The Magna Carta

The Mayflower Compact

Declaration of Independence

The Constitution of the United States

George Washington's Farewell Address                                             

The Gettysburg Address

The Emancipation Proclamation

Pledge of Allegiance and Flag-Flying Guidelines

"Paul Revere's Ride"


                                                                   

      

Our Presidents

God and Country --- quotes from America's leaders about God.


                                                           

Flag etiquette contains the rules and regulations regarding proper handling of the American flag.

Flag trivia questions and answers. Who cut the American flag into pieces and was honored for it? Is it ever appropriate to fly the flag upside down? Test your flag knowledge.

Picture gallery of the American flag at different times in history.

Step-by-step directions to cut a 5-pointed star in one snip. Six-pointed stars are easier to cut out of cloth -- or so George Washington thought. Betsy Ross showed him how to cut a 5-pointed star in a single snip.

Flag Facts and Timeline of the history of the American flag.

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Story of "Old Glory"


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       Independence Day 2002
         wildershow.com

More Flag Stuff

What do the red, white, and blue of the flag represent?

The Continental Congress left no record to show why it chose the colors. However, in 1782, the Congress of the Confederation chose these same colors for the Great Seal of the United States and listed their meaning as follows: white to mean purity and innocence, red for valor and hardiness, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice. According to legend, George Washington interpreted the elements of the flag this way: the stars were taken from the sky, the red from the British colors, and the white stripes signified the secession from the home country. However, there is no official designation or meaning for the colors of the flag.

Who designed the flag?

Betsy Ross sewed it, but who designed it? The answer, according to the experts at the Betsy Ross house, is that it was possibly designed by Francis Hopkinson, a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Why are the stars in a circle?

The stars were in a circle so that no one colony would be viewed above another. It is reported that George Washington said, "Let the 13 stars in a circle stand as a new constellation in the heavens."

Why would Betsy Ross be chosen to make the flag?

It was usual in that day for upholsterers to be flagmakers. As Betsy Ross prayed in the pew next to George Washington and was a niece of George Ross, it is not hard to believe that these members of the Flag Committee formed by the Continental Congress would call upon Betsy Ross to make the flag.

Was this her house?

It is known that Betsy Ross rented rooms here. At the time of the flag creation, she was either here at 239 Arch Street or next door at 241 Arch, where the garden is now. House numbers on her street between the years 1785 and 1857 were registered using three different numbering systems, making the determination very tricky. If you are interested in historical detective work, you'll enjoy the methodical, historical approach used by expects: check out the Was this her house? page.

Where is the first flag?

No one knows what happened to the first flag. Very few flags from that time have survived.

Why is the flag called "Old Glory"?

In 1831, Captain Stephen Driver, a shipmaster from Salem, Massachusetts, left on one of his many world voyages. Friends presented him with a flag of 24 stars. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze, he exclaimed, "Old Glory." He kept his flag for many years, protecting it during the Civil War, until it was flown over the Tennessee capital. His "Old Glory" became a nickname for all American flags.

What is a vexillologist?

A vexillologist is an expert on flags and ensigns. A vexillum (plural vexilla) is a military standard or flag used by ancient Roman troops.

Over two million of these certificates were sold starting in 1898 in order to raise funds needed to preserve the Betsy Ross House. These certificates were receipts or "thank-yous" for contributions of 10 cents. The Association went out of business in 1935. The only "value" to these is the knowledge that the recipient participated in the preservation of the Betsy Ross House.

Facts About the United States Flag

Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the proportions of the flag was prescribed. Consequently, flags dating before this period sometimes show unusual arrangements of the stars and odd proportions, these features being left to the discretion of the flag maker. In general, however, straight rows of stars and proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used. The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following:

Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 - 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 January 13, 1794 - provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.
• Act of April 4, 1818 - 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.
• Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912 - established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.
• Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.

Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizon tally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

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       Independence Day 2001
         wildershow.com

The Star Spangled Banner

• The History

  The Star-spangled banner, the National Anthem of the United States of America is a poem inspired by the Battle of Baltimore, fought on September 12-14, 1814 during the War of 1812.
  
  During the British campaign against Washington, D.C., an elderly and respected physician, Dr. William Beanes was arrested for unfriendly acts toward the British soldiers which resulted in his arrest. Francis Scott Key, a prominent lawyer and friend of Dr. Beanes was sent by President James Madison to obtain his release. Following negotiations, the British agreed to release Beanes.
  
  However, since the British were going to attack Baltimore, Maryland next, they would allow no one to go ashore. The British landed soldiers on September 12 and engaged in a brisk land battle, however, they were not able to capture Baltimore. As part of a two pronged attack, the British now sent their naval fleet to attack and destroy the port city.
  
  The main defense of Baltimore harbor was Fort McHenry. For 25 hours the British fleet fired rockets and bombs at the fort. The fort's defenders bravely withstood the bombardment and did not surrender. The British realized they could not take Baltimore without paying for it with heavy casualties. Since they were not willing to pay this price, they departed from Baltimore.
  
  During the bombardment, Key was down river and while watching was inspired to write a poem that tells the story of the battle. When he reached Baltimore he finished the poem. Key wrote the poem to match the meter tobe sung to an old English tune To Anacreon in Heaven. The song slowly grew in popularity and was well known and used by both sides during the Civil war.
  
  In later years it was very popular with the military and it was used as an "unofficial" national anthem. During World War I, the song became so widely accepted that a drive resulted in the Congress making it the National Anthem in 1931. The National Museum of American History, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, displays in its main lobby the Star-Spangled Banner which is 30 feet wide and 42 long. Each star is two feet from point to point and each stripe is two feet wide.
  
  Because of its deteriorated condition, most Americans have long assumed that this flag flew during the battle. However, historians using both British and American sources have found that during the battle there was a late summer storm which would have prevented the 1260 square foot woolen flag from being flown. A 17 by 25 storm flag would have been the size of the actual flag flying during the battle. The large flag, however, was raised the following morning as the British were departing from Baltimore.
  
  This would have been the flag Key would have seen when entered Baltimore. The manuscript that Key wrote was not on the back of an envelope, they had not yet been invented. The original manuscript is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Fort McHenry still stands and it is part of the National Park Service. The fort is the only site to have both a national monument and historic shrine disignation.

  The Defense of Fort McHenry
  by Francis Scott Key
  20 September 1814

  Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
  What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
  Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
  O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
  And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
  Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
  O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
  O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
  

  On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
  Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
  What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
  As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
  Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
  In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
  'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
  O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
  

  And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
  That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
  A home and a country should leave us no more?
  Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
  No refuge could save the hireling and slave
  From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
  And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
  O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
  

  Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
  Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
  Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
  Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
  Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
  And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
  And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
  O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
  
  
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       Independence Day 2005
         wildershow.com