History of the US Flag from Colonial Times to the Present

The first flag of the American colonies was the flag of New England: the British “red flag” with a green spruce in the first quarter. In April 1776, this flag became the naval ensign of Massachusetts.

New England FlagIn the Book of Flags by Charles Halyard, published in Amsterdam in 1705, a drawing and description of another flag of New England is given:

With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, flags and banners were created for the army and navy that were being formed in almost every state. The first flag of the rebels was the so-called Bedford Flag, the only American flag known from the first days of the Revolutionary War. The red cloth of this flag depicted a hand with a sword emerging from a cloud and a Latin motto: “Conquer or Die!” Thus, this flag is the oldest of all currently existing flags and banners of the United States. Another flag of this period depicted a coiled rattlesnake with 13 rattles and the inscription “Don’t Tread on Me”, a thistle (the emblem of Scotland) and the slogan “Nemo me impune lacessit” – “No one who angers me will remain unpunished.”

This flag symbolized the revolutionary spirit of the colonies, who were fighting Britain “in response to her challenge, and once such a challenge was made, the response would be as friendly as the clatter of rattles.” The image of a rattlesnake and the slogan were also on the first naval flag, the Navy Jack, where it was placed against a background of 13 alternating red and white stripes.

On July 3, 1775, George Washington assumed command of the colonial army, and it was probably he who proposed creating a single flag for the colonies. Such a flag was established in December 1775 and is known as the Grand Union or Congress Colors. The flag consisted of thirteen (the number of states in the union) horizontal alternating red and white stripes, and in the first quarter it had the then flag of Great Britain, symbolizing the hope that the American colonies would remain part of Great Britain, and also expressed the loyal attitude of the rebels to the king and their disagreement with the English government.

The flag was first raised on the ship “Alfred” by Captain John Paul Jones on December 3, 1775. The flag was made by Margaret Manny from Philadelphia. On land, the “Grand Union” was first raised on January 1, 1776 in Prospect Hill near Boston by order of the commander of the Continental Army, George Washington.

After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the flag of the union, which soon received the name “Stars and Stripes”, remained the same – a rectangular cloth measuring 2 x 3.5 meters. The red color of the flag symbolizes valor and courage, white – purity and innocence, blue – fortitude and justice. On August 3, 1777, military surgeon James Thatcher wrote in his diary that, according to newspaper reports on June 14, 1777, Congress had resolved to approve the design of the flag: 13 stripes, alternately white and red, and in the blue first quarter of the flag, instead of the English and Scottish crosses, there should be 13 six-pointed white stars, which were located in five columns of 3, 2, 3, 2 and 3 stars.

In fact, the resolution that was adopted in Philadelphia by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777 stated: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States consist of 13 stripes, alternately red and white; that the emblem of unification shall be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, symbolizing the new community of citizens.” Thus, the resolution did not indicate either the number of points on the stars, or the arrangement of the stars on the blue emblem symbolizing unification.

Therefore, there were many different versions of the flag. At first, when making the flag, 7 red and 6 white stripes were used, or vice versa, the stars were often depicted as six- and even seven-pointed, and their location was not constant. Subsequently, instead of six-pointed stars, five-pointed ones appeared on the flag.

The exact history of the origin of the design of this flag is unknown. It may have been influenced by the design of the flag of the East India Trading Company, which conducted trade in the colonies under a striped white and red flag, and the number of stripes on this flag varied: from nine to thirteen. It is possible that the idea of ​​creating the flag belonged to George Washington, who used elements of his own coat of arms (in a red field, a silver belt burdened with three red stars). However, Washington himself did not confirm this: “We took the stars from Heaven; the red color signified the country whence we sailed; the white stripes on the red are a symbol of our separation from it, and the stripes are to symbolize the freedom of future generations.” The design of the flag was proposed by a representative from New Jersey, Francis Hopkinson, who proposed arranging the stars in checkerboard rows. The captain of the ship “Ranger” Paul Jones was present at the meeting on June 14.

