Our Flag is More Than A Piece of Fabric

Some Interesting Flag Points - from various sources as presented by "The Colonel" Tom Mortenson, speaking this weekend in Temple Terrace at a Tampa Bay International Business Council meeting.:

That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white,with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.

This was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The resolution was made following the report of a special committee which had been assigned to suggest the flag’s design.

Betsy Ross is widely credited with designing the first American flag, but there is almost no evidence to support that claim. The only records of Ross' involvement came from her own grandson in 1870, when he presented the Historical Society of Pennsylvania with affidavits from his own family members as evidence.

Instead, many historians believe that Francis Hopkinson deserves the credit, because early journals from the Continental Congress are said to explicitly name him as the flag's designer. It’s possible Ross did create the flag, but not one letter, diary entry, or bill of sale exists to support the claim.

Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design, and arrangement of the flag and allowed for additional stars and stripes to be added to reflect the admission of each new state:

• Act of January 13th, 1794, provided for 15stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.

• Act of April 4th, 1818, provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state, signed by President Monroe.

• June 24th, 1912, Executive Order of President Taft, established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.

• January 3rd, 1959, Executive Order of President Eisenhower, provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.

• August 21st, 1959, Executive Order of President Eisenhower, provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

The Red, White and Blue did not just happen by accident. The founding fathers wanted the colors to have meaning, not just look visually pleasing. Red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice

Old Glory was actually the nickname of a specific U.S. flag, namely, the one owned by sea captain William Driver. He named it Old Glory upon seeing it flying on his ship's mast in 1831.

A 17-year-old student designed the flag as it appears today. In anticipation of Alaska and Hawaii becoming states, Robert G. Heft created the 50-star flag as part of a history project (for which he received a B-) before submitting it to Congress for consideration. In August of 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Heft's design over 1,500 other applicants and informed him of the news over the phone. (Heft's teacher also changed his grade to an A.)

The current 50 star Flag has been flying since 1960 after the admittance of Hawaii into the union as a state. The Fifty Star Flag is the longest flying flag design in United States history.