Our Flag

The Flag. What is it? It is more than a piece of cloth that represents a specific part of the earth. A flag is a symbol of what a country is all about. What it's people are all about, what they believe, what they hope to achieve, what they will protect, and what they will die for.  The Declaration of Independence, the American Constitution, and the many writings of patriots, civic leaders, and philosophers tell all about what our Flag of  the United States of America stands for.

The Pledge of Allegiance is a treasure chest of information if we take the time to examine the words that capture an ideal of who we are.

Some years ago a man by the name of Red Skelton, famous as a comedian and Shrine Clown, who made millions laugh on national TV,  presented a short yet serious dissertation on the Pledge of Allegiance  when asked by young school children what  it really meant.

His explanation was so profound that it was later read into the United States Congressional Record.
As it is the best explanation ever recorded, we present it here for your contemplation as it was spoken in that schoolhouse so many years ago.

I

Me; an individual; a committee of one.

 

Pledge

Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.

 

Allegiance

My love and my devotion.

 

To the Flag

Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of courage; and wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, "Freedom is everybody's job."

 

United

That means that we have all come together.

 

States

Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided by imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common cause, and that is love of country... of America.

 

And to the Republic

Republic--a soveriegn state in which power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.

 

For which it stands

 

One Nation

meaning, so blessed by God.

 

Indivisible

Incapable of being divided.

 

With Liberty

Which is Freedom; the right of power for one to live his own life, without fears, threats, or any sort of retaliation.

 

And Justice

The principle, and qualities, of dealing fairly with others.

 

For All

For All--that means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

 

 

And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:

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.

 

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools, too?

-- Red Skelton

 
Timeline of the Progression of our Flag from the Time of our Independence

1776: January 1 -- The Grand Union flag is displayed on Prospect Hill. It has 13 alternate red and white stripes and the British Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner (the canton).

1776: May -- Betsy Ross reports that she sewed the first American flag.

1777: June 14 -- Continental Congress adopts the following: 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. (stars represent Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island)

1787: Captain Robert Gray carries the flag around the world on his sailing vessel (around the tip of South America, to China, and beyond). He discovered the Columbia river and named it after his boat The Columbia. His discovery was the basis of America's claim to the Oregon Territory.

1795: Flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes (Vermont, Kentucky)

1814: September 14 -- Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner." It officially becomes the national anthem in 1931.

1818: Flag with 20 stars and 13 stripes (it remains at 13 hereafter) (Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi) 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.

1819: Flag with 21 stars (Illinois)

1820: Flag with 23 stars (Alabama, ) first flag on Pikes Peak

1822: Flag with 24 stars (Missouri)

1836: Flag with 25 stars (Arkansas)

1837: Flag with 26 stars (Michigan)

1845: Flag with 27 stars (Florida)

1846: Flag with 28 stars (Texas)

1847: Flag with 29 stars (Iowa)

1848: Flag with 30 stars (Wisconsin)

1851: Flag with 31 stars (California)

1858: Flag with 32 stars (Minnesota)

1859: Flag with 33 stars (Oregon)

1861: Flag with 34 stars; (Kansas) first Confederate Flag (Stars and Bars) adopted in Montgomery, Alabama

1863: Flag with 35 stars (West Virginia)

1865: Flag with 36 stars (Nevada)

1867: Flag with 37 stars (Nebraska)

1869: First flag on a postage stamp

1877: Flag with 38 stars (Colorado)

1890: Flag with 43 stars (North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho)

1891: Flag with 44 stars (Wyoming)

1892: "Pledge of Allegiance" first published in a magazine called "The Youth's Companion." Authorship was claimed for James B. Upham and Francis Bellamy. In 1939 the United States Flag Association ruled that Bellamy was the author of the original pledge. The words, "under God" were added on June 14, 1954. In pledging allegiance to the flag, stand with the right hand over the heart or at attention. Men remove their headdress. Persons in uniform give the military salute. All pledge together: 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.

1896: Flag with 45 stars (Utah)

1908: Flag with 46 stars (Oklahoma)

1909: Robert Peary places the flag his wife sewed atop the North Pole. He left pieces of another flag along the way.

1912: Flag with 48 stars (New Mexico, Arizona) 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.

1931: Congress officially recognizes `The Star-Spangled Banner' as the national anthem of the United States . Its stirring words were written by Francis Scott Key.

1945: The flag that flew over Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, is flown over the White House on August 14, when the Japanese accepted surrender terms.

1949: August 3 -- Truman signs bill requesting the President call for Flag Day (June 14) observance each year by proclamation.

1959: Flag with 49 stars (Alaska) 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.

1960: Flag with 50 stars (Hawaii)

1963: Flag placed on top of Mount Everest by Barry Bishop.

1969: July 20 -- The American flag is placed on the moon by Neil Armstrong.

1995: December 12 -- The Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment is narrowly defeated in the Senate. The Amendment to the Constitution would make burning the flag a punishable crime.