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The flag of the United States of America (the American flag) consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the national anthem).

Symbolism

The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely recognized symbols. Within the U.S. it is frequently displayed, not only on public buildings, but on private residences. It is also used as a motif on decals for car windows, and clothing ornaments such as badges and lapel pins. Throughout the world it is used in public discourse to refer to the U.S., not only as a nation, state, government, and set of policies, but also as an ideology and set of ideas.

Apart from the numbers of stars and stripes representing the number of current and original states, respectively, and the union with its stars representing a constellation, there is no legally defined symbolism to the colors and shapes on the flag. However, folk theories and traditions abound.

Design

Specifications



The basic design of the current flag is specified by ; outlines the addition of new stars to represent new states.The specification gives the following values:

  • Hoist (width) of the flag: A = 1.0
  • Fly (length) of the flag: B = 1.9
  • Hoist (width) of the Union: C = 0.5385 (A x 7/13, spanning seven stripes)
  • Fly (length) of the Union: D = 0.76 (B × 2/5, two fifths of the flag length)
  • E = F = 0.0538 (C/10, One tenth the height of the field of Stars)
  • G = H = 0.0633 (D/12, One twelfth the width of the field of Stars)
  • Diameter of star: K = 0.0616
  • Width of stripe: L = 0.0769 (A/13, One thirteenth of the flag width)


These specifications are contained in an executive order which, strictly speaking, governs only flags made for or by the U.S. federal government. In practice, however, most U.S. national flags available for sale to the public have a different length-to-width ratio; common sizes are 2 x 3 ft. or 4 x 6 ft. (flag ratio 1.5), 2.5 x 4 ft. or 5 x 8 ft. (1.6), or 3 x 5 ft. or 6 x 10 ft. (1.667). Even flags flown over the U.S. Capitol for sale to the public through Representatives or Senators are provided in these sizes. Flags that are made to the prescribed 1.9 ratio are often referred to as "G-spec" (for "government specification") flags.

Colors

The exact shades of red, white, and blue to be used in the flag are specified as follows:

Color Cable color Pantone Web Color RGB Values
Dark Red 70180 193 C #BB133E (187,19,62)
White 70001 Safe #FFFFFF (255,255,255)
Navy Blue 70075 281 C #002664 (0,38,100)


The 49- and 50-star unions

When Alaskamarker and Hawaiimarker were being considered for statehood in the 1950s, more than 1,500 designs were spontaneously submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although some of them were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three, and probably more , of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag. At the time, credit was given by the executive department to the United States Army Institute of Heraldry for the design.

Of these proposals, one created by 18-year old Robert G. Heft in 1958 as a school project has received the most publicity. His mother was a seamstress, but refused to do any of the work for him. 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. He got an A.

Decoration

Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag as long as it does not deface the flag proper. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often use fringe to enhance the beauty of the flag. The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835, and the Army used it officially in 1895. No specific law governs the legality of fringe, but a 1925 opinion of the attorney general addresses the use of fringe (and the number of stars) "...is at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy..." as quoted from footnote in previous volumes of Title 4 of the United States Code law books and is a source for claims that such a flag is a military ensign not civilian. However, according to the Army Institute of Heraldry, which has official custody of the flag designs and makes any change ordered, there are no implications of symbolism in the use of fringe. Several federal courts have upheld this conclusion. Traditionally, the Army and Air Force use a fringed National Color for parade, color guard and indoor display, while the Sea Services (Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) use a fringeless National Color for all uses.

"Flower flag"

Compared to the flags of many other nations, the flag of the United States is notably complex, leading to expressions such as Huāqíguó ("flower flag nation"), a Chinese name for America used in the 19th and early 20th centuries.Chinese: 花旗國. See Chinese English Dictionary
Citibank, which founded a branch in China in 1902, is known as "Flower Flag Bank" (花旗銀行).
Olsen, Kay Melchisedech, Chinese Immigrants: 1850-1900 (2001), p. 7.
" Philadelphia's Chinatown: An Overview", The Historical Society of Pennsylvannia.
Leonard, Dr. George, " The Beginnings of Chinese Literature in America: the Angel Island Poems".




