On a warm summer morning in June of 1777, the mood in Philadelphia was teeming with hope. The wooden floorboards of Independence Hall creaked beneath the boots of revolutionaries.
These men, who had risked everything for the dream of a free nation, approved a resolution that would echo for centuries:
“Resolved, 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 representing a new constellation.”
— Second Continental Congress, June 14, 1777 [1]
That was the birth of the American flag. She continues to stand for liberty, and we proudly call her Old Glory.
It is believed that Betsy Ross stitched stars by candlelight in her Philadelphia upholstery shop to create the original flag [2]. We imagine that every stitch was a prayer, a vision, and a small act of support for individual rights.
Each red stripe stood for valor and hardiness. The white stripes for purity and innocence. The blue field represented vigilance, perseverance, and justice [3].
The flag was more than fabric and thread. It gave life to the soul of a revolution.
As our great nation expanded, so did the flag. Stars were added with each new state.
In 1814, during the Battle of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key watched from a British ship as bombs lit the Baltimore sky. At dawn, the sight of the waving flag inspired him to pen the words that would become our national anthem [4]:
“O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
The stars and stripes represented grit and determination, and that legacy lives on today.
In 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand, a 19-year-old schoolteacher from Wisconsin, placed a small flag on his desk and urged students to reflect on its meaning [5]. Cigrand spent the next three decades advocating for a national day to celebrate the flag.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day [6]. Thirty-three years later, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress to give the date its official Flag Day designation.
While not a federal holiday, Flag Day remains a time to reflect on American values and the sacrifices made to protect them.
Through war and peace, protest and progress, Old Glory has remained a symbol of American resilience. It’s folded at military funerals, draped on caskets, waved at parades, and printed on T-shirts.
It’s a thread that connects us to the forefathers of our past and the fellow Americans who stand with us today.
The flag is more than an emblem. It's a promise to every American.
We encourage you to close your eyes this Flag Day. Hear the flag snapping in the wind. See the sunlight filtering through its fabric. Remember the quiet reverence of placing your hand over your heart at the start of each new school day.
That’s the spirit of Old Glory.
It’s a spirit that endures in fields and factories, churches, and classrooms. It's a belief in something greater than ourselves.
Old Glory continues to wave.
She continues to stand.
We won’t stop honoring her.
Sources
1. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789 – Library of Congress
2. The Legend of Betsy Ross – USHistory.org
3. Symbolism of the American Flag – U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
4. The Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812 – Smithsonian National Museum of American History
5. Bernard Cigrand and Flag Day – National Flag Day Foundation
6. Presidential Proclamation of Flag Day, 1916 – The American Presidency Project