Celebrating America’s Freedom: Our Flag - Old Glory
~ Source: FactMonster.com ~
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| Betsy Ross hard at work |
According to popular legend, the first
American flag was made by Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress who was
acquainted with George Washington, leader of the Continental Army, and other
influential Philadelphians. In May 1776, so the story goes, General Washington
and two representatives from the Continental Congress visited Ross at her
upholstery shop and showed her a rough design of the flag. Although Washington
initially favored using a star with six points, Ross advocated for a
five-pointed star, which could be cut with just one quick snip of the scissors,
and the gentlemen were won over.
Unfortunately, historians have never
been able to verify this charming version of events, although it is known that
Ross made flags for the navy of Pennsylvania. The story of Washington's visit
to the flag maker became popular about the time of the country's first
centennial, after William Canby, a grandson of Ross, told about her role in
shaping U.S. history in a speech given at the Philadelphia Historical Society
in March 1870.
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| Grand Union Flag |
What is known is that the first
unofficial national flag, called the Grand Union Flag or the Continental Colors,
was raised at the behest of General Washington near his headquarters outside
Boston, Mass., on Jan. 1, 1776. The flag had 13 alternating red and white
horizontal stripes and the British Union Flag (a predecessor of the Union Jack)
in the canton. Another early flag had a rattlesnake and the motto “Don't Tread
on Me.”
The first official national flag,
also known as the Stars and Stripes, was approved by the Continental Congress
on June 14, 1777. The blue canton contained 13 stars, representing the original
13 colonies, but the layout varied. Although nobody knows for sure who designed
the flag, it may have been Continental Congress member Francis Hopkinson.
After Vermont and Kentucky were
admitted to the Union in 1791 and 1792, respectively, two more stars and two
more stripes were added in 1795. This 15-star, 15-stripe flag was the
“star-spangled banner” that inspired lawyer Francis Scott Key to write the poem
that later became the U.S. national anthem.
In 1818, after five more states had
gained admittance, Congress passed legislation fixing the number of stripes at
13 and requiring that the number of stars equal the number of states. The last
new star, bringing the total to 50, was added on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii
became a state.
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