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The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars.
national flag consisting of white stars (50 since July 4, 1960) on a blue canton with a field of 13 alternating stripes, 7 red and 6 white. The 50 stars stand for the 50 states of the union, and the 13 stripes stand for the original 13 states.
A timeline of the evolution and development of the official U.S. flag over the course of U.S. History.
Facts about the United States Flag. Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the proportions of the flag was prescribed. Consequently, flags dating before this period sometimes show unusual arrangements of the stars and odd proportions, these features being left to the discretion of the flag maker.
The first “official” flag was “the Continental Colors,” also known as the “Grand Union Flag,” which consisted of thirteen red and white stripes and the United Kingdom’s flag in the upper-left-hand corner, also known as the canton.
The table contains images of the U.S. national flag and of the flags of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Larger images of the flags can be viewed by clicking on individual flags. Articles on the country, the states, and the district (Washington, D.C.) and on their respective flag histories can be accessed via the links below the flags.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution establishing an official flag for the new nation stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
Although legend holds that Betsy Ross made the first American flag in 1776 after being asked to do so by Washington, primary sources backing up that assertion are scarce.
History of the American flag. The flag of the United States is a symbol of freedom before which Americans recite the pledge of allegiance. The flag's 13 red and white stripes represent the 13 original colonies. Its 50 white stars on a blue background represent the 50 states. Each of the colors on the flag has a meaning:
The original Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that would become our national anthem, is among the most treasured artifacts in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.