Part One: The Flag of the United States

[ 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."

  1. The flag of the United States is often referred to as:

    • "Stars and Stripes"
    • "Red, White and Blue"
    • "Old Glory"
    • "Star-Spangled Banner"

  2. The United States has had this flag as her official emblem since it was adopted by Congress on June 14, 1777.

  3. The honor of making the first flag is credited to Betsy Ross, a patriotic woman from Philadelphia.

  4. It is said that George Washington made a pencil sketch of the design for the first flag. It had 13 stripes of alternate red and white, and 13 white stars in a circle on a blue background.

  5. The flag now has 50 stars, each representing one of the 50 states.

  6. Each of the 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies which won their independence from Great Britain through the Revolutionary War.

  7. The 13 original colonies were: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

  8. The 50 stars on our flag are white on a field of blue and are arranged in 9 staggered rows. Five of the rows have 6 stars and the remaining rows have 5 stars.

  9. Each color in the American flag has a meaning; the red stands for courage, the white stands for truth, and blue stands for justice.

  10. The Star-Spangled Banner (National Anthem of USA) was written by Francis Scott Key. The first verse is:
    Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
    What so proudly we hailed, at the twilight's last gleaming;
    Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
    O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
    And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
    Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there.
    Oh, say, does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
    O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

  11. A special day, June 14th, has been designated as "Flag Day." On this day the flag is publicly honored by patriotic exercises, and Americans renew their pledge of loyalty to it.

1