Today, June 14th, is Flag Day. Although not a national holiday, Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened by resolution of the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.
"Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation."
-Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress, June 14, 1777
President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 which officially established June 14 as Flag Day and in August 1949 National Flag Day was established by an act of Congress.
"Our flag carries American ideas, American history and American feelings. It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the government. It is the emblem of the sovereignty of the people. It is the NATION."
-Henry Ward Beecher, 1861
The U.S. Flag is the third oldest of the National Standards of the world- older even than the Union Jack of Great Britain or the Tricolor of France.
The red, white and blue was first authorized by Congress on June 14, 1777. This date is now observed as Flag Day throughout America.
The flag was first flown from Fort Stanwix on August 3, 1777, today this is the site Rome, New York. It was first under fire three days later in the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777.
Unlike other countries, America only has two national symbols: the bald eagle and the American flag. The flag has been the inspiration for holidays, songs, poems, books, artwork and more. It has been used to show nationalism, patriotism, rebellion and everything in between. The flag is so important that its history tells the story of America itself.
"The thing that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The Flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of jistory."
-Woodrow Wilson, June 14, 1915, Flag Day
The 4th of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an anuual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. B.J. Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the students in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public Schools, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the offical adoption of the Stars & Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'.
"Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation."
-Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress, June 14, 1777
President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 which officially established June 14 as Flag Day and in August 1949 National Flag Day was established by an act of Congress.
"Our flag carries American ideas, American history and American feelings. It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the government. It is the emblem of the sovereignty of the people. It is the NATION."
-Henry Ward Beecher, 1861
The U.S. Flag is the third oldest of the National Standards of the world- older even than the Union Jack of Great Britain or the Tricolor of France.
The red, white and blue was first authorized by Congress on June 14, 1777. This date is now observed as Flag Day throughout America.
The flag was first flown from Fort Stanwix on August 3, 1777, today this is the site Rome, New York. It was first under fire three days later in the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777.
Unlike other countries, America only has two national symbols: the bald eagle and the American flag. The flag has been the inspiration for holidays, songs, poems, books, artwork and more. It has been used to show nationalism, patriotism, rebellion and everything in between. The flag is so important that its history tells the story of America itself.
"The thing that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The Flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of jistory."
-Woodrow Wilson, June 14, 1915, Flag Day
The 4th of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an anuual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. B.J. Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the students in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public Schools, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the offical adoption of the Stars & Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'.
140th Flag Day 1917
Betsy Ross + Flag + George Washington