Flag Research

Flag Research

1. On the PBS website about the history of the flag, I found out that the American flags first origin is unknown. But, "Some historians believe it was designed by New Jersey Congressman Francis Hopkinson and sewn by Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross." However,  "On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed an act establishing an official flag for the new nation." This day is now known in history as "Flag Day". 
2. On the PBS website about the history of the flag, I found that the flag was "evolved in response to the growth of the country it represents." As for the time of the possible changes this source says, "Between 1777 and 1960 Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed stars and stripes to be added to reflect the admission of each new state." The American flag we know of today has 13 stripes, 6 white and 7 red, and 50 stars, one for each state. 
3. On the PBS website about the history of the flag, the American flag uses the certain colors and shapes that it does to represent different things about America. "The stripes represent the original 13 Colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union.  The colors of the flag are symbolic as well; red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice."
4. The American flag, in a literal sense seems to mean the layout of America. The stars were originally the 13 colonies but now there are 50 stars, one for each state. There are however 13 stripes, 6 white and 7 red, one for each colony. In a more metaphorical sense the flag means Freedom, Power, Responsibility, The land of opportunity. According to “Your a Grand Old Flag”, the flag is described to be something that people look up to. They say that it is the representation for The United States 
5. Old names for the flag:
1. Stars and Bars- This was the name of the first flag of the Confederate states of America. 
2. Stars and Stripes- “The Stars and stripes forever” - The official national march of the united states of america. Published in 1897 by John Philip Sousa 
3. Old glory- “The term originally referred to an American flag owned by Driver, who was born on March 17, 1803, in Salem, Massachusetts.At age thirteen, Driver ran away from home to become a cabin boy on a ship.” -old glory wikipedia
4. Grand OLd Flag- According to Loc.gov, the phrase “You’re a grand old flag” came from a vet who said “she’s a grand old rag”. George m. Cohan took this line and put it to a tune after hearing the man say this. The tune was originally “you’re a grand old rag” but some individuals did not agree with calling the flag a rag, so he changed it to please the people. 
6. The first lines of the song “Fortunate Son”,old  points to how the red white and blue of the American Flag are not what they are thought to be. There is evidence. In the Song Fortunate Son that Sweet Home Alabama was made in response to, the song describes how everyone in America is not as fortunate as it is always described. And those who are not fortunate are the ones that are fighting for the country and not the people that have things to be thankful for(the Fortunate). 
7. Is the Flag a major source of Controversy?
8. 1. The Flag is a major source of controversy of what it means and represents
   2. To other countries looking at United States, the flag represents something that they do not believe in. For example, Canada puts up the Canadian flag for the purpose dissociation from the United States and what it represents.
   3. For people in the United States, it is converfersial to decide what the Flag represents. Some think it represents a political party, freedom of beliefs, or the United States as a whole.
   
   
   Does a symbol cease to represent positive things because of how people treat it, or do people treat it poorly because it has already ceased to represent positive things?