Thirteen stripes. Fifty stars. The colors of valor, purity, and justice. Every element of the American flag and what it actually means.
Most Americans grow up with the flag in front of them — in classrooms, on government buildings, on the back of pickup trucks, on porches. We salute it, fold it, pledge to it, and bury it with the dead. But many Americans, asked to explain what specifically each element of the flag means, would struggle. Here is the answer, element by element.
The Thirteen Stripes
The seven red stripes and six white stripes — thirteen in total — represent the original thirteen colonies that declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. The stripes were fixed at thirteen by the Flag Act of 1818, after Congress realized the original design — which added a stripe for every new state — would eventually become unworkable.
The Fifty Stars
The fifty white stars on the blue canton represent the fifty states of the Union. They have been added one at a time, by tradition, on the July 4 following each new state's admission. The most recent star was added on July 4, 1960, to mark Hawaii's admission to the Union in August 1959.
The current 50-star design, with nine alternating rows of six and five stars, was created by 17-year-old Robert G. Heft as a high-school history project in 1958. He got a B-minus on the original assignment, which his teacher upgraded to an A after the design was officially adopted.
The Colors
The official explanation of the colors comes from Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, in his 1782 report on the Great Seal: White signifies purity and innocence. Red, hardiness and valor. Blue, the color of the chief, signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.
The Canton (The Blue Field)
The blue rectangle in the upper-left of the flag, containing the stars, is technically called the "canton" or "union." Its position — at the upper-left when the flag is displayed flat against a wall — is the place of honor. The blue color (officially "Old Glory Blue," Cable No. 70075) was chosen to represent vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
"A New Constellation"
The Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 described the union as "a new constellation" — the United States was a new kind of political arrangement, deliberately built by human beings, with each state shining on its own but recognized as part of a larger pattern.
"Old Glory"
The flag's nickname "Old Glory" comes from a specific flag and a specific man. In 1831, sea captain William Driver was given a large 24-star American flag by his mother and friends as he was preparing to sail. He named the flag "Old Glory" and flew it from his ships for the next 30 years.
Flag Etiquette
The U.S. Flag Code (1942, with amendments) sets out the rules for displaying the flag: display from sunrise to sunset, never let the flag touch the ground, never fly upside down except as a signal of distress, and the union must always be at the upper-left as seen by the observer.