An American flag flies on the USS Constitution, while she sails the annual Fourth of July Turnaround Cruise in Boston harbor |
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For more than two centuries, the flag of
the United States has been a symbol of hope and pride. The
flag has inspired our citizens during times of conflict
and comforted us during moments of sorrow and loss. On Flag
Day and throughout National Flag Week, we celebrate the
proud legacy of Old Glory and reflect on this enduring symbol
of freedom.
On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental
Congress passed a resolution stating that "the flag
of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red
and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a
blue field." As States have been added to the Union,
the flag has been modified to reflect their addition to
our Nation. Today, the appearance of our flag is based on
President Eisenhower's Executive Order of August 21, 1959,
to include a star for all 50 States together with 13 stripes
representing the original 13 American colonies.
Generations of Americans in uniform have
carried the Stars and Stripes into battle so that our citizens
can live in freedom. Across the globe, a new generation
of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen
has stepped forward to serve under our flag, defending America
from our enemies. We are grateful to them and their families
for defending our flag and the values of our great Nation.
On this Flag Day, we recall the rich history
of Old Glory, and we remember our duty to carry our heritage
of freedom into the future.
To commemorate the adoption of our flag,
the Congress, by joint resolution approved August 3, 1949,
as amended (63 Stat. 492), designated June 14 of each year
as "Flag Day" and requested that the President
issue an annual proclamation calling for its observance
and for the display of the flag of the United States on
all Federal Government buildings. The Congress also requested,
by joint resolution approved June 9, 1966, as amended (80
Stat. 194), that the President issue annually a proclamation
designating the week in which June 14 occurs as "National
Flag Week" and calling upon all citizens of the United
States to display the flag during that week.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President
of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June
14, 2005, as Flag Day and the week beginning June 12, 2005,
as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate officials
to display the flag on all Federal Government buildings
during that week, and I urge all Americans to observe Flag
Day and National Flag Week by flying the Stars and Stripes
from their homes and other suitable places. I also call
upon the people of the United States to observe with pride
and all due ceremony those days from Flag Day through Independence
Day, also set aside by the Congress (89 Stat. 211), as a
time to honor America, to celebrate our heritage in public
gatherings and activities, and to publicly recite the Pledge
of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set
my hand this tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
The Origins of Flag Day
The early history of the U.S. flag and Flag
Day is a matter of debate. Both President Wilson, in 1916,
and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking
for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But
it wasn't until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the
national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it
into law.
"That the flag of the United States
shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white,
with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field,
representing the new constellation."
This was the resolution adopted by the Continental
Congress on June 14, 1777. The resolution was made following
the report of a special committee which had been assigned
to suggest the flag's design.
A flag of this design was first carried
into battle on September 11, 1777, in the Battle of the
Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign
naval vessels on February 14, 1778, when the Ranger, bearing
the Stars and Stripes and under the command of Captain Paul
Jones, arrived in a French port.
Tradition dictates that the first flag of
this design was made by Mrs. John Ross, better known as
Betsy Ross, of Philadelphia. Although the original design
called for six-point stars, when the final product appeared,
the stars were five pointed. It is unclear whether the idea
of the five-point stars came from Betsy Ross, who was said
to have found this pattern easier to sew, or General George
Washington, who preferred the five-point stars as more dignified.
Observance of the adoption of the flag was
not soon in coming, however. Although there are many claims
to the first official observance of Flag Day, all took place
more than an entire century after the flag's adoption in
1777.
The most recognized claim comes from New
York. On June 14, 1889, Professor George Bolch, principal
of a free kindergarten for the poor of New York City, had
his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary
of the Flag Day resolution. This initiative attracted attention
from the State Department of Education, which arranged to
have the day observed in all public schools thereafter.
Soon the state legislature passed a law
making it the responsibility of the state superintendent
of public schools to ensure that schools hold observances
for Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial
Day and Flag Day. In 1897, the governor of New York ordered
the displaying of the flag over all public buildings in
the state, an observance considered by some to be the first
official recognition of the anniversary of the adoption
of the flag outside of schools.
Another claim comes from Philadelphia. In
1893, the Society of Colonial Dames succeeded in getting
a resolution passed to have the flag displayed on all of
the city's public buildings. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie,
a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president
of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, that same year tried
to get the city to call June 14 Flag Day. Resolutions by
women were not granted much notice, however, and it was
not until May 7, 1937, that Pennsylvania became the first
state to establish the June 14 Flag Day as a legal holiday.
Bernard J. Cigrand, a school teacher in
Waubeka, Wisconsin, reportedly spent years trying to get
Congress to declare June 14 as a national holiday. Although
his attempts failed, the day was widely observed. "Father
of Flag Day" honors have been given to William T. Kerr,
who was credited with founding the American Flag Day Association
in 1888 while still a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President
Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June
14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But it wasn't
until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national
observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.
From Social Studies,
May/June, 1996
(This article is in the Public Domain)
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