Hurrah for the grand old Flag

By: Dr. Don Kuehle

At various times and places we stand with others and pledge our allegiance to our nation’s flag: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” No matter how many times we say it, the words still evoke a sense of national pride!

     In 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee  (George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross) to come up with a design for a flag for the new nation. A draft of the proposed new flag was drawn up and taken to Elizabeth Ross, a relative of George Ross. Betsy was an accomplished seamstress; upon looking at the design she made one change, changing the number of points on the stars from six to five. She sewed the stars and stripes together; her design was adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777: “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.” This Resolution did not allow for the addition of future states; so when Kentucky and Vermont were admitted to statehood, the flag was revised to 15 stripes and 15 stars. It wasn’t until 1818, that Captain Samuel C. Reid strongly suggested that the number of stripes remain constant at 13, while the number of stars be increased as new states joined the Union. So it has been until this very day.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal