Flag Day June 14

A Bit of History of Our Flag

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the First Flag Act: 

"Resolved: That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." 

(It should be noted that Congress did not specify the way in which these features should appear.)

Historians believe this resolution was probably meant to define a naval ensign. The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. This design, known as "The Continental Colors" and then the "Grand Union Flag", was first hoisted over the warship Alfred on December 3, 1776 by the newly appointed Lieutenant John Paul Jones of the infant Continental Navy. Now it is considered our first National Flag.

The familiar design that has carried down through our history, has been frequently attributed to Founding Father Francis Hopkinson from New Jersey. However, when he petitioned Congress for payment of his idea, he was turned down on the bases that others had contributed to the design. Called the The "Betsy Ross Flag", the claim that she first sewed it has been dismissed by most historians.  According to Grace Cooper, a former flag historian at the Smithsonian Institution, the design did not appear before 1792.

Since the Betsy Ross Flag, the official American flag has changed 26 times. With the admission of Vermont and Kentucky, the second flag was approved in 1795. It not only added a star but a strip for each of the new states. It is referred to as the Star Spangle Banner because it was the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814.

In 1818, with admission of 5 new states, the next change was made. Realizing that the addition of a new star and new stripe for each new State was impractical, Congress passed the Flag Act of 1818. It returned the Flag design to 13 stripes and designated that only stars would be added for each additional state.

Between 1819 and 1877 the flag changed 17 times with the longest continuous time for one flag being 10 years. During both the administrations of Presidents Monroe and Polk, it changed 5 times. In 1890, it jumped from 38 stars to 44, and then changed 4 more times by 1912. After that, the flag stayed at 48 stars for the next 47 years.

Alaska added the 49^th star in 1959.

This flag was current from

July 4, 1959 – July 3, 1960

Hawaii completed the present Flag on

July 4,1960.

We can thank Bernard J.Cigrand, a school teacher from Waubeka, WI, for being behind the holiday. In 1885, Cigrand started promoting June 14 as “Flag Birthday or Flag Day”.  Even after becoming a dentist, he continued to promote the celebration around the country. After 30 years of his advocacy, President Wilson declared June 14th as Flag Day in 1916. However, even though localities and some states picked up on honoring the day, it wasn’t until 1949 that President Truman signed an Act of Congress making it a National holiday.