In keeping with the Flag Act of 1777, Betsy Ross, an upholsterer from Philadelphia, created the earliest design for the national flag of the United States. It had red and white stripes outermost with thirteen white stars arranged in a circle against a dark blue background in its upper left hand corner.
Flag Day in the United States, now called National Flag Day, is a holiday commemorating the date in 1777 when the United States approved the Betsy Ross design for its first national flag.
Pres. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as the official date for Flag Day, and in 1949 the US Congress permanently established the date as National Flag Day. The resolution read: “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.”
Each star represented a state and each stripe represented the 13 colonies that declared independence from Great Britain. The colors of the flag were inherited from British flags and have no official meaning.
We celebrate National Flag Day with our “Betsy” hat inspired by and in homage to Betsy Ross. Our design tribute has six red stripes, five white stripes and 21 stars.
©Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.
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