Display and use



The flag is customarily flown year-round at most public buildings, and it is not unusual to find private houses flying full-size flags.Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day, Flag Day, and on Independence Day. On Memorial Day it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war veterans. Also on Memorial Day it is common to fly the flag at half staff, until noon, in remembrance of those who lost their lives in war while fighting for the U.S.

Flag etiquette

The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the use, display, and disposal of the flag. For example, the flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it is the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation. (This tradition may come from the 1908 Summer Olympicsmarker in Londonmarker, where countries were asked to dip their flag to King Edward VII: the American flag bearer did not. Team captain Martin Sheridan is famously quoted as saying "this flag dips to no earthly king", though the true provenance of this quotation is unclear.)


The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and, if flown at night, must be illuminated. If the edges become tattered through wear, the flag should be repaired or replaced. When a flag is so tattered that it can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning. The American Legion and other organizations regularly conduct dignified flag-burning ceremonies, often on Flag Day, June 14. It is a common myth that if a flag touches the ground or becomes soiled, it must be burned as well. While a flag that is currently touching the ground and a soiled flag are unfit for display, neither situation is permanent and thus the flag does not need to be burned if the unfit situation is remedied.

Significantly, the Flag Code prohibits using the flag "for any advertising purpose" and also states that the flag "should not be embroidered, printed, or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use". Both of these prohibitions are widely flouted, almost always without comment.

Proper vertical display.
Although the Flag Code is U.S. Federal law, it is only binding on government institutions displaying the flag: there is no penalty for a private citizen or group failing to comply with the Flag Code and it is not widely enforced—indeed, punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Passage of the proposed Flag Desecration Amendment would overrule legal precedent that has been established.

Display on vehicles and uniforms

When the flag is affixed to the side of a vehicle or uniform, it should be oriented so that the union is towards the front. This is done to give the impression that the flag is blowing backwards from its hoist as the vehicle or wearer moves forward. Therefore, U.S. flag decals (or patches) on the right sides of vehicles (or uniforms) may appear to be "reversed", with the union to the observer's right instead of left as more commonly seen.

Places of continuous display

By presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom, American flags are displayed continuously at certain locations.



Particular days for display

The flag should especially be displayed at full staff on the following days:



Display at half-staff

The flag is displayed at half-staff (half-mast in naval usage) as a sign of respect or mourning. Nationwide, this action is proclaimed by the president; state-wide or territory-wide, the proclamation is made by the governor. In addition, there is no prohibition against municipal governments, private businesses or citizens flying the flag at half-staff as a local sign of respect and mourning. However, many flag enthusiasts feel this type of practice has somewhat diminished the meaning of the original intent of lowering the flag to honor those who held high positions in federal or state offices. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first proclamation on March 1, 1954, standardizing the dates and time periods for flying the flag at half-staff from all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels; other congressional resolutions and presidential proclamations ensued. However, they are only guidelines to all other entities: typically followed at state and local government facilities, and encouraged of private businesses and citizens.
To properly fly the flag at half-staff, you must first hoist it briskly to the top of the pole, then slowly lower it to three-quarters of the height of the pole. Similarly, when the flag is to be lowered from half-staff, it should be first hoisted briskly to the top of the pole, then lowered slowly to the base of the flagpole.

