Flag Act I

I have a wonderful book called, 'The Stars and the Stripes. The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present' by Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai where I first learned:
"The first Flag Act of 1777 was passed by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, in response to a petition made by an American Indian nation on June 3 for an American Flag. "Three strings of wampum" were sent with the petition to cover the cost of the flag (as a result, June 14 is now celebrated as Flag Day in the United States.) It reads, in its entirety: "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."

The part a Wisconsin teacher played in this holiday can be found here.

While the children singing in the video clip below were not in his class, I think they've captured the spirit of the day quite well!

grand old flag

Happy Flag Day!

You're A Grand Old Flag

TODAY IS FLAG DAY! Celebrating the 232nd Anniversary of The Flag Resolution of 1777
On June 14, 1777, the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: "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.”
Waubeka, Wisconsin, 1885 Bernard John Cigrand a nineteen year old school teacher in a one room school placed a 10” 38 star flag in an inkwell and had his students write essays on what the flag meant to them. He called June 14th the flag’s birthday.
The anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. On August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.