Author: Kelli L. Hicks

www.rourkepublishing.com – rourke@rourkepublishing.comPost Office Box 3328, Vero Beach, FL 32964

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PHOTO CREDITS: © George Clerk: Square Frame; © Eliza Snow: Oval Frame; © Joe Gough, © MarkTenniswood: page 5; © Library of Congress: page 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15; © Simon Spoon: page 7, 8; © ulia taranik:page 8; © Jan Tyler: page 9; © Terraxplorer: page 10; © Heather Botto: page 11; © Wikipedia.com: page 17; ©Chase-Statler, Washington (Library of Congress): page 18; © Keith Muratori: page 19; © Master Sgt Mark A.Suban, USAF: page 20; © Gordon Galbraith: page 21; © Dan Thornberg: page 22; © U.S. Air Force photo byLois Walsh, Brandon Laufenberg: page 23; © Jonathan Brizendine: page 24; © Michael Martin: page 25; ©Diane Garcia: page 26; © Igor Karon: page 28; © U.S. Airforce: page 29; © christine balderas: page 30,Timeline; © Ryan Burke: Timeline; © Julia Taranik: Fun Facts

Editor: Jeanne Sturm

Cover design by: Nicola Stratford, bdpublishing.comInterior design by: Heather Botto

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hicks, Kelli L.The American flag / Kelli L. Hicks.

p. cm. -- (American symbols and landmarks)ISBN 978-1-60472-343-4

1. Flags--United States--Juvenile literature. I. Title. CR113.H53 2009929.9'20973--dc22

2008014136

Printed in the USA

A Symbol for Our Country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Revolutionary War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Betsy Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

The Star Spangled Banner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Old Glory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Flag Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

The Pledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Showing Respect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Times of Mourning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Current Flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

When you think of the United States, what pictures doyou see? Maybe you think of the Statue of Liberty or a bald eagle soaring through the sky. Our country has many symbols.

A symbol is an object or idea that holds specialmeaning to a place or to a group of people.The Americanflag is an important symbol to the people of the UnitedStates. It is a symbol that stands for independence and freedom.

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You can see the flagflying proudly ongovernment buildingsand schools, andsometimes in front ofyour neighbor’s house.

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Have you ever wonderedabout where the idea for ourflag started? We have to look farback in history to find theanswer to that question.

Percy Moran’s painting shows colonists confrontingBritish soldiers in 1775.

Many early settlers came to America fromEngland. As time went by, the colonistsbecame more autonomous.Theyestablished the new land and were thrivingin it, but England still had control of the government.

Colonists began to feel that Englandtreated them unfairly. Englandrequired high taxes from thecolonists for items like tea andpaper, but the colonists didn’thave a voice in how thecolonies were ruled.

Members of the Sons ofLiberty are shown harassinga tax collector.

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As the colonists becameangrier, they began toprepare for war. Differentgroups and differentcolonies made flags to showsupport for the cause andto display their desire forfreedom from unfairgovernment.American shipsflew a flag with a libertytree on it with the words,An Appeal to Heaven.The

Continental Navy used a flag with a snake over red andwhite stripes that stated, Don’t Tread on Me.

Do you know the symbolism ofthe snake on the flag? Thesnake stood for the idea thatthe navy, like the snake, wasdeadly when attacked.

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Once the war had progressed for two years, theContinental Congress decided to establish an official flag torepresent the unity of the new nation.

On June 14, 1777, Congress passed the First Flag Act. Itstated that the national flag of the United States should be

made of thirteen alternating redand white stripes and thirteenstars, one star and one stripe torepresent each state of theunion.They suggested placingwhite stars on a bluebackground to represent a new constellation.

Although not originallychosen for their meaning by theContinental Congress, thecolors represent different ideals.Red stands for valor, white forpurity, and blue for perseveranceand justice.

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New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Rhode IslandConnecticut

New York

Pennsylvania

New JerseyDelaware

MarylandVirginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

13 Original Colonies

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Elizabeth Griscom Ross(1752-1836) was aseamstress who lived inPhiladelphia. Betsy oftenembroidered shirts andmended clothing forGeorge Washington.

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Who was Betsy Ross?

G. Liebscher honored Betsy Ross by painting aportrait of Betsy at work.

Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) wasa signer of the Declaration ofIndependence, and some historianswonder if he designed the first flag.He sent a bill to the ContinentalCongress asking for payment for hisflag design. He never did get paid!

Betsy told hergrandson thatGeorge Washingtoncame to her withsome other membersof the ContinentalCongress in 1776.The group asked herto sew a flag based on the design they brought her.

Unfortunately, there is no record of a meeting takingplace, and the Continental Congress did not chose thestars and stripes design until 1777. No one knows for surewho designed or sewed the first flag, but all agree it hasbecome an important symbol for the unity and freedom ofall who fly it.

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In 1812,The United States was again at war with England.There were many battles on land and sea. One particularnight in 1814, the British attacked Fort McHenry with avariety of colorful bombs and explosives trying to take overthe city of Baltimore.

A lawyer named Francis Scott Key (1780-1843) watchedthe battle from a ship in the harbor. As the bombsexploded, Francis watched to see if the flag continued to flythroughout the battle.

It wasn’t until March 4, 1931,that President Herbert Hoover,depicted in this photographfrom 1929, signed a law tomake the Star SpangledBanner our national anthem.

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As Francis watched from a distance, he knew that theland was safe as long as the flag continued to fly. As the night turned into day,Francis looked to see the flag still waving in the wind. He was so inspired that he wrote a poem about it.The poem was set to music,and it eventually became our national anthem.