Federal guidelines state the flag should be flown at half-staff at the following dates/times:
  • May 15 - Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless it is the third Saturday in May, Armed Forces Day, full-staff all day
  • The week in which May 15 occurs - Police Week
  • Last Monday in May - Memorial Day (until noon)
  • July 27 - Korean War Veterans Day (expired 2003 − reinstated 2009)
  • September 11 - Patriot Day
  • First Sunday in October - Start of Fire Prevention Week.
  • December 7 - National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
  • For 30 days - Death of a president or former president
  • For 10 days - Death of a vice president, Supreme Court chief justice/retired chief justice, or speaker of the House of Representatives.
  • From death until the day of interment - Supreme Court associate justice, member of the Cabinet, former vice president, president pro-tempore of the Senate, or the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. Also for federal facilities within a state or territory, for the governor.
  • On the day after the death - Senators, members of Congress, territorial delegates or the resident commissioner of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico


Further, the flag is always flown at half-staff at four locations in the United States. These locations are Post Cemetery at Mackinac Island in Michigan, Punchbowl in Honolulu, the Gettysburg National Cemetery, and Arlington National Cemetery

Folding for storage

Folding the U.S. flag
Folding the U.S. flag
Though not part of the official Flag Code, according to military custom flags should be folded into a triangular shape when not in use. To properly fold the flag:

  1. Begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground.
  2. Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely.
  3. Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside.
  4. Make a rectangular fold then 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
  5. Turn the outer end point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle.
  6. The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner (usually thirteen triangular folds, as shown at right). On the final fold, any remnant that does not neatly fold into a triangle (or in the case of exactly even folds, the last triangle) is tucked into the previous fold.
  7. When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.


Use in funerals

A flag prepared for presentation to the next of kin
Traditionally, the flag of the United States plays a role in military funerals, and occasionally in those over other civil servants (such as the President). A burial flag is draped over the deceased's casket as a pall during services. Just prior to the casket being lowered into the ground, the flag is ceremonially folded and presented to the deceased's next of kin as a token of respect.

History

The flag has been changed 26 times since the new, 13-state union adopted it. The 48-star version went unchanged for 47 years, until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959 (the first July 4 following Alaskamarker's admission to the union on January 3, 1959). The 47-years of the 48-star version was the longest time the flag went unmodified until July 5, 2007, when the current 50-star version of the Flag of the United States broke the record.

First flag

At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the United States had no official national flag. The Grand Union Flag has historically been referred to as the "First National Flag"; although it has never had any official status, it was used early in the American Revolutionary War by George Washington and formed the basis for the design of the first official U.S. flag. It closely resembles the British East India Company flag of the same era that was used from 1707, and an argument dating to Sir Charles Fawcett in 1937 holds that the Company flag indeed inspired the design. However, the Company flag could have from 9 to 13 stripes, and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean. Both flags could have been easily constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign, a common flag throughout Britain and its colonies.
Another theory holds that 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, first used to identify the family in the twelfth century, when one of George Washington's ancestors took possession of Washington Old Hallmarker, then in County Durham, north-east Englandmarker, which consisted of a shield "argent, two bars gules, above, three mullets gules" (a white shield with two red bars below three red stars).




The Flag Resolution of 1777

On June 14, 1777, the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: "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." Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year. A false tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampmentmarker.

The 1777 resolution was probably meant to define a naval ensign, rather than a national flag. It appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. On May 10, 1779, Secretary of the Board of War Richard Peters expressed concern "it is not yet settled what is the Standard of the United States."

The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars. The pictured flag shows 13 outwardly-oriented five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, the so-called Betsy Ross flag. Although the Betsy Ross legend is controversial, the design is among the oldest of any U.S. flags. Popular designs at the time were varied and most were individually crafted rather than mass-produced. Other examples of 13-star arrangements can be found on the Francis Hopkinson flag, the Cowpens flag, and the Brandywine flag. Given the scant archaeological and written evidence, it is unknown which design was the most popular at that time.

Despite the 1777 resolution, a number of flags only loosely based on the prescribed design were used in the early years of American independence. One example may have been the Guilford Court House Flag, traditionally believed to have been carried by the American troops at the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781.

The origin of the stars and stripes design is inadequately documented. The apocryphal story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch handed her by George Washington. No evidence for this exists; indeed, nearly a century had passed before Ross' grandson, William Canby, first publicly suggested it.Another woman, Rebecca Young, has also been credited as having made the first flag by later generations of her family. Rebecca Young's daughter was Mary Pickersgill, who made the Star Spangled Banner Flag.

