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FLAG DAY
Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.
June 14, 1777,
in Journals of the Continental Congress.
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation, 1774-1875
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.
Since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation declaring June 14 Flag Day, Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by celebrating June 14 as Flag Day.
According to legend, in 1776, George Washington commissioned Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross to create a flag for the new nation.
The American flag, in its current form, first flew over the Capitol on April 12, 1818. The flag has been altered twenty-seven times over the years. The current version dates to July 4, 1960, when Hawaii became the 50th state.
School Children at Central High,
Prince George's County, Maryland,
Theodor Horydczak, photographer,
circa 1920-1950.
Washington as It Was, 1923-1959
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School Children at Central High,
Prince George's County, Maryland,
Theodor Horydczak, photographer,
circa 1920-1950.
Washington as It Was, 1923-1959
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Interviews in American Life Histories, 1936-1940 contain entertaining examples of the American vernacular. A search on Flag Day retrieves the following conversation between Mr. Richmond and Mr. Davis:
"Why ain't you got your flag out?" says Mr. Richmond, entering the gas station in which he spends much of his time these days. "You know today is flag day, don't you?"
"I guess the boss forgot to buy a flag, George," says Mr. Davis, the station attendant. "And even if we had one, we ain't got no place to put it."
Mr. Richmond: "That's a fine state of affairs, that is. Here they are tryin' to bring home to you people the fact that you're livin' in one of the few countries where you can draw a free breath and you don't even know it. You're supposed to have flags out all this week. Don't you know that? This is flag day and this is flag week. Where's your patriotism?"
Mr. Davis: "What the hell are you hollerin' about, George? You're always runnin' the country down. They can't do anything to suit you. You're worryin' about taxes and future generations and all like that. Where's your patriotism?"
Mr. Richmond: "Well, that's different. A man got a right to criticize. That's free speech. Don't mean I ain't patriotic."
"Richmond," circa 1936-1940.
American Life Histories, 1936-1940
Letter, Billy Gobitas to Minersville, Pennsylvania School Directors,
November 5, 1935.
Words & Deeds in American History
"I do not salute the flag because I have promised to do the will of God," wrote ten-year-old Billy Gobitas, a Jehovah's witness, to the board of the Minersville (Pennsylvania) School District in 1935. Like most public school students at that the time, Gobitas was required to salute and pledge allegiance to the flag daily. His refusal to do so touched off one of several constitutional battles over the authority of the state to require respect for national symbols and the right of individuals to freedom of speech.
Both the United States district court and the court of appeals ruled
in favor of the right to refuse to salute the flag. In 1940, however, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the government did have the authority to compel respect for the flag as a central symbol of national unity. Just three years later, on June 14, 1943, the Supreme Court reconsidered its earlier decision, holding that the right of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment denies the government the authority to compel individuals to salute the American flag or to recite the pledge of allegiance.
Billy Gobitas's letter is displayed in the online exhibition, American Treasures of the Library of Congress. Other related treasures include
Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner" and John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever."
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- Search the
service THOMAS: Legislative Information
on the Internet on the word flag to find recent legislation
introduced in Congress related to the flag.
- Visit the Today in History feature of September
13 to learn the story of "The
Star-Spangled Banner."
- Just for fun, look at the script Flags
of the World, by Frank Tannehill, Jr., from American
Variety Stage, 1870-1920. The piece culminates in a chorus line
composed of women dressed as an American flag.
- Learn more about the Veterans
History Project, which collects the stories and experiences of
war veterans who served under the U.S. flag. The online Project
Kit includes all the information and forms you need to participate.
- View Congress
of Nations. Another example of patriotic theater, this
film by the Thomas Edison Co. features a magician who makes the flags
of different countries appear. Dissolve effect was used for the first
time in this motion picture.
- For many images and songs about "Old Glory," search on
flag in the following American Memory collections:
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