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United States Flag
Red, white, and blue make a striking color combination, but have you ever
wondered if there is any special meaning associated with those colors or with the
five pointed white stars on our "star spangled banner?"
On June 14, 1777, Congress adopted a resolution
calling for a flag with thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, and with a blue
canton or "union", with thirteen white stars. The resolution defined the significance
of the colors: "White signifies Purity and Innocence; Red, Hardiness and Valor;
Blue, Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice."
The thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, of course, represented the original thirteen
colonies. The five pointed stars used as a symbol in flag design was relatively rare
until its incorporation into the American flag. It has since been used in many state
flags and in foreign flags, including Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the once sovereign
nations of the Republic of Texas and the Kingdom of Hawaii. Based on the
American usage, the star has come to be associated in flag design with unity,
independence, or to represent the constituent parts of a nation.
Until 1818, an additional star and stripe was added as each new state was admitted
to the Union. By 1816 it had become evident that the practice was not practical, and
on April 4, 1816, a new scheme was made official. The Flag of the United States
would have thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, and a blue canton on which a
white star would be added for each state. Each star would be added to the flag on
the July 4th following the admission of the new state to the Union.
Although the scheme of the flag was official, the law was vague about the exact
layout of the flag. Thus, throughout the nineteenth century, a variety of star
arrangements was in existence. The flag was very popular, and since it created a
sense of unity among the states, the variations in its appearance were deemed
unimportant.
In 1912, however, the government specified official patterns, proportions and colors,
giving us the Flag we know today.