It is likely that Francis Hopkinson of New Jerseymarker, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed the 1777 flag while he was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June 1777. This contradicts the Betsy Ross legend, which suggests that she sewed the first Stars and Stripes flag by request of the government in the Spring of 1776. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own lifetime, when he sent a bill to Congress for his work. He asked for a "Quarter Cask of the Public Wine" as payment initially. The payment was not made, however, because it was determined he had already received a salary as a member of Congress, and he was not the only person to have contributed to the design. It should be noted that no one else contested his claim at the time.

Later flag acts

In 1795, the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 (to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the union). For a time the flag was not changed when subsequent states were admitted, probably because it was thought that this would cause too much clutter. It was the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," now the national anthem.

On April 4, 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies. The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 (Independence Day) following admission of one or more new states. The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, occurred in 1960 when the present design was chosen, after Hawaiimarker gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaskamarker in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.

As of July 4, 2007, the 50-star flag has become the longest rendition in use.

The "Flower Flag" arrives in Asia

The U.S. flag was brought to the city of Cantonmarker (Guǎngzhōu) in China in 1785 by the merchant ship Empress of China, which carried a cargo of ginseng. There it gained the designation "Flower Flag [花旗]." According to author and U.S. Naval officer George H. Preble:

The above quote romanizes the Chinese words from spoken Cantonese. In Mandarin, the official Chinese language, "Flower Flag Nation" is rendered as Huāqíguó (花旗國).Chinese: 花旗國. See Chinese English Dictionary
Citibank, which founded a branch in China in 1902, is known as "Flower Flag Bank" (花旗銀行).
Olsen, Kay Melchisedech, Chinese Immigrants: 1850-1900 (2001), p. 7.
" Philadelphia's Chinatown: An Overview", The Historical Society of Pennsylvannia.
Leonard, Dr. George, " The Beginnings of Chinese Literature in America: the Angel Island Poems".





These names were common usage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.





Other Asian nations have equivalent terms for America, for example Hoa Kỳ ("Flower Flag") in Vietnam.





In modern times, however, Chinese refer to the US as Měiguó (美国), Měi being short for Měilìjiān (Chinese name for "America") and "guó" meaning "country," a name unrelated to the flag.




The U.S. flag took its first trip around the world in 1787-90 on board the Columbia. William Driver, who coined phrase Old Glory, took the U.S. flag around the world in 1831-32. The flag attracted the notice of Japanese when an oversized version was carried to Yokohama by the steamer Great Republic as part of a round-the-world journey in 1871.

Historical progression of designs

In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for the flags are merely the usual patterns, often associated with the United States Navy. Canton designs, prior to the proclamation of the 48-star flag, had no official arrangement of the stars. Furthermore, the exact colors of the flag were not standardized until 1934.
No. of
Stars
 No. of
Stripes
 Design States Represented
by New Stars
 Dates in Use Duration
0 13 N/A –June 14, 1777

(18 months)
13 13 Delawaremarker, Pennsylvaniamarker, New Jerseymarker,
Georgiamarker, Connecticutmarker, Massachusettsmarker,
Marylandmarker, South Carolinamarker, New Hampshiremarker,
Virginiamarker, New Yorkmarker, North Carolinamarker,
Rhode Islandmarker



 –May 1, 1795

(215 months)
15 15 Vermontmarker, Kentuckymarker –July 3, 1818

(278 months)
20 13 Indianamarker, Louisianamarker, Mississippimarker,
Ohiomarker, Tennesseemarker
 –July 3, 1819

(12 months)
21 13 Illinoismarker –July 3, 1820

(12 months)
23 13 Alabamamarker, Mainemarker –July 3, 1822

(24 months)
24 13 Missourimarker –July 3, 1836
1831 term "Old Glory" coined)

