The American Flag

Are you a vexillologist?  Keep on reading to find out!

• Massachusetts was the first state to require schoolhouses to have a flag and flagpole.  Today every public school in the country flies a flag outside.

• Some other names we call our flag are:  Stars and Stripes, Star-Spangled Banner, Old Glory, The Red, White, and Blue.

• On August 3, 1940, President Harry S. Truman made June 14 National Flag Day.

• The three colors on the flag stand for:  Red, courage; white, purity; blue, loyalty.

• Only State Governors and the President of the United States can give orders as to when the flags on government buildings are to be set at half staff.

• The Fort McHenry flag is the flag Francis Scott Key was looking at when he wrote The Star-Spangled Banner.  Today this flag is kept in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.  It is kept behind a curtain for protection from dust and light.  Visitors to the Smithsonian can see this flag for only a few moments every hour when the curtain is opened.

• The study of flags is Vexillology (vek-seh-LAH-leh-jee).

•  Someone who knows a lot about flags is a vexillologist (vek-seh-LAH-leh-jist). (So now after reading this blog post, you are closer to being a vexillologist than you were before!)

• The American Flag of today looks different from the first flag made in 1777. Follow the journey of this American symbol for freedom and learn how Americans finally agreed on the design!  The American Flag as a Symbol For Freedom