|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Symbolism
Many 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. 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."[3] 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."[4] 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.[citation needed] DesignSpecification
Flag ratiosNote 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 × 38.00; 10.00 × 19.00; 8.95 × 17.00; 7.00 × 11.00; 5.00 × 9.50; 4.33 × 5.50; 3.50 × 6.65; 3.00 × 4.00; 3.00 × 5.70; 2.37 × 4.50; and 1.32 × 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 × 11.00), 1.27 (for 4.33 × 5.50) and 1.33 (for 3.00 × 4.00). ColorsAccording 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)[9] 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 and Valor; Blue signifies Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice."[10] Design of the unionWhen 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. 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 18 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.[11] At the time, credit was given by the Executive Department to the U.S. Army Bureau of Heraldry for the design. DecorationTraditionally, 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.[12] Flag etiquetteThe 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."[13]) 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. Folding the flagImage:Fold-us-flag-animated.gif Folding the U.S. 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:
Half-staff observationSection 7m of the Flag Code reads:
DisplayThe 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 veterans. Places of continuous displayImage:Apollo 14 Shepard.jpg Astronaut Alan Shepard raises the United States Flag on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 14 mission. By presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom, American flags are displayed continuously at certain locations.
Particular days of displayThe flag should be displayed especially these days:
History The flag has been changed 26 times since the new, 13-state union adopted it. The 48-star version went unchanged for 47 years, the longest time the flag went unmodified. The current 50-star flag will match that record if it is still in use on July 4, 2007. First flagImage:Grand Union Flag.svg Image:FIAV historical.svg Grand Union Flag ("Continental Colors"). Image:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg Flag of the British East India Company, 1707–1801 At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the United States had no official, national flag. Tradition assigns the role "first flag" role to the design commonly named the Grand Union Flag, contending it was raised first by General Washington's soldiers at Prospect Hill, at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, on New Year's Day 1776. This traditional account probably is mistaken, confusing the use of two different flags (the British Union Flag and a red, striped flag) at Prospect Hill as a combined, single flag.[14] This flag is properly considered the de facto first naval ensign of the United States. It was first raised aboard Continental Navy Commodore Esek Hopkins' flagship Alfred on the Delaware River on December 3, 1775[15], possibly (according to his claim) by the ship's senior lieutenant John Paul Jones. The origins of the design are unclear. It closely resembles the British East India Company (BEIC) flag of the same era, and an argument dating to Sir Charles Fawcett in 1937 holds that the BEIC flag indeed inspired the design.[16] However, the BEIC flag could have from 9 to 13 stripes, and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean.[17] Both flags could have been easily constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign, a common flag throughout Britain and its colonies. Image:COA George Washington.svg The Washington family coat of arms. Another theory holds that the red-and-white stripe—and later, stars-and-stripes—motif of the flag may have been based[citation needed] 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). More likely it was based on a flag of the Sons of Liberty, one of which consisted of 13 red and white alternating horizontal stripes. The Flag Resolution of 1777Image:US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross.svg Image:FIAV historical.svg 13-star "Betsy Ross" flag (original had all stars pointed outward, not upward) 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.[18] 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 many 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. The origin of the stars and stripes 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. 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. Later flag actsImage:US flag 15 stars.svg Image:FIAV historical.svg 15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" flag Image:US flag 48 stars.svg Image:FIAV historical.svg 48-star flag, will remain as having been the longest in use (1912–1959) of all versions until July 4, 2007
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. On April 4, 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid[19] in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would remain at thirteen to honor the original colonies. The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 (Independence Day) following admission of one or more new states. The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, 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. First saluteThe 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.[2] Historical progression of designsIn 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.)
Future of the flagImage:US flag 51 stars.svg Image:FIAV proposal.svg Proposed design for a 51-star flag in the event of an additional state
Image:US 51-star alternate flag.svg 51 star U.S. flag used by the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico in the event of Puerto Rican statehood. The United States Army Institute of Heraldry has plans for flags with up to 56 stars, using a similar staggered star arrangement should additional states accede. Moreover, there are continuing political movements favouring statehood in Puerto Rico, and in the District of Columbia. Non-standard flagsImage:Guilford Court House flag.JPG Guilford Court House Flag A number of non-standard flags appeared in the early years of American independence. One example is the design approximated here, of a flag traditionally believed to have been carried by the American troops at the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781. This is disputed by some other historians who think it dates to the nineteenth century. The original flag is at the North Carolina Historical Museum. Similar flagsThe flag of Liberia bears close resemblance to the flag of the United States, showing the ex–American-slave origins of the country. The Liberian flag has similar red and white stripes, though only 11 of them, as well as a blue square for the union, but with only a single large white star. The flag of Malaysia is inspired by the flag of the United States, and displays the star and crescent, a traditional symbol of Islam, and 14 stripes. Though more dissimilar in appearance, the flag of Cuba was also inspired by the flag of the United States. For example, the white star originally signified an aspiration to U.S. statehood. Its origins date from 1849, when Cuban liberation movements emerged among Cuban exiles in the U.S.[20] Another flag similar to the flag of the United States is the flag of Puerto Rico. There are specific shades of red and blue for the construction of the flag, however there might be slight variations depending on the flag-flyer's political beliefs. The pro-independence groups use a sky light blue, while the pro-statehood groups use a darker shade of blue. Gallery
Associated people
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