(168 months)
25 13 Arkansasmarker –July 3, 1837

(12 months)
26 13 Michiganmarker –July 3, 1845

(96 months)
27 13 Floridamarker –July 3, 1846

(12 months)
28 13 Texasmarker –July 3, 1847

(12 months)
29 13 Iowamarker –July 3, 1848

(12 months)
30 13 Wisconsinmarker –July 3, 1851

(36 months)
31 13 Californiamarker –July 3, 1858

(84 months)
32 13 Minnesotamarker –July 3, 1859

(12 months)
33 13 Oregonmarker –July 3, 1861

(24 months)
34 13 Kansasmarker –July 3, 1863

(24 months)
35 13 West Virginiamarker –July 3, 1865

(24 months)
36 13 Nevadamarker –July 3, 1867

(24 months)
37 13 Nebraskamarker –July 3, 1877

(120 months)
38 13 Coloradomarker –July 3, 1890

(156 months)
43 13 Idahomarker, Montanamarker, North Dakotamarker,
South Dakotamarker, Washingtonmarker
 –July 3, 1891

(12 months)
44 13 Wyomingmarker –July 3, 1896

(60 months)
45 13 Utahmarker –July 3, 1908

(144 months)
46 13 Oklahomamarker –July 3, 1912

(48 months)
48 13 Arizonamarker, New Mexicomarker –July 3, 1959

(564 months)
49 13 Alaskamarker –July 3, 1960
(12 months)
50 13 Hawaiimarker –Present years

( months)


Future of the flag

The United States Army Institute of Heraldry has plans for flags with up to 56 stars, using a similar staggered star arrangement should additional states accede. There are political movements supporting statehood in Puerto Rico (by the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico) and the District of Columbia, among other areas.

Similar national flags

  • The flag of Bikini Atoll is symbolic of the islanders' belief that a great debt is still owed to the people of Bikini because in 1954 the United States government detonated a thermonuclear bomb on the island as part of the Castle Bravomarker test.
  • The flag of Liberia bears a close resemblance, showing the ex-American-slave origin of the country. The Liberian flag has similar red and white stripes, though only 11 of them, as well as a blue square for the union, but with only a single large white star.
  • The flag of Malaysia also has a striking resemblance, with red and white stripes (14 total), and a blue canton, but displaying instead of stars a star and crescent emblem. This might be due, however, to the great influence of the British East India Company, rather than the later United States flag. Also quite similar is the flag of the Federation of Malayamarker, a predecessor to current day Malaysia.
  • The Morning Star flag of the former Netherlands New Guinea is intentionally similar to the flag of the United States.




See also



Article sections



Associated persons



References

  • Allentown Art Museum. The American Flag in the Art of Our Country. Allentown Art Museum, 1976.
  • Herbert Ridgeway Collins. Threads of History: Americana Recorded on Cloth 1775 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979.
  • Grace Rogers Cooper. Thirteen-star Flags: Keys to Identification. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.
  • David D. Crouthers. Flags of American History. Hammond, 1978.
  • Louise Lawrence Devine. The Story of Our Flag. Rand McNally, 1960.
  • William Rea Furlong, Byron McCandless, and Harold D. Langley. So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981.
  • Scot M. Guenter, The American Flag, 1777-1924: Cultural Shifts from Creation to Codification. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 1990. online
  • Marc Leepson, Flag: An American Biography. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2005.
  • David Roger Manwaring. Render Unto Caesar: The Flag-Salute Controversy. University of Chicago Press, 1962.
  • Boleslaw Mastai and Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai. The Stars and the Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present. Knopf, 1973.
  • Milo Milton Quaife. The Flag of the United States. 1942.
  • Milo Milton Quaife, Melvin J. Weig, and Roy Applebaum. The History of the United States Flag, from the Revolution to the Present, Including a Guide to Its Use and Display. Harper, 1961.
  • Albert M. Rosenblatt. "Flag Desecration Statutes: History and Analysis," Washington University Law Quarterly 1972: 193-237.
  • Leonard A. Stevens. Salute! The Case of The Bible vs. The Flag. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973.


