American-Exceptionalism-10.5x10-PRINT-10.5 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 16
THE AMERICAN FLAG
OLD GLORY
The
American flag is a symbol of freedom
around the world.
America celebrates Flag Day on June 14th each
year because on that date in 1777, the Second
Continental Congress passed the Flag
Resolution, stating “the flag of the thirteen
United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red
and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white
in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
Of course, our flag has been through many
versions since then, twenty-seven of them in
fact. The most recent, with fifty stars
representing the fifty states, was first flown on
July 4, 1960, to mark Hawaii’s statehood.
Given Americans’ love for the flag, it may seem
strange that for nearly a century it was rarely
flown outside of military installations or
government buildings or ships. That all changed
with the Civil War. When Confederate forces
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attacked Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Union
commanding officer Robert Anderson
surrendered the outpost, but retained possession
of the fort’s flag. When Anderson later appeared
in New York City with it, as many as 100,000
flags quickly went on display across the city. The
event inspired an abiding love and respect for
the American flag as Northerners recognized it
as the symbol of American nationalism and a
rejection of secessionism.
It took years for our nation to heal from the Civil
War, and now the flag represents not only the
union but also the reunion of the country.
Remember all the men and women in uniform
from all over America who fought under the
stars and stripes — in the two World Wars,
Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and
many other conflicts where patriots gave their
lives to protect our liberty. And thus, the images
of the flags draping their caskets remind us all of
the debt we owe them now and always.