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Have you ever heard someone call the flag Old Glory? Ashipmaster named Captain William Driver (1803-1886)came up with the name in 1831. Captain Driver went onmany voyages on his boat, the Charles Doggett. On onemission, he helped to rescue some sailors who mutinied onthe ship The Bounty.

Some of his friends gave him a flag with twenty-fourstars on it. As he saw it wave for the first time, heexclaimed,“Old Glory”! During the Civil War, rebelswanted to steal the flag and destroy it, but it was neverfound. Over time, even as people retold the story and theflag design changed, the phrase Old Glory remained.TheSmithsonian Institute now keeps Captain Driver’s flag.

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13 Stars 13 StripesJune 14, 1777 - May 1, 1795

15 Stars 15 StripesMay 1, 1795 - July 3, 1818

24 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1822 - July 3, 1836

26 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1837 - July 3, 1845

31 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1851 - July 3, 1858

37 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1867 - July 3, 1877

38 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1877 - July 3, 1890

44 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1891 - July 3, 1896

45 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1896 - July 3, 1908

46 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1908 - July 3, 1912

48 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1912 - July 3, 1959

50 Stars 13 StripesJuly 4, 1960 - Present

Partial Historical Progression of Flag Designs

The Fourth of July is a special day to commemoratethe birth of our nation. People celebrate theirindependence with gatherings, parades, and fireworks. Didyou know that the flag also has a birthday? Flag Dayoriginated with school children who decided to celebrate

the creation of ournational flag. Historiansbelieve that students inWisconsin had the firstcelebration in 1885.

18Harry Truman signs the papers to make FlagDay a national holiday.

A few years later, in 1889, a school in New York planneda ceremony to celebrate the birthday of the flag as well.Over time, the celebrations spread to other schools andstates. In 1949, President Harry S.Truman recognized FlagDay on June 14 as a national holiday. 19

A pledge is a promise or an oath that shows respectand loyalty. In 1892, readers saw the original Pledge ofAllegiance published in a children’s magazine.The author,Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), wrote the pledge in honor ofChristopher Columbus and his voyage to America 400

years earlier.Citizens often

recite the Pledge ofAllegiance at publicgatherings, governmentfunctions, communityevents, and even in schools.20

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There is a code that tells people the etiquette, or theproper ways to show respect to the flag.The flag alwaysflies in an upright position, unless it is necessary to fly itupside down as a distress signal.

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The flag should never touch the ground. It is disrespectfulto wear the flag as clothing. However, the police, firefighters,and even scout groups may wear a patch that shows the flag.

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There are also rules on how to properly display the flag.When displaying the flag outdoors on the same flagpole asanother flag, the American flag should always be at the top.Also, when displayed with other flags, the other flags canbe smaller but never larger than the American flag.TheUnited States flag should always be the first one raised andthe last lowered. Unless it is waterproof, the flag does notfly in bad weather.

The American flag shouldalways be folded properly.

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We can show respect to the victims of a tragedy orhonor the death of an important person by flying the flagat half-staff. On September 11, 2001, an attack on theWorld Trade Center in New York City caused the deathsof more than three thousand people.The flag flew at half-staff, or half-mast, to honor the lives that were lost.

To fly the flag at half-staff, first the flag is raised to thetop of the flagpole, andthen lowered to a positionhalf way between the topand the bottom.

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Memorial Day is another occasion where we fly the flagat half-staff to honor the men and women who lost theirlives defending the freedom of our country.

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How did the flag change fromthe original thirteen to fifty stars?As each new state joined theunion, the flag received anadditional star.

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The current American flag has fifty stars and thirteenstripes.The fifty stars are white and represent the fiftystates.The stars are arranged in rows.There are five rowsthat have six stars alternating with four rows that have fivestars.The flag has thirteen stripes to represent the originalcolonies that fought the British for independence.

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anthem (AN-thum): a religious or national song, often sung by a choirautonomous (aw-TON-uh-muhs): self governing or independentcommemorate (kuh-MEM-uh-rate): do something special to honor or

remember an event in the life of an important personconstellation (kon-stuh-LAY-shun): a group of stars that forms a shape

or patternetiquette (ET-uh-ket): rules of polite behaviorhalf-staff (HAF-STAF): the position halfway between the top and bottom

of a flagpole or mastpledge (PLEJ): to make a sincere promisesymbol (SIM-buhl): a design or an object that represents something elseunity (YOO-ni-tee): a whole or totality as combining all parts into one

Firestone, Mary. Our American Flag. Coughlin Publishing, 2006.

Landau, Elaine. The American Flag. Scholastic Library Publishing, 2008.

Thompson, Sarah. American Flag Q&A. Harper Collins Publishers, 2008.

www.bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/flag.html

www.usa-flag-site.org/history.shtml

www.foundingfathers.info/american-flag/ 31

anthem 14, 15bald eagle 4 Baltimore 14Captain William Driver 16colonists 7, 8Continental Congress 10, 13Flag Day 18, 19Fort McHenry 14Francis Bellamy 20Francis Scott Key 14government 5, 7, 8, 20 independence 4, 13, 18 29justice 10

Memorial Day 27Old Glory 16, 17perseverance 10purity 10Revolutionary War 6September 11, 2001 26settlers 7Star Spangled Banner 14Statue of Liberty 4The Bounty 16

Kelli Hicks is an educational consultant with over fourteen years of teachingand administrative experience. As a charter member of the Tampa Bay AreaWriting Project, Kelli works to share her love of reading and writing with bothteachers and students. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida.

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See the United States through the most well-known symbols and

landmarks. The American Symbols and Landmarks series teaches

readers about U.S. history, greatleaders, and special buildings that

symbolize freedom and liberty.

Titles In This Series:The American Flag

The Bald EagleMount Rushmore

The Statue of LibertyThe United States Capitol

The White House