Home : For The People : Symbols :Flag Of The United States
The signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 announced to the world our intentions for independence from Great Britain. However, it also brought upon our Founding Fathers all of the challenges of creating and establishing a new nation, together with an entirely new form of government that had never been seen or tried before. But before any of that could happen, actually winning the war of independence and securing our freedom from Great Britain had to be accomplished first. As unprepared as these Founding Fathers were at creating a new form of government, they were even less prepared to conduct a war against, arguably, the most powerful military force in the world. One can only guess how busy the Continental Congress was at that time, and it was not surprising that a few important items were overlooked. One such “overlooked” item was the creation of a flag to represent our new nation, and we needed a flag right away. Now throughout history, flags have always been an effective way of publicly displaying heritage, beliefs, or loyalties, as well as serving as a rallying point for a cause. So, almost a full year after the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Revolutionary War was in full swing, the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, acting with haste and with little to no discussion amongst themselves, declared: “Resolved that the flag of the 13 united States be 13 stripes alternated red and white, that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”
With this simple brief statement, the Flag of the United States of America was born. Now we can all visualize our flag today, but that decree was very confusing for it did not clearly describe things like the pattern of the stars, the number of points on the stars, where the blue field was to be, or even the flags dimensions. And there were no accompanying drawings or artist renderings to help guide the flag-makers. We don’t even know if the stars on the famous Betsy Ross flag were in a circle, or perhaps in rows. After that humble beginning, the Continental Congress did not address anything else about the flag for another fifteen years when Vermont entered the Union as our 14th State in 1791, followed by Kentucky in 1792 as the 15th. Since all of the states were to be considered equal, and without any real flag guidelines, both of those states felt they deserved equal flag status, so flags were thus created with both 14 stars and 14 stripes, and then later 15 stars and 15 stripes! Actually the famous “Star Spangled Banner” of Ft. McHenry fame, which was recently restored at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, has 15 stars and 15 stripes. With more territories waiting in the wings to enter the Union, it quickly became apparent that our national banner would soon become sadly out of proportion if both stars and stripes kept being added. One solution put forward was to keep the same basic size of the flag but make the stripes narrower as more were added, but it was thought that this would be more difficult to make and would ultimately impair the flag’s distinctiveness when seen from a distance. As a result, in 1818, Congress finally decreed that we should return to just 13 stripes to honor the original 13 colonies, but to continue to add a star in the blue canton space for each new state. After the first flag resolution in 1777 and the brief clarification in 1818, there were no other official guidelines about the flag for another 94 years. So until 1912, things like star patterns, shapes, sizes, points, and orientation, or even the overall flag’s dimensions, were basically left to the discretion and artistry of the flag maker. Because of this earlier lack of mandated standardization, the flag’s with 46 or fewer stars are as varied as the imagination of those who created them.
There could have been so many different star configurations produced during any given flags era that the varieties would have been almost endless. For example, there are flags with indented rows, circular, flower, great star, or medallion shaped patterns, just to name some of the more common variations. The 38 star flag was the longest running in the 1800’s, lasting 14 years. The shortest running flag life was the flag with 39 stars, created when North Dakota became a state and it lasted for the grand total of only four hours until South Dakota was admitted to the Union later that very day! In addition to variations in the display of the stars, liberties were also taken with the blue canton, which typically has a white stripe underneath it. Often during a time of war, the blue canton sits on a red stripe, which is called the “War Stripe” or “Blood Stripe” design, to recognize the blood being shed by our soldiers and sailors. In the mid to late 1800’s, it was also not uncommon, nor unlawful, to use the flag as an advertisement piece. For example, a company would boldly note its product or message on the flag, or a political candidate would just put his likeness right across the flag. If “artwork” is determined by the design of the subject matter, or by the originality of the materials used, or by the skill of its construction, then our flag is an excellent example of American art. While many of the flags were made-to-order, most were made just out of patriotic pride and by the hands of artists. In the history of all the world’s nations, there has never been another national flag that has undergone so many varied alterations during its evolution, and yet one that retains the same basic original design. It took over 200 years of sacrifice, bloodshed, dedication, and creativity for our flag to evolve into the revered banner it represents to most people today. May it long endure as a symbol of our Nation. Flag-Protection AmendmentThe Flag Protection Act of 1989 became effective on October 28, 1989. In another 5 to 4 decision, the Court held that the Flag Protection Act of 1989 could not be constitutionally applied to a burning of the flag in the context of a public protest. In the summer of 1990, both Houses of Congress considered and failed to pass by the required two-thirds vote an amendment to the Constitution which would have empowered Congress to enact legislation to protect the physical integrity of the flag. If the amendment does pass the Senate by the required margin, it would need ratification by 38 states over seven years to become part of the Constitution, which has been amended 27 times since 1788. The one-sentence measure, "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States," has provoked pointed debate since similar measures were first proposed following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that threw out a Texas law protecting the flag. At the time, 48 states had similar laws. The flag is a sacred symbol, and "we think it's even more special after 9-11 than ever in the history of the country," said Larry McKay of Mount Pleasant, SC, who served with the Army in Vietnam. "The American flag is the most respected symbol of our nation," said Thomas Meteraud, commander of the American Legion in the Charleston, SC, area. "The remains of our war dead come home to our soil draped in the American flag." He says it is an affront to the nation's war dead to allow desecration of the flag. McKay and Dick Walsh, the vice commander of the American Legion in South Carolina, say they don't want to limit free speech and that they have fought to protect it. "I can go to Washington, D.C., right now and get a can of spray paint and spray paint on the base of the Washington Monument and I'd be arrested for desecrating a national monument," Walsh said. "Yet I can stand on those same steps near the Washington Monument and take that flag I fought for and shed blood for and set it one fire and nothing would happen to me." Three of four Americans, all 50 states and over 70 percent of the Congress agree that desecrating the flag is not speech. Critics say the amendment protects the flag and changes the Bill of Rights. It does neither, and this is important to understand. An amendment, of itself, does not protect the flag. It simply takes control over the flag away from the courts and returns it to the people where it resided until 1989. Once the amendment is ratified, and only then, can a law be passed to protect the flag. | ||||||||||
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