Flag of the United States Totally Explained

Everything about Flag Of The United States totally explained

flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British crown and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the stars and stripes, Old Glory, the American flag, and the star-spangled banner (also the name of the country's official national anthem).
Because of its symbolism, the starred blue canton is called the "union". This part of the national flag can stand alone as a maritime flag called the Union Jack.

Symbolism

The flag of the United States is one of the nation's widely recognized and used symbols. Within the U.S. it's frequently displayed, not only on public buildings, but on private residences, as well as iconically in forms such as decals for car windows, and clothing ornaments such as badges and lapel pins. Throughout the world it's used in public discourse to refer to the U.S., both as a nation state, government, and set of policies, but also as an ideology and set of ideas.
Many understand the flag to represent the freedoms and rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights and perhaps most of all to be a symbol of individual and personal liberty as set forth in the Declaration of Independence. The flag is a complex and contentious symbol, around which emotions run high.
Apart from the numbers of stars and stripes representing the number of current and original states, respectively, and the union with its stars representing a constellation, there's no legally defined symbolism to the colors and shapes on the flag. However, folk theories and traditions abound; for example, that the stripes refer to rays of sunlight and that the stars refer to the heavens, the highest place that a person could aim to reach. Tradition holds that George Washington proclaimed:
"We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we've separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty."

Design

Specification

The basic design of the flag is specified by with outlining the addition of new stars representing new states. The gives the following values:

Hoist (width) of the flag: A = 1.0
Fly (length) of the flag: B = 1.9
Hoist (width) of the Union: C = 0.5385 (A x 7/13, spanning seven stripes)
Fly (length) of the Union: D = 0.76 (B × 2/5, two fifths of the flag length)
E = F = 0.0538 (C/10, One tenth the height of the field of stars)
G = H = 0.0633 (D/12, One twelfth the width of the field of stars)
Diameter of star: K = 0.0616
Width of stripe: L = 0.0769 (A/13, One thirteenth of the flag width)

Flag ratios

Note that the flag ratio (B/A in the diagram) isn't absolutely fixed. Although the diagram in Executive Order 10834 gives a ratio of 1.9, earlier in the order is a list of flag sizes authorized for executive agencies. This list permits eleven specific flag sizes (specified by height and width) for such agencies: 20.00 × 38.00; 10.00 × 19.00; 8.95 × 17.00; 7.00 × 11.00; 5.00 × 9.50; 4.33 × 5.50; 3.50 × 6.65; 3.00 × 4.00; 3.00 × 5.70; 2.37 × 4.50; and 1.32 × 2.50. Eight of these sizes conform to the 1.9 ratio, within a small rounding error (less than 0.01). However, three of the authorized sizes vary significantly: 1.57 (for 7.00 × 11.00), 1.27 (for 4.33 × 5.50) and 1.33 (for 3.00 × 4.00).

Colors

According to Flags of the World, the colors are specified by the General Services Administration "Federal Specification, Flag, National, United States of America and Flag, Union Jack," DDD-F-416E, dated November 27, 1981. It gives the colors by reference to "Standard Color Cards of America" maintained by The Color Association of the United States, Inc., as:

Color	Cable color	Pantone	Web Color	RGB Values
Dark Red	70180	193 C	`#BF0A30`	(191,10,48)
White	70001	Safe	`#FFFFFF`	(255,255,255)
Navy Blue	70075	281 C	`#002868`	(0,40,104)

Design of the union

When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood, more than 1,500 designs were spontaneously submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower by Americans. Although some of them were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three, and probably more, of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag. These designs are in the Eisenhower Presidential Archives in Abilene, Kansas. Only a small fraction of them have ever been published.
One legend states the union of the current 50-star flag was designed by Robert G. Heft in 1958 while living with his grandparents in Ohio. He was 18 years old at the time and did the flag design as a class project. His mother was a seamstress, but refused to do any of the work for him. He originally received a B- for the project. After discussing the grade with his teacher, it was agreed (somewhat jokingly) that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959. He got an A.
At the time, credit was given by the Executive Department to the U.S. Army Bureau of Heraldry for the design.

Decoration

Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag itself as long as it doesn't deface the flag proper. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often utilize fringe to enhance the beauty of the flag. The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835, and the Army used it officially in 1895. No specific law governs the legality of fringe, but a 1925 opinion of the attorney general addresses the use of fringe (and the number of stars)"...is at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy..." as quoted from footnote in previous volumes of Title 4 of the United States Code law books and is a source for claims that such a flag is a military ensign not civilian. The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, which has official custody of the flag designs, and makes any such change ordered, also confirms that there are no implications of symbolism in the use of fringe.

