History of the American Flag Day Celebration

For the first seventy years of colonial life on the east coast of America the population went about its business under the merchant flag of England called the Red Ensign. This flag combined the English red-on-white cross of St. George with Scotland's blue-on-white cross of St. Andrew.

After the start of the Revolutionary War the flag that flew over George Washington's headquarters was called the Grand Union flag, very reminiscent of the British flag but already containing the thirteen stripes.

The Flag Resolution of 1777

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the Continental Congress passed a resolution on the 14th of June 1777 to define the American flag as having thirteen stripes with the color red for valor alternating with the color white representing innocence and purity. On a field of blue (for vigilance and justice) there were to be thirteen white stars 'representing a new constellation'.

The American Flag

It was the month of May when the congressional committee in charge of designing the American flag met with Betsy Ross at her upholstery shop to discuss the making of the first flag.

George Washington had favored six-pointed stars when presenting the rough draft of the proposed flag design to Betsy Ross but she demonstrated a bit of seamstress legerdemain to convince him and the other committee members that five-pointed stars were a better choice. She took out a piece of cloth and by folding it carefully and cleverly Betsy was able to cut out a perfect five pointed star with one snip of her scissors.

Her skills and knowledge were demonstrated to the satisfaction of the committee and Betsy Ross' familiar flag, with stars in a circle, was finished by the end of May or early in June of 1776, before the Declaration of Independence itself was signed.

The Star Spangled Banner

By the year 1795 another two states had been added to the union and the flag held a new stripe and star for each one. Fifteen stripes and fifteen stars were on the flag that flew above Fort McHenry in September of 1814 and was the one that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that became the national anthem.

The growth and expansion of the nation brought a number of changes which the flag went through to try to keep up with the increasing number of states. It was on April 4th 1818 that the unchanging thirteen stripes and one new star for each state became the standard.

The position of the stars on each version of the flag were variable and subject to the whim of the flag maker until 1912. It was President Taft that standardized the stars into six rows of eight stars each for the forty-eight states of his administration.

Since Hawaii became the fiftieth state in 1959 the flag of the United States of America still has its original thirteen stripes (6 white and 7 red) representing the original thirteen colonies and on a field of blue, fifty white five-pointed stars (in alternating rows of 6 and 5), each representing a state of the union.

Flag Birthday

A Wisconsin school teacher by the name of B.J.Cigrand is given credit for organizing the first June 14th 'Flag Birthday' celebration for the 108th anniversary (1885) of the American flag. He continued to advocate the occasion through writings and public appearances and inspiring others to adopt the celebration.

Flag Day was celebrated by young school children in New York in 1889 and the New York State Board of Education eventually made the occasion official. The Betsy Ross House in Pennsylvania held their first Flag Day ceremonies in 1892 and this was followed by schools, businesses and state governors declaring June 14th as Flag Day.

The American Flag Association, started in 1894 by B.J. Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn, organized a Chicago School System celebration that had over 300,000 children in attendance. There were many more such occasions to follow.

Presidential Approval

President Woodrow Wilson chose 1916 to establish by Presidential Proclamation June 14th as the official anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. The Act of Congress that made the 14th of June National Flag Day was signed by President Harry Truman in 1949, finally making it an official occasion.

At a Flag Day address in 1914 the US Secretary of the Interior, Franklin K. Lane, proclaimed words which he had heard his flag say to him earlier that day,

"I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Reference:
www.usflag.org
http://en.wikipedia.org
www.fireworks.com
http://lcweb2.loc.gov
www.geocities.com
http://www3.kumc.edu
www.ushistory.org