Follow MCCAdvisor on Twitter

Friday, June 11, 2010

America's Forgotten Holiday--Flag Day on June 14


The website devoted to a better understanding of the US flag, http://www.usflag.org/, is a wonderful font of information about the origins of our flag and the commemoration of Flag Day on June 14.

Contrary to legend, very few historians believe that Betsy Ross designed and created the flag for the new country. In fact, Francis Hopkinson, a Congressman from New Jersey, is believed to be the designer of the original flag.

In order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act on June 14, 1777.

"Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."

Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by a proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. However, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

No comments:

Post a Comment