The Birth of the Stars and Stripes (1777)
The Stars and Stripes originated as a result of a resolution adopted by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia on June 14, 1777. The resolution read:
"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."
The resolution gave no instruction as to how many points the stars should have, nor how the stars should be arranged on the blue union. Consequently, some flags had stars scattered on the blue field without any specific design, some arranged the stars in rows, and some in a circle.
The first Navy Stars and Stripes had the stars arranged in staggered formation in alternate rows of threes and twos on a blue field. Other Stars and Stripes flags had stars arranged in alternate rows of four, five and four. Some stars had six points while others had eight.
Strong evidence indicates that Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was responsible for the stars in the U.S. flag. At the time that the flag resolution was adopted, Hopkinson was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department.
Hopkinson also helped design other devices for the Government including the Great Seal of the United States. For his services, Hopkinson submitted a letter to the Continental Admiralty Board asking:
"whether a Quarter Cask of the public Wine will not be a proper & reasonable Reward for these Labours of Fancy and a suitable Encouragement to future Exertions of a like Nature."
His request was turned down since the Congress regarded him as a public servant.
Early Makers of the American Flag
During the Revolutionary War, several patriots made flags for our new Nation. Among them were Cornelia Bridges, Elizabeth (Betsy) Ross, and Rebecca Young, all of Pennsylvania, and John Shaw of Annapolis, Maryland.
Although Betsy Ross, the best known of these persons, made flags for 50 years, there is no proof that she made the first Stars and Stripes.
It is known that she made flags for the Pennsylvania State Navy in 1777.
The flag popularly known as the "Betsy Ross flag," which arranged the stars in a circle, did not appear until the early 1790's.
The claims of Betsy Ross were first brought to the attention of the public in 1870 by one of her grandsons, William J. Canby.
In a paper he read before the meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Canby stated:
"It is not tradition, it is report from the lips of the principal participator in the transaction..."
He described how George Washington, Robert Morris, and Colonel Ross allegedly asked Betsy Ross to sew a new flag design, which Washington later redrew in pencil based on her suggestions.
The Grand Union Flag: America’s First National Banner
The first flag of the colonists to have any resemblance to the present Stars and Stripes was the Grand Union Flag, sometimes referred to as:
- Congress Colors
- The First Navy Ensign
- The Cambridge Flag
Its design consisted of 13 stripes, alternately red and white, representing the Thirteen Colonies, with a blue field in the upper left-hand corner bearing the red cross of St. George of England and the white cross of St. Andrew of Scotland.
As the flag of the revolution it was used on many occasions.
It was first flown by the ships of the Colonial Fleet on the Delaware River.
On December 3, 1775, it was raised aboard Captain Esek Hopkins' flagship Alfred by John Paul Jones.
Later the flag was raised on the liberty pole at Prospect Hill near George Washington's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It was the unofficial national flag on July 4, 1776, and remained so until June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress authorized the Stars and Stripes.
Interestingly, the Grand Union Flag was also the standard of the British East India Company.
The final break between the Colonies and Great Britain came when the British Union symbol was removed and replaced by stars on a blue field.
The Fifteen Stars and Stripes (1795–1818)
When Kentucky and Vermont joined the Union, a resolution was adopted in January of 1794 expanding the flag to 15 stars and 15 stripes.
This flag became the official flag of the United States from 1795 to 1818 and appeared in several historic moments.
Most notably, it inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
The same flag was also:
- Raised over the pirate stronghold in Tripoli in 1805
- Flown by American forces in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813
- Carried by General Andrew Jackson in New Orleans in 1815
However, adding a stripe for every new state would soon make the flag too large and impractical.
To solve this problem, Captain Samuel C. Reid suggested that the stripes remain 13, representing the original colonies, while new stars would be added for each new state.
On April 4, 1818, President James Monroe signed a bill confirming this design rule.
The Evolution Toward the 50-Star American Flag
As the United States expanded, the flag evolved.
- 48 stars were added after Arizona and New Mexico joined the Union in 1912
- 49 stars were added when Alaska became a state in 1959
- 50 stars appeared when Hawaii joined the Union in 1960
President Dwight D. Eisenhower formalized the current design through Executive Order No. 10834 on August 21, 1959.
The 50-star flag was first officially raised at 12:01 a.m. on July 4, 1960, at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore.
The American Flag in Historic Moments
Traditionally a symbol of liberty, the American flag has carried the message of freedom to many parts of the world.
One of the most memorable flags flew over the U.S. Capitol on December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.
That same flag was later flown again when:
- War was declared on Japan
- War was declared on Germany and Italy
President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it the "flag of liberation."
It later flew aboard the USS Missouri during the formal Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.
Another historic flag from Pearl Harbor was also present at:
- The United Nations Charter meeting in San Francisco
- The Potsdam Conference in Germany
- The White House on August 14, 1945, when Japan accepted surrender terms
The Stars and Stripes as a Symbol of Liberty
Following the War of 1812, a strong wave of national pride spread across the young nation.
The Stars and Stripes became a symbol of sovereignty and national identity.
Writer Henry Ward Beecher described its meaning:
"A thoughtful mind when it sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself."
He compared the stars to morning stars of light and the stripes to beams of sunrise across the horizon, symbolizing the birth of a new nation.
The Meaning of the American Flag
In a Flag Day message in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson reflected on the deeper meaning of the American flag:
"This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation."
He reminded Americans that the flag carries the history, sacrifices, and hopes of generations.
From its birth until today, the Stars and Stripes has witnessed the story of a nation and continues to represent the ideals of freedom, unity, and resilience.