Arriving in Plymouth, he told about the established flag and soon women in the workshop “Flag Bees” sewed the first Stars and Stripes flag, but on it 13 stars in the blue first quarter formed a circle.
This flag went down in history as the “Betsy Ross flag”. It is believed that it was made by a skilled seamstress, widow Elizabeth (Betsy) Ross. Any schoolchild in the USA knows this name, and her small house in Philadelphia has now become a national museum.
For the first time “Stars and Stripes” was raised over the warship “Ranger” on July 4, 1777. In September 1777, the new flag was raised for the first time in battle during the defense of Fort Stanwicks.

And soon the Stars and Stripes flag began to be used both on land and by merchant ships at sea. One of the earliest descriptions of the American flag was made by Alfred B. Street, who saw the flag in October 1777 at the surrender of the British General Burgoyne at Saratoga: “The stars were arranged in a circle, symbolizing the perpetuity of the Union; the ring, like the coiled serpent of the Egyptians, signified eternity. The thirteen stripes, together with the stars, showed the number of the United Colonies, and signified the subordination of the States to the Union, and the equality of rank among them.”

Initially, it was believed that the number of stripes and stars, which symbolized the number of members of the Union, should be the same, so when two new states, Vermont and Kentucky, joined the union in 1795, the Third Continental Congress, which was held in Philadelphia, decided that after May 1, 1795, the flag would consist of fifteen alternating red and white stripes, and in the first quarter there would be fifteen white stars. But when five more states (Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Indiana) joined the United States in 1818, it became clear that increasing the number of stripes would complicate the flag, and its design would become difficult to distinguish.

Therefore, at a meeting of Congress, it was decided that from now on the flag would always have only thirteen horizontal red and white stripes, the number of those 13 colonies that formed the United States, and the number of states would correspond to the number of white stars in the blue field of the first quarter of the flag. This decision was confirmed on April 4, 1818, when President Monroe signed the corresponding Act increasing the number of stars to 20. Section 2 of the Act established that upon admission of a new State to the Union, one star would be added to the flag and the new flag would be raised on July 4 after the date of admission.

Two versions of the US flag with 20 starsUntil now, the US flag has not undergone any significant changes, only the number of stars has increased with the addition of new states. In 1819, after Illinois joined the union, there were 21 of them, in 1820 – 23 (Alabama and Maine were added), in 1822 – 24 (Missouri), in 1836 – 25 (Arkansas), in 1837 – 26 (Michigan), in 1845 – 27 (Florida), in 1846 – 28 (Texas), in 1847 – 29 (Iowa), in 1848 – 30 (Wisconsin), in 1851 – 31 (California), in 1858 – 32 (Minnesota), in 1859 – 33 (Oregon), in 1861 – 34 (Kansas), in 1863 – 35 (West Virginia), in 1865 – 36 (Nevada), in 1867 -37 (Nebraska), in 1877 – 38 (Colorado), in 1890 – 43 (Idaho, Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota), in 1891 – 44 (Wyoming), in 1896 – 45 (Utah), in 1908 -46 (Oklahoma), 1912 – 48 (Arizona and New Mexico), in 1959 – 49 (Alaska), in 1960 -50 (Hawaii).

1820

Thus, the current US flag (with a 50:95 aspect ratio), established on July 4, 1960, is the 27th version of the country’s first star-spangled flag.

The order of the stars’ relative positions is not determined by any legislative act, and is not even specified in the Flag Act adopted by the US Congress on June 14, 1977. Therefore, there are flags where the stars are arranged in rows, as well as flags where they are arranged in a circle, in the form of a star, in the form of a ring, etc.

True, back in 1818, President Monroe recommended placing the stars in parallel rows. The Navy was the first to follow this recommendation, and since 1912, other US structures have followed suit. Thus, at present, the flag with stars arranged in rows is its most common variant.