American flag

“ Her sons were strong of arm and bold of heart, and with a dauntless spirit they broke the shackles of tyranny and erected in the wilderness an altar to fair Liberty, that all men might worship according to the dictates of their own conscience. They took the blue of heaven and the white of the milkyway and bound them with the rays of the sun, and made the American flag; and when they placed that banner in the sky, it became the flag of liberty, and carried to every shore and into every clime the message of freedom and human progress. ”

“ The American Flag, the emblem of Freedom, renews in every Red Man's heart the true American spirit that was breathed into the souls of the Sons of Liberty and which later proclaimed for them their Independence. ”

“ As a symbol of our patriotism, the American flag continues to invoke pride and resolve among our people, especially when we see it next to a headstone, on the masts of our military ships, worn by the generations of Americans who have proudly served our country, or emerging from the wreckage caused by a natural or manmade disaster. Flying over public buildings, monuments, schools, and homes, our flag is testament to the ideals of American democracy. ”

“ The challenge we have faced in the past and will confront in the 21st century is the same challenge woven into the American flag-to respond creatively to new possibilities while remaining true to our basic ideals of freedom, justice, and human dignity. As we celebrate Flag Day and Flag Week, let us reaffirm our reverence for the American flag, the bright banner that has uplifted the hearts and inspired the finest efforts of Americans for more than 200 years. ”

“ Over every school house in hamlet and city, in country and town, in the North and in the South, in the East and in the West, the American flag should kiss the morning breeze. Place it where twenty millions of children will see it every day, and learn to love it as the emblem of all that is great and good. ”

“ The American Flag represents freedom and has been an enduring symbol of our Nation's ideals since the earliest days of our Nation. Wherever it flies, we are reminded of America's unity and in the great cause of liberty and justice for all. ”

“ Let us raise high the flag of our country—not as an emblem of reckless adventure and greedy conquest, of betrayed professions and broken pledges, of criminal aggression and arbitrary rule over subject populations—but the old, the true flag, the flag of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; the flag of the government of, for and by the people; the flag of National faith held sacred and of National honor unsullied; the flag of human rights and of good example to all nations; the flag of true civilization, peace and good-will to all men. ”

“ This nation has a banner, too; and wherever it streamed abroad, men saw daybreak bursting on their eyes, for the American flag has been the symbol of liberty, and men rejoiced in it. Not another flag on the globe had such an errand, or went forth upon the sea, carrying everywhere, the world around, such hope for the captive, and such glorious tidings. ”

“ It proclaims liberty to all. Every star stands for liberty. Every stripe stands for liberty. It stands for liberty of thought and liberty of speech as well.
The first American flag was made in June, 1777, by Mrs. Ross, in the city of Philadelphia. When General Washington saw the flag, he was delighted with it. Every American is not only delighted with it, but he loves the dear old flag. The fourteenth day of June of each year is set apart as Flag Day.
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." ”

“ Americans who have lived some time in other countries say that when they see the American flag floating from the mast of a ship in a foreign land a lump rises in the throat and “the Stars and Stripes,” with its bright red, white, and blue, seems to be the most beautiful emblem in all the world. Do you know how it was first made, and why? When George Washington was leading his soldiers in the war for liberty, he felt that the new nation needed a flag. ”

“ The flag of the United States has inspired us in battle, reassured us in times of peace, and comforted us at moments of great national grief. In its white stripes, we recognize the sanctity of the American ideals on which our Republic was founded: liberty, justice, equality, and the guarantee of individual rights. In its red stripes, we salute the generations of American patriots who have shed their blood to keep our flag flying over a free Nation. ”

“ Our long national journey has brought the United States safely to a new century and to a position of unprecedented leadership in the world. Throughout that journey, one symbol has endured as a badge of honor for every American and a beacon of hope for the oppressed: the flag of the United States. ”

“ The objectionables are loud of voice, loud in manner; they always attract as much attention as possible to themselves, and wave American flags on all occasions.
The American flag is the most wonderful emblem in the whole world, and ours is the most glorious country too, but that does not mean that it is good taste to wave our flag for no reason whatever. At a parade or on an especial day when other people are waving flags, then let us wave ours by all means—but not otherwise. ”

“ Since that time, generations of Americans have invested the flag with their own hopes and dreams. Millions of immigrants, traveling to these shores to flee poverty or oppression, have rejoiced at their first glimpse of the American flag, confident that its promise of freedom, equality, and opportunity would prove true for them and their families. ”

“ It is not, then, remarkable that the American people, acting through the legislative branch of the government, early in their history, prescribed a flag as symbolical of the existence and sovereignty of the nation. Indeed, it would have been extraordinary if the government had started this country upon its marvelous career without giving it a flag to be recognized as the emblem of the American Republic. For that flag every true American has not simply an appreciation, but a deep affection. ”

