Stars and Stripes Forever

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 our liberty.

~George Washington, attributed

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress proposed that the United States have a national flag instead of the British Union Jack. The 13 stars of the flag represented the 13 new states.

Today is Flag Day here in the U.S. which celebrates the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress approved the stars and stripes as the design for the flag of the new nation.

In 1776, George Washington is supposed to have asked Betsy Ross to design the flag, Mrs. Ross sewed flags, and there were a great many different ones, as every state and military group needed their own identification. In the confusion of battle, flags were a means of identifying your position and home group.

It is unusual for a country to have a flag which has changed 27 times over the years, but then it is uncommon to have a country which has grown in the way the United States has. The first flag had 13 white stars in a circle against the blue background. A star was added each time a U.S. territory became a state.

The United States did not even have a standardized flag until 1912. Called the Stars and Stripes," or "Old Glory," the flag is one of the most complicated in the world. No other flag needs 64 pieces of fabric to make. The current flag has 13 red and white alternating stripes (representing the original 13 states) and 50 stars (each star represents one of the states of the Union) on a blue background.

President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation in 1916 establishing Flag Day on June 14, which made the celebrations over the years official. In 1949, President Harry Truman signed the law which called for presidents in the future to issue a Flag Day proclamation every year. Which President Obama did today by saying,

"Americans should be proud of Old Glory by flying it wherever possible. Our flag's journey has been long. It has seen our Nation through war and peace, triumph and tragedy. It flew above the walls of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, at the outset of the Civil War. It stood on Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II. During the Civil Rights Movement, determined protesters on the streets of Selma, Alabama, proudly displayed its colors.

"Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Old Glory flew over the southwestern wall of the Pentagon and the rubble of the World Trade Center.

"The Stars and Stripes tells our nation's story and embodies its highest ideals. Its display reminds us of America's promise and guides us toward a brighter tomorrow."