Notes

  1. States are represented collectively; there is no meaning to particular stars nor stripes.
  2. Coined by Captain William Driver, a nineteenth century shipmaster.
  3. Note that the flag ratio (B/A in the diagram) is not absolutely fixed. 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. This list permits eleven specific flag sizes (specified by height and width) for such agencies: 20.00 × 38.00; 10.00 × 19.00; 8.95 × 17.00; 7.00 × 11.00; 5.00 × 9.50; 4.33 × 5.50; 3.50 × 6.65; 3.00 × 4.00; 3.00 × 5.70; 2.37 × 4.50; and 1.32 × 2.50. Eight of these sizes conform to the 1.9 ratio, within a small rounding error (less than 0.01). However, three of the authorized sizes vary significantly: 1.57 (for 7.00 × 11.00), 1.27 (for 4.33 × 5.50) and 1.33 (for 3.00 × 4.00).
  4. Ex. Ord. No. 10834, August 21, 1959, 24 F.R. 6865 (governing flags "manufactured or purchased for the use of executive agencies", Section 22).
  5. Architect of the Capitol: "Flag Request Form", retrieved on 2009-06-25
  6. 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. It was updated by revision DDD-F-416F on March 31, 2005, though the color specifications remained the same. Prior to those, document TT-C-591( 1) from 1934 apparently defined the colors for the flag in the CIE 1931 color space.
  7. The Pantone color equivalents for Old Glory Blue and Red are listed on U.S. Flag Facts at the U.S. Embassy's London site.
  8. The RGB color values are taken from the Pantone Color Finder at Pantone.com.
  9. These designs are in the Eisenhower Presidential Archives in Abilene, Kansas. Only a small fraction of them have ever been published.
  10. See McCann v. Greenway, 542 F. Supp. 647 (W.D. Mo. 1997), which discusses various court opinions denying any significance related to trim used on a flag.
  11. Rebuttal of "martial law flag" claims by tax protestors
  12. LA84 Foundation
  13. London Olympics 1908 & 1948
  14. Snopes.com: Flag Disposal retrieved June 14, 2008
  15. 4 U.S.Code Sec. 8(i).
  16. Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).
  17. About.com
  18. Presidential Proclamation No. 2795, July 2, 1948
  19. Public Law 83-319, approved March 26, 1954
  20. Presidential Proclamation No. 3418, June 12, 1961
  21. Public Law 89-335, approved November 8, 1965
  22. Presidential Proclamation No. 4000, September 4, 1970
  23. Presidential Proclamation No. 4064, July 6, 1971, effective July 4, 1971
  24. Presidential Proclamation No. 4131, May 5, 1972
  25. Public Law 94-53, approved July 4, 1975
  26. By Act of Congress. California Portland Cement Co
  27. It is possible that Apollo 11's flag was knocked down by the exhaust force of liftoff for return to lunar orbit.
  28. 36 U.S.C. Sec. 137
  29. 36 U.S.C. Sec. 127
  30. , 123 Stat. 1962, July 27, 2009.
  31. Patriot Day, 2005
  32. Public Law 107-51
  33. [1]
  34. National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2007
  35. http://www.foundingfathers.info/American-flag/Grand-Union.html
  36. A 2002 BBC documentary featuring the town of Selby and Selby Abbey showed the coat of arms with the commentator referring to it as the inspiration for the U.S. Flag, a commonly held belief in Britain.
  37. Federal Citizen Information Center: The History of the Stars and Stripes. Accessed June 7, 2008.
  38. Guenter (1990)
  39. Mastai, 60
  40. Other evidence suggests it dates only to the nineteenth century. The original flag is at the North Carolina Historical Museum.
  41. Embassy of the United States of America [2] Accessed April 11, 2008.
  42. Preble, George Henry, History of the flag of the United States of America, (1880).
  43. Tappan, Eva March, The Little Book of the Flag (1917), pp. 91-92.)
  44. " American Flag Raised Over Buddhist Temple in Japan on July 4, 1872"
  45. (For alternate versions of the flag of the United States, see the Stars of the U.S. Flag page at the Flags of the World website.)
  46. Leepson, Marc. (2005). Flag: An American Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press.


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