Today is Old Glory’s Day – We Observe Flag Day
Today is Flag Day. Celebrated on June 14th, because that is the anniversary of the official adoption.
And personally, in googling the facts, I learned 2 things. Betsy Ross may or may not have actually sewed the 1st flag. And sometimes teachers can be ‘corrected’.
The Stars and Stripes became the official American flag in 1777. The Declaration of Independence made an American flag necessary. Prior to June 14th, 1777, each colony had its own flag.
On that day, Congress stated:
The flag of the United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white on a blue field.
Flag Day was celebrated for many decades, until President Woodrow Wilson made the observance official with a presidential proclamation making it Flag Day, in 1916.
We were taught that Betsy Ross designed and sewed the first flag. There however is no record of this although Betsy Ross most definitely made ensigns and pennants for the Philadelphia Navy during the war, and she certainly inspired the design of the current flag.
The current American flag was designed by a high school student from Lancaster, Ohio, named Bob G. Heft. He had submitted his design to the White House in anticipation of Hawaii and Alaska joining the Union. To his surprise, President Eisenhower called him. Today, it’s Bob Heft’s 1958 design—which shows 50 stars into a field that included five rows of six stars and four rows of five stars—which is now our 50-star American flag.
Originally the teacher gave him a B- on the project, thinking the student was mistaken on how many states there were. Then after the President reached out and picked the student’s design, he corrected the grade to an A.
So today we celebrate Flag Day. This one.
Tomorrow we can go back to having opinions about other flags.
Like this one
Or this one
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