Desecration Statutes: History and Analysis," Washington University Law Quarterly 1972: 193-237.
• Stevens Leonard A. Salute! The Case of The Bible vs. The Flag. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973.

• "US Code Title 4 Chapter 1, Section 8"

<references/>

[edit] External links

• United States at Flags of the World
• The Thirteen Stars and Stripes-A Survey of 18th Century Images of the US Flag
• U.S. Flag Etiquette (ushistory.org)
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the flag
• The United States Flag Page
• Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Facts About the United States Flag
• The Flag Code--U.S. Code Home: Title 4, Flag and Seal, Seat of Government, and the States--Chapter 1, The Flag
  • Provides details about the design of the flag, treatment of the flag, the pledge of allegiance, etc.
• Executive Order No. 10798, with specifications and regulations for the current flag
• The Significance of the "Yellow Fringed Flag"
• Ben's Guide (3-5): Symbols of U.S. Government - Flag of the United States
• Designs for flags containing between 51 and 70 stars
• Illustrated US flag display guidelines
• Collection of rudimentary flag information: flag care, protection & life extension; flag disposal (burning) instructions & ceremony; list of special flag-flying days; U.S. Air Force Academy flag-folding ceremony; guide for selecting appropriate flags for flag poles of various heights; flag shadow box lore & presentation, etc.
• Why Isn't the US Flag Flying over Taiwan?
• Flag Halyard Replacement Guide

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