American Flag

The American flag is the national flag of the United States. It has 13 red and white stripes and 50 white stars on a blue rectangle in the upper left corner. The 13 stripes stand for the 13 original colonies that broke away from Britain. The 50 stars stand for the 50 states in the country today. The flag is often called the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory.

The first official flag was approved by Congress on June 14, 1777. That date is now celebrated each year as Flag Day. The first flag had 13 stars in a circle, one for each colony. Many people learn that a Philadelphia seamstress named Betsy Ross sewed the first flag for George Washington. Historians are not sure if that story is true. It was first told by her grandson almost 100 years after the event, and no records from the time prove it.

As new states joined the country, new stars were added. For a while, new stripes were added too. Soon the flag started to look crowded, so Congress voted in 1818 to keep the number of stripes at 13. Only stars would be added going forward. The current 50-star design was created in 1958 by a 17-year-old high school student in Ohio named Robert Heft. He made it for a class project after Alaska and Hawaii were about to join the union. His teacher gave him a B-minus. After President Eisenhower picked his design out of more than 1,500 entries, the teacher changed the grade to an A.

The flag has rules for how it should be treated. It should not touch the ground. It should be folded into a triangle when stored. It should be lit at night if flown after dark. When the country is mourning, the flag is flown at half-staff, which means halfway down the pole.

The American flag has also been a symbol of protest and debate. During the Vietnam War, some people burned flags to protest the war. Others said burning the flag should be a crime. In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that burning the flag is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment. People still argue about whether that ruling was right.

The flag has traveled far. It flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 during a battle that inspired the national anthem. It was planted on the Moon by Apollo astronauts starting in 1969. Today it hangs in classrooms, on porches, and in front of government buildings across all 50 states.