Flag etiquette

The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the use, display, and disposal of the flag. For example, the flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it's the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation. (This tradition comes from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where countries were asked to dip their flag to King Edward VII: the American team captain Martin Sheridan refused, famously proclaiming that "this flag dips to no earthly king."). The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and, if flown at night, must be illuminated. If the edges become tattered through wear, the flag should be repaired or replaced. When a flag is so tattered that can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning. The American Legion and other organizations regularly conduct dignified flag-burning ceremonies, often on Flag Day, June 14.
Although the Flag Code is U.S. Federal law, there's no penalty for failure to comply with the Flag Code and it isn't widely enforced—indeed, punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Passage of the proposed Flag Desecration Amendment would overrule legal precedent that has been established in this area.

Folding the flag

Though not part of the official Flag Code, according to military custom flags should be folded into a triangular shape when not in use. (The Philippines, a former American territory, also has this custom for folding its flag.) To properly fold the flag:

Begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground.

Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely.

Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside.

Make a rectangular fold then a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open top edge of the flag. Starting the fold from the left side over to the right

Turn the outer end point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle.

The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner (usually thirteen triangular folds, as shown at right). On the final fold, any remnant that doesn't neatly fold into a triangle (or in the case of exactly even folds, the last triangle) is tucked into the previous fold.

When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.

Display

The flag is customarily flown year-round at most public buildings, and it isn't unusual to find private houses flying full-size flags. Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day, Flag Day, and on Independence Day. On Memorial Day it's common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war veterans.

Places of continuous display

By presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom, American flags are displayed continuously at certain locations.

Replicas of the Star Spangled Banner Flag (15 stars, 15 stripes) are flown at two sites in Baltimore, Maryland: Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine (Presidential Proclamation No. 2795, July 2, 1948) and Flag House Square (Public Law 83-319, approved March 26, 1954).

United States Marine Corps War Memorial (Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima), Arlington, Virginia (Presidential Proclamation No. 3418, June 12, 1961).

Lexington, Massachusetts Town Green (Public Law 89-335, approved November 8, 1965).

The White House, Washington, DC (Presidential Proclamation No. 4000, September 4, 1970).

Fifty U.S. Flags are displayed continuously at the Washington Monument, Washington, DC. (Presidential Proclamation No. 4064, July 6, 1971, effective July 4, 1971).

By order of Richard Nixon at United States Customs Service Ports of Entry that are continuously open (Presidential Proclamation No. 4131, May 5, 1972).

By Congressional decree, a Civil War era flag (for the year 1863) flies above Pennsylvania Hall (Old Dorm) at Gettysburg College. This building, occupied by both sides at various points of the Battle of Gettysburg, served as a lookout and battlefield hospital.

Grounds of the National Memorial Arch in Valley Forge NHP, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (Public Law 94-53, approved July 4, 1975).

Mount Slover limestone quarry (Colton Liberty Flag), in Colton, California (Act of Congress). First raised July 4, 1917.

Washington Camp Ground, part of the former Middlebrook encampment, Bridgewater, New Jersey, Thirteen Star Flag, by Act of Congress.

By custom, at the Maryland home, birthplace, and grave of Francis Scott Key; at the Worcester, Massachusetts war memorial; at the plaza in Taos, New Mexico (since 1861); at the United States Capitol (since 1918); and at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota.

On the south pole, in the center of the Antarctic, an American flag is posted separate from the cluster of worldwide flags.

In addition, the American flag is on continual display on the surface of the Moon, having been placed there by the astronauts of Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17. It is possible that Apollo 11's flag was knocked down by the exhaust force of liftoff for return to lunar orbit.

Particular days of display

The flag should especially be displayed at full staff on the following days:

January 1 - New Year's Day

January 20 - Inauguration Day

February 12 - Lincoln's Birthday

Third Monday in February - Presidents' Day, originally Washington's birthday

Third Saturday in May - Armed Forces Day

Last Monday in May - Memorial Day (half-staff until noon)

June 14 - Flag Day

July 4 - Independence Day

First Monday in September - Labor Day

September 17 - Constitution Day

Second Monday in October - Columbus Day

October 27 - Navy Day

November 11 - Veterans Day

Fourth Thursday in November - Thanksgiving Day

and such other days as may be proclaimed by the President of the United States; the birthdays of States (date of admission); and on State holidays.

When Displaying the flag at half staff

The US Flag is displayed at half staff as a sign of respect or mourning. Nationwide, this action is proclaimed by the president of the United States; state-wide or territory-wide, the proclamation is made by the governor. In addition, there's no prohibition against municipal governments, private businesses or citizens flying the flag at half staff as a local sign of respect and mourning. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first proclamation on March 1, 1954 standardizing the dates and time periods for flying the flag at half staff from all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels; other congressional resolutions and presidential proclamations ensued. However, they're only guidelines to all other entities: typically followed at state and local government facilities, and encouraged of private businesses and citizens.
To properly fly the US flag at half staff, the protocol is to first hoist it briskly to full staff, then reverently (slowly) lower it to half-staff. Similarly, when the flag is to be lowered from half staff, it should be first hoisted briskly to full staff, then lowered reverently to the base of the flagpole.
Federal guidelines state the flag should be flown at half staff at the following dates/times:

May 15 - Peace Officers Memorial Day

Last Monday in May - Memorial Day (until noon)

July 27 - Korean War Veterans Day

September 11 - Patriot Day

December 7 - Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

For 30 days - Death of a US President or former President

For 10 days - Death of a US Vice President, Supreme Court Chief Justice/retired Chief Justice, or Speaker of the House of Representatives.

