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The First Flag Day and The Progression of the National Holiday

The origin of Flag Day dates back to the 1770's, when George Washington was the president of the United States. Today, we continue to commemorate the adoption of the United States flag and the bravery and patriotism it represents. Presently, the "star-spangled banner" graces our homes, schools, courtrooms, and official buildings. But it means much more than a red, white, and blue piece of fabric.

How The American Flag Came To Be
George Washington and two other members of the Second Continental Congress proposed that the United States have its own national flag, and ditch the British Union Jack. This proposal was made on June Fourteethn of the year 1777, thus etching the date in stone for remembrance and celebration.

Our first president, George Washington, asked his seamstress Betsy Ross to sew the flag for him. At the time, Betsy Ross was in her early twenties and widowed. She took on the task, and the result was the first American flag. It had thirteen white stars in a perfect circle, each of which represented one of the original thirteen states.

Today, our flag has fifty white stars, which represent our fifty states. But for the sake of history, the flag still has thirteen stripes, which alternate red and white. These stripes remind us of our colonial roots. Plus, our flag is unique. It is the only flag today that requires sixty four different pieces of fabric to create.

The First Flag Day and The Progression of the National Holiday
The first Flag Day was celebrated on June fourteenth, in the year 1877, on the flag's 100th birthday. In the year 1890, North Dakota and New Jersey made a law that required their schools to fly the flag daily. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared Flag Day a national holiday. It was not until 1949 (under Harry Truman's presidency) that Congress decided to make Flag Day an official holiday. In the 1960's, protesters of the American Flag burned the flag in front of the capital building in Washington D.C. (In the 1990's, they suggested an amendment to the Constitution to ban burning the flag. However, they did not go through with it because is unconstitutional to restrict freedom of speech.)

Presently, the flag is so important to our country that patriots have developed an unwritten set of rules for how (and how not) to treat the United States flag. No one should write on the star-spangle banner; instead, we write about it. And on June 14, 2008, we say Happy Birthday to the great Star-Spangled Banner!

Learn more about this author, Megan Deroche.
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