The very first flag for the United States to have was the Grand Union Flag, in the years 1775-1777. The design of this flag was thirteen red and white stripes, with the red cross of St. Georgia, England along with the white cross of St. Andrew, Scotland in a blue field. The final split between the between the colonies and Great Britain brought the removal of the British Union from our flag. Shortly after came the stars on a blue field. By June 14, 1777 the Flag Resolution was passed, which is now known as Flag Day. Which basically said that the United States flag had to have thirteen stripes being red and white; that the union have 13 stars that are white with a blue field. Then, came ...view middle of the document...
Some historians say that the red stripes could very much stand for blood, war, and courage; white standing for purity; and blue standing for justice and freedom. Other historians believe that George washington had his own idea for the colors. They thought that the stars were taken from the sky, the red was influenced from the British colors, and the white demonstrated withdrawing from the home country. As for the book “Our Flag” the white means purity and innocence, red means hardiness and valour, and blue means vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
The design of the flag however does have a meaning. The stars symbolize the heavens. Having fifty of the stars, represents the fifty states of the United States today. The stripes symbolize the rays of sunlight radiating from the sun. Having thirteen of the stripes, represents the thirteen colonies that proclaimed independence for Great Britain to form the United States.
However, the United States has had many different designs of the flag. With more states being added, it would be difficult to not create new flag designs. In the year 1795 Vermont and Kentucky were added, which caused the stars and stripes to raise to 15 instead of 13. In the years 1796 through 1817 the states Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi joined the United States. Then the Act of April 4, 1818 called for 13 stripes and a star for each state. December in the year 1818 Illinois joined, which added another star to the flag. In 1819 and 1820 two states were added, adding two more stars. In August 1821 Missouri joined, adding another star. In the year 1836 Arkansas joined. In 1837 Michigan joined. In 1845 Florida and Texas joined. In 1846 Iowa joined. Wisconsin joined in 1848. In the year 1850 California joined. Eight years later Minnesota joined. 1859 Oregon was added. Kansas joined in 1861. West Virginia joined in the year 1863. A year later Nevada joined as a state. three years later Nebraska joined. In 1876 Colorado joined. The years 1889 through 1890 North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming joined. Utah joined in 1896. In 1907 Oklahoma joined. In 1912 Mexico and Arizona joined, giving us a total of 48 stars on the flag. Alaska joined in 1959 and was also the 49th state. Finally on August 21, 1959 Hawaii joined giving us a 50 star flag. Up until this day our flag remains the 50 star flag.
Folding the flag is also very important. There are thirteen separate folds to folding the flag. The sequence to folding the flag is 1) Straighten out the flag to full length, then fold it lengthwise once. 2) Fold it lengthwise again, but make sure the union of the stars stays outward in full view. 3) Make a triangular fold, starting by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to the open edge. 4) Turn the outer point toward the inside, aligned to the open edge, to form a second triangle. 5) Continue doing the triangular fold, until the entire flag is is completely folded. You should only...