From death until the day of interment - US Supreme Court Associate Justice, member of the Cabinet, former Vice President, President pro-tempore of the Senate, or the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. Also for federal facilities within a state or territory, for the governor.

On the day after the death - US Senators, Members of Congress, territorial delegates or the resident commissioner of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico

History

The flag has been changed 26 times since the new, 13-state union adopted it. The 48-star version went unchanged for 47 years, the longest time the flag went unmodified until July 4, 2007, when the current 50-star flag broke the record.

First flag

At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the United States had no official national flag. The Grand Union Flag has historically been referred to as the "First National Flag"; although it has never had any official status, it was used throughout the American Revolutionary War by George Washington and formed the basis for the design of the first official US flag.
   This flag is properly considered the de facto first naval ensign of the United States. It was first raised aboard Continental Navy Commodore Esek Hopkins' flagship Alfred on the Delaware River on December 3, 1775, possibly (according to his claim) by the ship's senior lieutenant John Paul Jones.
   The origins of the design are unclear. It closely resembles the British East India Company (BEIC) flag of the same era, and an argument dating to Sir Charles Fawcett in 1937 holds that the BEIC flag indeed inspired the design. However, the BEIC flag could have from 9 to 13 stripes, and wasn't allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean. Both flags could have been easily constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign, a common flag throughout Britain and its colonies.
   Another theory holds that the red-and-white stripe—and later, stars-and-stripes—motif of the flag may have been based on the Washington family coat-of-arms, which consisted of a shield "argent, two bars gules, above, three mullets gules" (a white shield with two red bars below three red stars).
   More likely it was based on a flag of the Sons of Liberty, one of which consisted of 13 red and white alternating horizontal stripes.

The Flag Resolution of 1777

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, (or more)alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year. A false tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June of 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment.
   The Flag Resolution didn't specify any particular arrangement for the stars. The pictured flag shows the thirteen stars arranged in a circle, the so-called Betsy Ross flag. Although the Betsy Ross legend isn't taken seriously by many historians, the design itself is the oldest version of any US flag to appear on any physical relic, since it's historically referenced in contemporary battlefield paintings by John Trumbull and Charles Willson Peale, which depict the circular star arrangement. Popular designs at the time were varied and most were individually crafted rather than mass-produced. Other examples of 13-star arrangements can be found on the Francis Hopkinson flag, the Cowpens flag, and the Brandywine flag. Given the scant archaeological and written evidence, it's unknown which design was the most popular at that time.
   The origin of the stars and stripes design can't be fully documented. A popular story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch by George Washington who personally commissioned her for the job. However, no evidence for this theory exists beyond Ross' descendants' much later recollections of what she told her family. Another woman, Rebecca Young, has also been credited as having made the first flag by later generations of her family. Rebecca Young's daughter was Mary Pickersgill, who made the Star Spangled Banner Flag.
   It was the position of the United States government that Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was responsible for the stars in the U.S. flag. Hopkinson designed the flag while he was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November of 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June of 1777. This contradicts the Betsy Ross legend, which suggests that she sewed the first Stars and Stripes flag by request of the government in the Spring of 1776. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own lifetime, when he sent a bill to Congress for his work. He asked for a "Quarter Cask of the Public Wine" as payment initially. The payment wasn't made, however, because it was determined he'd already received a salary as a member of Congress, and he wasn't the only person to have contributed to the design. It should be noted that no one else contested his claim at the time.
   The Flag Resolution of 1777 was probably meant to define U.S. Navy ensigns, rather than a national standard. It appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. On 10 May 1779, years after the Flag Resolution was passed, Secretary of the Board of War Richard Peters, Jr. expressed concern "it isn't yet settled what is the Standard of the United States."

Later flag acts

Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," now the national anthem.
On April 4, 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would remain at thirteen to honor the original colonies. The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 (Independence Day) following admission of one or more new states. The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, occurred in 1960 when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.
As of July 4, 2007, the 50-star flag has become the longest rendition in use.

First salute

The Netherlands was the first country to salute the Grand Union flag, when by American ships were returned by officials on Dutch islands in the West Indies in late 1776: on St. Croix in October, and on St. Eustatius in November. (Though later, the better documented St. Eustatius incident involving the USS Andrew Doria is traditionally regarded as the "first salute".) France was the first country to salute the Stars and Stripes, when a fleet off the French mainland returned a gun salute by Captain John Paul Jones commanding the USS Ranger on February 14, 1778. (External Link

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Historical progression of designs

In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for the flags are merely the usual patterns, often associated with the United States Navy. Canton designs, prior to the proclamation of the 48-star flag by President William Howard Taft on 29 October 1912, had no official arrangement of the stars. Furthermore, the exact colors of the flag were not standardized until 1934.

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