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'Stars and Stripes' and 'Old Glory'
are the two most prominent names for the national
flag of the United States. In 1814, Francis Scott
Key wrote a poem that became the American National
Anthem, in which he referred to the flag as the
'Star Spangled Banner'. The
American flag stands for the land, the
people, the government and the ideals
of the United States and has undergone many changes since the first
official flag of 1777.
On June 14, 1777, the
Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act,
which said that the flag would be made up of
thirteen alternating red and white stripes
representing the 13 original
colonies. It also said that the Union
would consist of thirteen white stars on a blue
field which would be symbolic of a new
constellation, but left no record indicating as
to why
they chose the specific colors of the flag.
On April 14, 1818, Congress ordered that a star be added for each
new state that joined the Union.
Currently, the flag contains 50 stars which
represent the fifty states. Even though it appears
that the
colors did not have a specific meaning at the time
the flag was created, they did become significant for
the flag after the same colors were chosen for the Great Seal of the Unites States in 1782. The Congressional resolution on the Great Seal listed meanings for the following colors:
The colors
- White : Signifies purity
and innocence
- Red : Signifies valor and bravery
- Blue : Signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice
Stars
are considered a symbol of the heavens and the
divine goal to which man has aspired from time
immemorial...the stripe is symbolic of the rays of
light emanating from the sun.
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