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Investigator- The American
Flag
Slaughterhouse-Five, Chapter 8
Haajar Muhammad
Context
• I decided to talk about the American Flag
while I was reading chapter 8 and read on
page 163: “Blue is for the American sky, white
is for the race that pioneered the continent,
drained the swamps and cleared the forests
and built the roads and bridges. Red is for the
blood of American patriots which was shed so
gladly in the years gone by”
• So I was inspired by that paragraph to
research the real history of the American flag
Symbolism
• The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely
recognized symbols. Within the U.S. it is frequently displayed,
not only on public buildings, but on private residences. It is also
used as clothing ornaments such as badges and lapel pins.
Throughout the world it is used in public discourse to refer to the
U.S., both as a nation state, government, and set of policies, but
also as an ideology and set of ideas.
• Apart from the numbers of stars and stripes representing the
number of current and original states, respectively, and the
union with its stars representing a constellation, there is no
legally defined symbolism to the colors and shapes on the flag.
However, folk theories and traditions abound; for example, that
the stripes refer to rays of sunlight and that the stars refer to the
heavens, the highest place that a person could aim to reach
History
• The flag of the United States consists of thirteen
equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white,
with a blue rectangle in the corner bearing fifty small,
white five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset
horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows of
five stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the fifty
U.S. states and the thirteen stripes represent the
original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the
British Crown and became the first states in the
Union. Nicknames for the flag are the Stars and
Stripes, Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner
which is also the name of the national anthem.
The History of the Flag
• June 14, 1777, congress declares the flag should
have thirteen white stars in a blue background and
thirteen alternate red and white stripes. The red
means hardiness and valor. White signifies purity and
innocence. Blue is the color of the Chief. The star
symbolizes heaven and the goal all man have been
striving for. The stripe is a ray of light from the sun.
The first thirteen states were, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New
Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and
Rhode Island.
• In the year 1795, two more states were added to the
flag, Vermont and Kentucky, giving it fifteen stars and
stripes at that time, the stars and stripes stood for the
states
• The flag gets five more states added to its threads in
1818, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and
Mississippi. The congress changed the fifteen stripes
to thirteen and it remains thirteen afterward. Another
state represents a star on the flag in 1819, which was
the state Illinois. The flag has 23 stars in the year
1820 with Alabama and Maine included.
• In 1822, Missouri became a state and let the
flag have 24 stars. Afterwards the flag took in
Arkansas in 1836, then Michigan in 1837.
Eight years later Florida gives the flag 27
stars in 1845. Texas joins in on 1846, then
comes Iowa in 1847, finally Wisconsin in
1848. That's still not it there are only 30 stars
on the flag b now we still need 20 stars to go.
The flag takes California as a star in 1851
and Minnesota in 1858, about seven years
apart. Oregon looks as good as any star on
the flag in 1859 when it was declared a state.
Current Flag
• As the years went on more and more
states where added to the country as
well as the flag.
• On July 4th 1960 the last star was
added to the flag, giving it its 50 stars.
US Flag with 51 stars. To be used if a 51st state is
added to the United States.
Work cited
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_th
e_United_States
2. http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/s
unda/flag/history/page1.htm
3. http://blog.mpl.org/nowatmpl/american
-flag-2a.jpg