This Friday — July 4, 2025 — marks the anniversary of the United States of America. It was 249 years ago, in 1776, when 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, representing the 13 colonies, voted to approve the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Twelve voted for approval, and one colony, New York, abstained because the delegates had not received instructions from Albany to vote for independence.
It took almost a year — June 14, 1777 — for the Continental Congress to formally approve the first official flag for the new country. The resolution for the first flag described that it would have “thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”
This led to what is commonly referred to as the Betsy Ross flag — 13 stripes with a circle of 13 stars on blue. Researchers have now attributed Congressman Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Philadelphia, to the design of that flag.
The Stars and Stripes did not always have 13 stripes. This was changed on May 1, 1795, when Congress enacted a second flag resolution to consider the addition of two new states, Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792).
The second resolution mandated that a star and stripe be added to the flag for each state in the Union.
Here is a piece of trivia: The flag that Francis Scott Key saw flying at Fort McHenry when he wrote the “Defense of Fort M’Henry” during the War of 1812 had 15 stars and 15 stripes.
In 1818, after five more states were admitted to the Union, the U.S. Congress passed the third and final resolution for Old Glory. It required that “the number of stripes should remain 13 (seven red alternating with six white), the number of stars should always match the number of states, and any new star should be added on the July 4 following a state’s admission.”
The flag was last modified on July 4, 1960, when Hawaii was incorporated as a state.
Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress suggested the symbols for each color on our flag: “White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue…signifies vigilence [sic], perseverence [sic] & justice.”
The Stars and Stripes is an emblem of freedom, not just for America. It is seen as a symbol of liberty and independence for lovers of freedom all around the world. The American flag symbolizes the ideals of democracy and opposes dictators.
As of Aug. 8, 2016, all public schools in Missouri are required to conduct a reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. Students are not required to participate.
The U.S. has historically fought for freedom around the world, notably in WWI and WWII to liberate occupied countries. Our flag represents that.
Americans of all races and colors have fought for and died to preserve the ideals of democracy represented by our flag.
As with any symbol, the U.S. flag is also a magnet for those who despise its values.
Most recently, anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles were filmed burning and spitting on American flags.
Before the Civil War, Old Glory was rarely flown outside military forts, government buildings, and naval ships. This changed following the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861, when the Union troops were allowed to take the flag that flew over the fort with them when they left.
That flag toured northern cities, spurring a wave of patriotism in the Union. The flag became a symbol of the Union, and the sale of flags exploded at this time.
Historian Adam Goodheart wrote: “For the first time American flags were mass-produced rather than individually stitched and even so, manufacturers could not keep up with demand. As the long winter of 1861 turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing: strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for.”
Because of this, today, we fly flags on businesses and homes, put decals of the flag on car windows, and wear lapel pins to show our patriotism.
Fly your flag proudly; it’s an emblem of freedom.
