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Archived 6/14/2010
Today is Flag Day
On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "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."
Since that time, various groups have commemorated the day, leading to its official designation as Flag Day. While it is not a federal holiday, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress in August 1949.
Public schools around the country really fueled the flames of patriotic recognition of the flag.
Following celebrations in 1883 by Philadelphia's public schools, New York Governor Roswell P. Flower ordered all public buildings in New York to display the American flag on June 14, 1884, becoming the first state to officially recognize the date.
School teacher BJ Cigrand, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14, 1885 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as "Flag Birthday."
A New York City kindergarten teacher, George Balch, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York, on June 14, 1891. Celebrations soon sprang up in school districts and historical societies around the country, and June 14 quickly came to be recognized as "Flag Day."
United States Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."
Inspired by three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by a Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
The largest Flag Day parade is held annually in Troy, New York.
A complete explanation of flag etiquette can be found at www.usflag.org.
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