Table of Contents
NUMBER OF STARS IN THE U.S. FLAG, AND ADDITIONAL STATES REPRESENTED 1777 TO PRESENT Date of Flag Additional states with date of entry into Union 49 stars – July 4, 1959 to July 3, 1960 Alaska (January 3, 1959) 50 stars – July 4, 1960 to present Hawaii (August 21, 1959).
Who made the first flag with 50 stars?
For an American history project during his junior year of high school in 1958, Bob Heft created a 50-star flag. The only problem was that at the time there were only 48 states. Bob had a hunch that two more states would be added and in 1959, Alaska and Hawaii became our 49th and 50th states.
What year were there only 48 states?
To mark the additions of New Mexico and Arizona as states, the American flag grew to 48 stars on July 4, 1912. The design, which includes six horizontal rows of eight stars, was replaced on July 4, 1959, with the addition of Alaska’s star, and it is the second-longest used version of the flag in the nation’s history.
What years did the US change the stars on the flag?
The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, occurred in 1960 when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.
What did the US flag look like in 1776?
1776 – On the first of January, The Grand Union Flag is flown on Prospect Hill and adopted as a symbol of the rebelling colonists. The flag, originally designed in 1775, features the British Union Jack in the upper left corner surrounded by thirteen white and red stripes, symbolizing the thirteen colonies.
Where was 50 star flag made?
Heft designed the current United States flag as a school project in Lancaster, Ohio, when he was 17 years old. He received a B- for his project from his teacher, Stanley Pratt.
Why does the American flag have 50 stars?
The 50 stars stand for the 50 states of the union, and the 13 stripes stand for the original 13 states. The flag’s width-to-length ratio is 10 to 19.
Was there a 47 star flag?
It’s clear that there’s never been an official 47-stars flag of the United States. New Mexico became the 47th state on 6 January 1912, but since the United States only adopts new flags on the 4th of July, the addition of Arizona as the 48th state changed the number of stars again before a new flag was adopted.
What is the 1st state?
“The First State” Delaware is known by this nickname due to the fact that on December 7, 1787, it became the first of the 13 original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
Was there ever a 49 star U.S. flag?
Alaska became the first non-contiguous territory to become a state on Jan. 3, 1959, and the 49th star on the U.S. flag. Alaska, which was purchased from Russia in 1867, is 2.5 times the size of Texas, the second-largest U.S. state. The 49-star flag was the last of the nine flags to fly for just one year.
Does the American flag have 50 stars?
There are 50 stars representing the 50 states and there are 13 stripes representing the 13 original colonies.
What did the American flag look like in 1860?
The flag was made of cotton and linen with the stars sewn on the blue field. The stars were arranged in a somewhat unusual fashion, with two rows of 7, two rows of 6, and two rows of 5, leaving an empty semi-circle on the outer edge of the blue field.
Why are there only 48 stars on the American flag?
During the Truman Administration (1945-1953), the flag that fl ew over the United States had 48 stars. The 48-star flag is the flag that soldiers and sailors fought for during World War II. The number of stars on the American flag first grew to 48 in 1912 with the addition of New Mexico and Arizona.
Why does the American flag have 15 stars?
In 1795, two stars were added, representing Kentucky and Vermont, bringing the total number of stars to 15. Two stripes were added to make a total of 15 stripes. This was the only U.S. flag to have fifteen stripes.
What do the 7 red stripes on the flag mean?
Today the flag consists of 13 horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with six white. The stripes represent the original 13 Colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union.
Did Betsy Ross make the flag?
Although seamstress Betsy Ross is often credited as the maker of the first American flag, there’s no evidence that’s true. The myth was born during a wave of flag fervor that swept the nation nearly a hundred years after the Revolutionary War.
Did a 17 year old designed the American flag?
In 1958, 17-year-old Robert G. Heft was assigned an American history project while attending Lancaster High School in Ohio.
When did Hawaii and Alaska become states?
1867: Alaska territory purchased from Russia for $7 million. 1898: Hawaii annexed as a United States territory. 1959: Alaska and Hawaii admitted, respectively, as the 49th and 50th states of the Union.
Who made the very first American flag?
On May 29, 1777, Betsy Ross was paid a large sum of money from the Pennsylvania State Navy Board for making flags, and on June 14, 1777, Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as our official national flag. Betsy would continue to make flags for over 50 years, many of which were through government contracts.
