Info about Flags
USA flag history
Before 1776 USA didn’t have an official flag. The Grand Union Flag was shown for the first time in 1775 and it may be the first flag America had. His design include 13 stripes, seven of them are red and the other six are white and a small British flag. George Washington was the one that in 1 January 1776 raised this flag. It is believed that the design of this flag ws inspired by an existing flag of that time, the flag of the British East India Company.
In 1777 the Marine Commitee changed the flag: it still had the old 13 stripes, seven red and six white, but in adition the new flag had a blue portion with 13 stars arranged like a circle. The stars are white and they represent a new constellation. Because this first was released on 14 June 1777, this date is now known as “Flag Day”. It is believed that a woman called Betsy Ross made the first flag and showed it to George Washington. At that time Francis Hopkinson claimed he had the idea of this flag, but the difference is that he arranged the 13 whte stars in a quincuncial design. He also had a pattern on another type of flag where he arranged the stars in a circle, but his stars were 6-pointed and not 5-pointed. Because he wanted a reward for all of these designs, Hopkinson wrote a letter to the Congress. He didn’t get after all any prize because he wasn’t the only one that created a design for the flag. But Francis Hopkinson remains in the history because he was the only one that had claims regarding the flag.
In 1795 on the flag design it were added two more stars (because two states, Vermont and Kentucky, joined the union) and now had 15 stripes. But in 1818 somebody came up with the idea that they should put only 20 white stars on the flag, with 13 red and white stripes and then add one star every time a state joins the union. This design was considered official on 4 of July.
This is why in 1959 the flag contained 49 stars and one year later they added one star because Hawaii was part of the United States. When the flag had 50 stars the americans choose the present design. They already have in mind more designs for the time the flag will have more stars.