Around
the United States of America
American
Flag 
The
Flag of the United States of America -
Known as Old Glory
The
Symbolism -
50 stars representing the 50 states
13 stripes representing the 13 original states.
The
Colors -
Red and
White - 13 equal horizontal
stripes of red (top and bottom)
alternating with white
Blue
- Blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars
White Stars - arranged in 9 offset horizontal
rows of 6 stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of 5 stars
National
Symbol
" This Star-Spangled Banner and all its successors have come to embody our
country, what we think of as America. It may not be quite the same for every
one of us who looks at it, but in the end we all pretty much come out where the
framers did. We know that we have a country founded on the then revolutionary
idea that all of us are created equal, and equally entitled to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness." --Pres. William Jefferson Clinton, speaking
before the Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History, July
13, 1998.
Flag
as Patriotic Symbol
Key's song "The Star-Spangled Banner" did more than give the American
flag a name; it changed the way Americans looked at their flag. In the early
1800s, Americans, like people in other countries, considered a national flag
simply a military or naval emblem. By the 1860s, the song "The Star-Spangled
Banner" had become so popular and so closely associated with the stirring
events of the Civil War that it elevated the flag to a special place in the
hearts of Americans. Today the flag is the primary symbol of American patriotism.
Flag
Design
The design of the U.S. flag was derived from designs used for flags at the
beginning of the American Revolution. On June 14, 1777, Congress declared the
flag to be 13 alternating red and white stripes with a union of 13 white stars
in a blue field. In 1794, after Kentucky and Vermont joined the Union, Congress
added two stars and two stripes. In 1818, when five more states had joined,
Congress again changed the design to 13 stripes, representing the original
13 states, and 20 stars, with a provision that an additional star be added
on the admission of each new state.
Although
popular tradition has invested the colors of the flag with
symbolism--red for valor, white for liberty or purity, and
blue for justice, loyalty, and perseverance--there is no document
that historians can point to that gives this symbolism official
standing.
The
design and colors have been the basis for a number of other
flags including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico
http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