“ It is a practical exhibition in itself of the result of concerted action, and has been from its origin until to-day worshipped as no other ensign designed by man has ever been. It is loved and respected by all who love liberty. It represents the government. It represents our honor. To love it is to love one’s country, a duty more sacred than any other, except love and respect for God.
“Oh, glorious flag! red, white and blue,
Bright emblem of the pure and true!
Oh, glorious group of clustering stars,
Ye lines of light, ye crimson bars.” ”

“ In these two centuries our Nation has changed in many ways, but our flag remains an appropriate symbol of America. Its bold colors reflect the courage and determination of the American people, as its straight and simple lines reflect their straightforward character. ”

“ Those many stars recall the saga of our growth as we spanned a continent. The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish: red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice. In recent years, citizen awareness, interest, and appreciation of the flag and its relationship to our American heritage have increased. ”

“ Except the cross there is nothing that the American should hold more sacred than the flag of the United States, because of its record in peace and in war, and because it stands for the rights and the freedom of one hundred million citizens. ”

“ The American flag is presented first, because every American child should know how the flag of his country came to be what it is, and that it has always been the flag of a country, not the personal standard of a king or of an emperor. ”

“ Our shields have been dented in honorable warfare to establish individual liberty and religious freedom, and in all the coming years may our Government reign supreme over all this fair land, and everywhere from ocean to ocean may our flag, like the Bow of Promise, be a sign to all the people of the earth that, being heaven-born, it is a covenant that liberty will and shall be maintained as long as love of country exists in the breast of man. ”

“ At last, however, we have reached the summit of the great pass,—the high beacon-point of American history,—where the sleepless, vigilant eagle sits screaming, while his strong, horny claws grasp the flag-staff, from whose top the flag of the married empires is anxiously ready, day and night, to slap in its saucy, quarrelsome face every wind that whispers a provocation. ”

“ Americans have long flown our flag as a sign of patriotism and gratitude for the blessings of liberty. We also pledge allegiance to the flag as an expression of loyalty to our country and to the belief in the American creed of freedom and justice. By displaying and showing respect for the flag, we honor the ideals upon which our democracy rests and show appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy today. ”

“ The large picture of Washington, by Stewart, which is now in the east room, at the time of the bombardment by the British, was taken out of its frame by Mrs. Dolly Madison, wife of the president, and sent to a secure place across the river.
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This flag of forty-five stars, this flag of our country, is our inspiration. It kindles in our hearts patriotic feelings, it carries our thoughts and our minds forward in the cause of liberty and right. On sea and on land, wherever the star spangled banner waves, it thrills the heart of every true American with pride. ”

“ THE AMERICAN FLAG. A resolution was introduced in the American Congress, June 13, 1777, “That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternately red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” There is a striking coincidence between the design of our flag and the arms of General Washington, which consisted of three stars in the upper portion, and three bars running across the escutcheon. It is thought by some that the flag was derived from this heraldic design. ”

“ The procuring of an American flag for the use of the school had long been talked of, and it occurred to her now that if she could stimulate a friendly rivalry among her pupils, in an effort to obtain funds for the purchase of a flag, it might divert their minds from thoughts of hostility to each other, into channels where a laudable competition would be provocative of harmony. ”

“ We have the reputation of always boasting and bragging and waving the American flag; but I must say that what strikes me is that we are perpetually making excuses and trying to smooth things over. The American flag has quite gone out of fashion ”

“ The striped Union flag was the colonial colors, both at sea and land, but there was also, as we have seen, a standard such as was used by the commander-in-chief of the American navy, being a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattlesnake in the middle, in the attitude of going to strike, and the words underneath, "Don't tread on me." ”

“ John Paul Jones achieved the honor of being the first officer of the American Navy to compel a regular British man-of-war to strike her colors to the new flag.
June 14, 1777: First strictly American flag decreed by Congress. This flag displaced the British Union by thirteen stars, and the making of the first flag of this design is accredited to Betsy Ross of Philadelphia. It contained thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and thirteen white stars upon a blue field. ”

“ George and a green pine tree (see Fig. 3) ; but this cannot be considered an authority any more than Trumbull’s picture of the Battle in the Rotunda of the capital at Washington. He depicts the American flag carried in that battle as something which no one ever saw or even heard of, to wit: a red flag with a white union, having in it a green pine tree (see Fig. 4) .
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Fig. ”

“ Within him, as he hurled himself forward, was born a love, a despairing fondness for this flag which was near him. It was a creation of beauty and invulnerability. It was a goddess, radiant, that bended its form with an imperious gesture to him. It was a woman, red and white, hating and loving, that called him with the voice of his hopes. Because no harm could come to it he endowed it with power. He kept near, as if it could be a saver of lives, and an imploring cry went from his mind. ”