What does American Flag Colors Mean?
The story of the American flag begins in early 1630s England where King Charles I wanted to unite his people under one banner.
In May 1638, he commissioned a design for a national flag consisting of three horizontal bands of red, white and blue. This became known as the “Cromwellian Union Jack.”
In April 1676, during the Revolutionary War, the British Parliament voted to change the flag’s colors to green, white and gold. This became known as “the Grand Union Flag” because it combined elements of both the Royal Standard and the English Tricolor.
During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America used a variation of the Grand Union Flag. After the war, the current version of the American flag came into use.
On Jan. 8, 1818, Congress passed legislation requiring that the flag be 50 feet tall from tip to tip. A few months later, on July 4, 1818, President James Monroe signed a bill ordering that the flag be raised over federal buildings on Dec. 13 each year.
What does American Flag Colors Mean?: Origins
The exact origins of the first American flag are uncertain. There are many theories about where the design came from, how it got to America, and who made it. A popular legend says that the first flag was designed by Congresswoman Betsy Ross and sewed by her friend, Philadelphia seamstress Mary Young Pickersgill. Others say the flag was designed by New Jersey congressman Francis Hopkinson and sewed by his wife, Elizabeth, while still others claim it was designed by Joseph Gurney Seagram and sewn by his wife, Hannah.
A number of people claimed to have flown the original flag, including Captain William Driver, a sea merchant from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who flew it over the state house in Nashville, Tennessee, following the end of the Revolutionary War. In 1818, he sold the flag to the US government for $25.
In 1931, the United States Congress passed legislation requiring the federal government to display the flag in every public building. This act led to the creation of what we know today as the modern American flag.
There are 50 stars representing the 50 states and there are 13 stripes representing the 13 original colonies.
Source: uk.usembassy.gov
What does American Flag Colors Mean?: Inspiration
After a British bombardment, amateur English poet Francis Scott Key was inspired to pen “The Star Spangled Banner.” He later recited it to President John Adams during a dinner party. On September 13, 1814, the song was sung at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. It was written about the same time as another patriotic poem, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” by William Cullen Bryant.
In 1892, the flag was used as inspiration for a pledge of allegiance that was written by James B. Upham and Francis G. Bellamy. They originally submitted the pledge to the National Education Association, but it wasn’t accepted. So they turned it into a children’s book.
On June 14, 1942, the United States Congress passed a resolution calling for the creation of a permanent national day of patriotism. This led to the writing of “God Bless America,” which was written by Irving Berlin.
What does American Flag Colors Mean?: On Distant Shores
On September 14, 1814, during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key watched as the American flag flew above Fort McHenry while his ship lay anchored nearby. He later wrote about it in “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” which was published in the New York Evening Post on Oct. 30, 1814.
In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison signed into law a bill designating the song as the United States National Anthem. On June 14, 1916, Congress passed another act declaring the words of the song to be the official pledge of allegiance.
It consisted of thirteen red and white stripes and the United Kingdom’s Union Jack flag in the upper-left corner.
Source: memorials.com
James Blaine introduced legislation calling for the creation of a permanent committee to oversee the pledge in 1890. A resolution was adopted by the House of Representatives on May 8, 1892, directing the Committee on Arrangements of Ceremonies to prepare a draft of a pledge of allegiance. On July 4, 1892, the committee presented the final version of the pledge to the House of Representatives.
The pledge was originally written in English, but was translated into French and Spanish. The French translation was used for the ceremony held on Dec. 3, 1903, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., where the original English text was read aloud.
The pledge was revised again in 1954, and the current version was approved by the Senate on Feb. 22, 1955.
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