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Flag ratio is not set, but is often 4:5 bearing a gold fringe around three edges when displayed indoors or on parade.]] : ''This article is about the national flag of the United States. For other flags flown by American ships, see American Ensign .'' The flag of the United States consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed Star s arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the Flag represent the 50 States and the 13 stripes represent the 13 Original Colonies . The United States flag is commonly called "'''the Stars and Stripes'''" or "'''Old Glory'''," with the latter nickname coined by Captain William Driver , a Salem, Massachusetts shipmaster. In Blazon s (a Vexillological description using Flag Terminology ), the U.S. flag is described as "A banner Gules, 6 bars Argent; the canton Azure charged with 50 mullets Argent". This translates to ''A red flag with 6 white horizontal stripes; The top left quarter is blue with 50 white stars''. TRADITIONS Many institutions, and some homeowners, display the flag year-round, while some reserve flag display for civic holidays like Memorial Day , Veteran's Day , Presidents' Day , Flag Day and the Fourth Of July . On Memorial Day it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war dead. SYMBOLISM To U.S. citizens, their flag symbolizes many things. They have seen it as representing all of the freedoms and rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and its Bill Of Rights . Perhaps most of all they see it as a symbol of individual and personal liberty like those put forth in the U.S. Declaration Of Independence . The approved method of destroying old and tattered flags consists of burning them in a simple ceremony. The flag is cut into three pieces: first a horizontal cut is made between the seventh and eighth stripes, then a vertical cut separating the star field from the seven shorter stripes. Then the three pieces are typically placed on a Pyre as " Taps " is played. Burning the flag has also been used as a deliberate act of disrespect ( Flag Desecration ), at times to Protest actions by the United States Government , or sometimes in displays of Anti-Americanism overseas. Some groups concerned by these actions have proposed a Flag Burning Amendment that would give Congress the authority to outlaw burning the flag in disrespect or protest. Symbolism of the design When the Second Continental Congress proposed the Flag Resolution on June 14 , 1777 , there was no particular symbolism attached to the colors or their arrangement on the flag. However, on June 20 , 1782 , Charles Thomson , the secretary of the Continental Congress, gave a report to the Congress defining the new Great Seal Of The United States . Meanings were attached to the colors (which, contrary to popular misinformation, is not part of any of the rules of Heraldry ). Rather, the meanings were a matter of contemporary fashion and personal preference on the part of Mr. Thomson. The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America. White signifies purity and innocence. Red hardiness and valour and Blue the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance perseverance and justice. Originally, both the number of stripes and the number of stars were supposed to represent the number of states. However, this became unwieldy as states were added to the union. During the debate that eventually resulted in the Flag Act Of 1818 , U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid suggested that the number of stripes be set at thirteen to represent the original 13 colonies and that only the number of stars be set to the number of states.1 A book about the flag published by the Congress in 1977 gives further symbolism for the flag: : The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.2 George Washington is credited for saying the following about the the symbolism of the flag: : ''We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty. '' DESIGN National Flag The basic design of the flag is specified by sections 1 and 2 of Title 4, United States Code . Executive Order 10834 which may be found as a note to section 1, specifies the proportions of the flag and the arrangement of the stars in the union. {Link without Title} . The specification gives the following values:
Due to rounding errors, the above numbers are inconsistent, in that G and H do not fill up the width of the union, and E and F do not fill the height. Presumably the intended values are E = F = C/10 and G = H = D/12. Note that the flag ratio (B in the diagram) is not fixed by law. Although the diagram in Executive Order 10834 gives a ratio of 1.9, earlier in the order is a list of flag sizes authorized for executive agencies. In that list, the flag ratio varies from 1.27 up to 1.9. According to Flags Of The World , the colors are specified by the General Services Administration "Federal Specification, Flag, National, United States of America and Flag, Union Jack," DDD-F-416E, dated November 27 , 1981 . It gives the colors by reference to " Standard Color Cards Of America " maintained by the Color Association Of The United States , Inc., as: The current 50-star flag was designed by Robert Heft in 1958 while living with his grandparents in Ohio . He was 17 years old at the time and did the flag design as a class project. His mother was a seamstress, but forced Heft to do all of the work on his own. He originally received a "B-" for the project. After discussing the grade with his teacher, it was agreed (somewhat jokingly) that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959 . According to Heft, his teacher did keep to their agreement and changed his grade to an "A" for the project. National Colors President, Dwight David Eisenhower, by Executive Order No.10834, signed on August 21, 1959 and printed in the Federal Register at 24 F.R. 6865, pursuant to law, stated that: "A military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a yellow fringe border on three sides." FLAG ETIQUETTE There are certain guidelines for the use and display of the United States flag as outlined in the United States Flag Code of the federal government. These are guidelines, not laws; there is no penalty for failure to comply with them. This etiquette is as applied within U.S. jurisdiction. In other countries and places, local etiquette applies. Standards of respect
Contrary to a commonly believed Urban Legend , the flag code does not state that a flag that touches the ground should be burned. Instead, the flag should be moved so it is not touching the ground. Displaying the flag outdoors ( New York , New York ).]]
