The star version went unchanged for 47 years, the longest time the flag went unmodified until July 4, , when the current star flag broke the record. At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, , the United States had no official national flag. Although it has never had any official status, it was used throughout the American Revolutionary War by George Washington and formed the basis for the design of the first official United States flag.
This is the design of the flag of the District of Columbia. More likely it was based on a flag of the Sons of Liberty, one of which consisted of 13 red and white alternating horizontal stripes. The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement for the stars.
The so-called Betsy Ross Flag with the thirteen stars arranged in a circle , although never an official flag, is the oldest version of any United States flag to appear on any physical relic: it is historically referenced in contemporary battlefield paintings by John Trumbull and Charles Willson Peale, which depict the circular star arrangement.
Popular designs at the time were varied and most were individually crafted rather than mass-produced. Given the scant archaeological and written evidence, it is unknown which design was the most popular at that time.
The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following:. The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following: Flag Resolution of June 14, , stated, "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. Act of April 4, , provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state.
With much of the evidence lost to history, historians disagree on which individuals designed and constructed early versions of the United States flag. Notably, Francis Hopkinson claimed he designed the first flag and Betsy Ross, because of her grandson, has been credited with constructing it. Historians remain skeptical. The flag has seen 27 different versions and countless variations since its official adoption June 14, As new states joined, corresponding stars were added to the flag.
With few specifications in place, a variety of creative star arrangements were produced. The U. Just over a year after the twenty-star flag was introduced, the United States added Illinois to the Union, boosting the number of states to Illinois, where future president Abraham Lincoln began his political career, was admitted on Dec. The number of U. The flag became the official U. President James Monroe was the only president to serve under this flag as well as the previous two flags.
The flag expanded to 24 stars with the addition of Missouri in Missouri, a slave state, was admitted as part of the Missouri Compromise, which sought to achieve a balance of free and slave states during the antebellum period. The compromise included the admission of Maine, a free state, which had separated from Massachusetts and become a state the previous year.
Arkansas joined the Union as a slave state on June 15, Less than a month later, its star was included in the U. Arkansas was part of the Louisiana Purchase and carved out of what became the Missouri Territory to become its own territory.
Michigan was admitted to the Union in as a free state to help maintain the balance between slave and free states. Michigan's admission had been thwarted because of a border dispute with Ohio — which had been admitted as a state in — but President Andrew Jackson helped Michigan save face by awarding it land from the Upper Peninsula, and then it was granted statehood, boosting the number of states to Florida, a former possession of the Spanish empire, was admitted to the Union in , raising the total number of U.
It would not remain in the Union for long: Florida would secede in In , the flag would undergo another change, this time because of the admission of Texas. Before becoming the 28th state, the Lone Star state had broken away from Mexico in It was an independent republic before joining the Union and becoming the biggest state in land mass in the contiguous 48 states. Iowa was admitted to the Union on Dec. Its star was added to the U. Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, Iowa grew dramatically because of its rich farmland.
Iowa had been established as a U. Wisconsin became a state on May 29, , adding the 30th star to the U. Not all residents of Wisconsin were enthusiastic about statehood. They had rejected it four times previously because they were concerned statehood would mean higher taxes.
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