🇺🇸The American Flag

Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, the Star-Spangled Banner

The American flag has taken many forms over its nearly 250-year history. The number of stars has grown from 13 to 50 as states have been added to the Union, while the 13 stripes have remained constant, representing the original thirteen colonies. The design we know today — the 50-star flag — was adopted in 1960 and is the longest-serving version of the flag in American history.

The First Flag Act

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Resolution: "Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." The resolution did not specify how the stars should be arranged, so early flags varied — some had stars in rows, some in a circle, some scattered. June 14 is now observed as Flag Day in commemoration.

Betsy Ross and the Myth

Popular tradition credits Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, with sewing the first American flag at the request of a committee that included George Washington. The story first appeared publicly in 1870, nearly a century after the fact, told by Ross's grandson. Most historians consider the specific story unproven, though Ross was a flag-maker by trade and certainly sewed many early flags. The design most commonly attributed to her — 13 stars in a circle on a blue field — does appear on some early flags.

The Star-Spangled Banner

During the War of 1812, a massive American flag flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. When British warships bombarded the fort through the night of September 13–14, 1814, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched from a ship in the harbor. At dawn, when he saw the flag still flying, he began writing a poem that would become "The Star-Spangled Banner." Congress made it the official national anthem in 1931. The original flag — tattered and patched — is preserved at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Growing to Fifty Stars

As new states joined the Union, new stars were added to the flag — always on the Fourth of July following the state's admission. The flag has had 27 different official designs. The 48-star flag flew from 1912 to 1959, the longest of any previous version. A 49-star flag (for Alaska) flew for just one year before a 50-star flag (for Hawaii) was adopted on July 4, 1960. The current design was created by a 17-year-old Ohio high school student, Robert G. Heft, for a class history project. His teacher gave him a B-minus; his design was selected from thousands of submissions.

Flag Etiquette

The U.S. Flag Code, adopted in 1942, lays out how the flag should be displayed and cared for. It should not touch the ground. It should be lit when flown at night. It should be flown at half-staff on certain days of mourning. It should never be used as clothing, bedding, or advertising. When it becomes too worn to display, it should be retired by burning in a dignified ceremony. The Code is advisory rather than enforceable, but it shapes flag display in schools, government buildings, and military installations nationwide.

American Flag Facts

• Six American flags have been planted on the Moon — one by each crewed Apollo landing (11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17).
• The flag is always displayed with the stars (the "union") at the top left when viewed from the front.
• On a military uniform's right sleeve, the flag is reversed so that the union faces forward, as if the flag were "flying" as the soldier moves.
• The colors of the flag were described by Charles Thomson, designer of the Great Seal: red for "hardiness and valor," white for "purity and innocence," and blue for "vigilance, perseverance, and justice."
• The longest-serving flag is the current 50-star design, in use since 1960 — longer than all previous versions combined.