Displaying the flag indoors
Parading and saluting the flag
Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem
The flag, in mourning .]]
Folding the flag Flags, when not in use, should be folded into a triangle shape. The final triangle shape result is said to invoke the image of the Three-point Hats popular during the American Revolutionary War . Former American Territories , e.g. the Philippines , also use this method to fold their Flags . # To properly fold the flag, begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground. # Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely. # Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside. # Make a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open top edge of the flag. Starting the fold from the left side over to the right # Turn the outer end point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle. # The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner. # When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible. Miscellaneous
PLACES WHERE THE AMERICAN FLAG IS DISPLAYED CONTINUOUSLY According to Presidential proclamation, Congressional order, and custom, the American flag is displayed continuously at the following locations:
HISTORY . This design may be the source of the red-and-white stripe motif of the United States flag.]] The flag has gone through 26 changes since the new union of 13 states first adopted it. The 48-star version holds the record, 47 years, for the longest time the flag has gone unchanged. The current 50-star version will tie the record if it is still in use on July 4 , 2007 . At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4 , 1776 , the most commonly flown flag was the Grand Union Flag . This flag was initially flown by George Washington and is recorded as being first raised by Washington's troops at Prospect Hill on New Year's Day in 1776. This flag formed the basis of the Stars and Stripes, consisting of 13 red and white stripes with the original British Union Flag in the canton. The Grand Union Flag is the same as the East India Company flag of the same era, although the East India Company flag could have from 9 to 13 stripes. The red-and-white stripe — and later, stars-and-stripes — motif of the flag may have been based on the Washington family Coat-of-arms , which consisted of a shield "''argent'', two ''bars gules'', above, three ''mullets gules''" (a white shield with two red bars below three red stars). Since 1937 , the District Of Columbia has used a flag based on this design. On is now observed on June 14 of each year. Tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June of 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook Encampment . The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement for the stars. Initially, a variety of designs were used, including a circular arrangement, but gradually a design featuring horizontal rows of stars emerged as the standard. As further states entered the union, extra stars and stripes were added until this proved to cause too much clutter. It was ultimately decided that there would be a star for each state, but the number of stripes would remain at thirteen to honor the Original Colonies . It was the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write " The Star-Spangled Banner ," now the National Anthem . When the flag design changes, the change always takes place on July 4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , as a consequence of the Flag Act of April 4 , 1818 . July 4 , Independence Day in the United States, commemorates the founding of the Nation . The most recent change, from forty-nine stars to fifty, occurred in 1960 when Robert G. Heft 's design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag. - 1959 ]] The flag flew in battle for the first time at Cooch's Bridge in Delaware on September 3 , 1777 during the American Revolutionary War . The origin of the U.S. flag design is uncertain. A popular story credits . He reportedly originally wanted the stars arranged in four bands, one vertical, one horizontal, and two diagonal. By the same reports, this arrangement was initially rejected due to similarity to the British flag, although this similarity appears to have ultimately won favor, as it was the design finally chosen for the first official flag of 1777. First salute The Netherlands were the first country to salute the American Flag , as the Dutch fought at the side of the American rebels.The Dutch province of Friesland (Frisia) was the first nation/country to acknowledge the US as a country of its own, closely followed by the rest of the Dutch provinces. State stars and design duration In the following table depicting the 27 designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for each flag are merely the ''usual'' patterns, with the exception of the 48-, 49-, and 50-star flags, as there was no official arrangement of the stars until the proclamation of the 48-star flag by President .) Symmetry
FUTURE OF THE FLAG in the event of an additional state]] The United States Army Institute Of Heraldry has plans for flags with up to 56 stars using a similar staggered star arrangement in case additional states accede. There are ongoing statehood movements in Puerto Rico , the District Of Columbia , and New York City . Other Insular Area s such as the U.S. Virgin Islands , the Northern Mariana Islands , Guam , and American Samoa may eventually become states as well. SEE ALSO
NOTES AND REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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