View source for Flag of the United States

{{Short description|none}}
{{redirect|American Flag}}
{{pp|reason=Persistent [[WP:Disruptive editing|disruptive editing]]; requested at [[WP:RfPP]] See protection log.|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = United States of America
| Image = Flag of the United States (DDD-F-416E specifications).svg
| Alt = Flag of the United States of America
| Nickname = The American flag
| Morenicks = {{plainlist|
* The Stars and Stripes
* The Red, White, and Blue
* [[Old Glory]]
* [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|The Star-Spangled Banner]]
* The 50 Stars and 13 Bars
* United States (U.S.) flag
}}
| Use = 111111
| Symbol = {{FIAV|111111}} {{FIAV|Normal}} {{FIAV|Vertical normal}} {{IFIS|Mirror}}
| Proportion = 10:19<ref> https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10834.html not all proportions are 10:19</ref>
| Adoption = {{unbulleted list|{{Start date and age|1775|12|03}}<br />([[Continental Union Flag]])|{{Start date and age|1777|06|14}}<br />(13-star version)|{{Start date and age|1960|07|04}}<br />(current 50-star version)}}
| Design = Thirteen horizontal [[Bar (heraldry)|stripe]]s [[Variation of the field|alternating]] red and white; in the [[Canton (flag)|canton]], one white [[Star (heraldry)|star]] for each state (50 stars as of 1960) arranged in horizontal rows (of alternating numbers of six and five stars per row as of 1960) on a blue field
| Designer = 
| Image2 = Jack of the United States.svg
| Nickname2 = Union Jack
| Use2 = [[Jack of the United States|Naval jack]]
| Symbol2 = {{FIAV|000011}} {{FIAV|Normal}} {{IFIS|Equal}}
| Proportion2 = 71:100
| Adoption2 = {{Start date|1777}} (initial use of underlying design template)<br>{{Start date|1960|07|04}} (current design)<br />{{Start date|2019|07|4}} (readopted)
| Design2 = 50 white five-pointed stars defacing a blue field in 9 rows, alternating between 6 and 5 stars.
| Designer2 = 
}}

The [[national flag]] of the [[United States]], often referred to as the '''American flag''' or the '''U.S. flag''', consists of thirteen horizontal [[Bar (heraldry)|stripe]]s, [[Variation of the field|alternating]] red and white, with a blue rectangle in the [[Canton (flag)|canton]] bearing fifty small, white, [[five-pointed star]]s arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen English colonies]] that won independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref>{{cite web|first=John |last=Warner |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-105sdoc13/pdf/CDOC-105sdoc13.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506040024/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-105sdoc13/pdf/CDOC-105sdoc13.pdf |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=live |title=Senate Concurrent Resolution 61 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1998 |access-date=April 5, 2014}}</ref>

The flag was created as an item of military equipment to identify U.S. ships and forts. It evolved gradually during early American history, and was not designed by any one person. The flag exploded in popularity in 1861 as a symbol of opposition to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Battle of Fort Sumter|attack on Fort Sumter]]. It came to symbolize the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in the [[American Civil War]]; Union victory solidified its status as a national flag. Because of the country's emergence as a superpower in the 20th century, the flag is now among the most widely recognized symbols in the world.

Well-known nicknames for the flag include "the Stars and Stripes", "[[Old Glory]]", "the [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|Star-Spangled Banner]]", and "the Red, White, and Blue". The [[Pledge of Allegiance]] and the holiday [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]] are dedicated to it. The number of stars on the flag is increased as new states join the United States. The last adjustment was made in 1960, following the admission of Hawaii.

==History==
{{For timeline|Timeline of the flag of the United States}}
{{see also|List of flags of the United States}}
The current design of the U.S. flag is its 27th; the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959. The 50-star flag was ordered by [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|then president Eisenhower]] on August 21, 1959, and was adopted in July 1960. It is the longest-used version of the U.S. flag and has been in use for over {{age|1960|7|4}} years.<ref>{{cite web|first=Duane |last=Streufert |url=http://www.usflag.org/history/the50starflag.html |title=A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America – The 50 Star Flag |publisher=USFlag.org |access-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref>

===First flag===
{{Further|Continental Union Flag|Prospect Hill Flag Debate}}
[[File:Flag of the United States (1776–1777).svg|thumb|The [[Continental Union Flag]], also known as the first American flag, was used from 1775 to June 14, 1777]] 
The first official flag resembling the "Stars and Stripes" was the [[Continental Navy]] [[naval ensign|ensign]] (often referred to as the [[Continental Union Flag]],<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Williamsburg, April 20 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/40483137 |url-access=subscription |work=The Virginia Gazette |number=1289 |location=Williamsburg, Virginia |date=April 20, 1776 |page=3 |oclc=905318657 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Continental Colours<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not change "Colours" to American English as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. -->,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Extract of a letter from Cape Nichola Mole, dated Sept. 18 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1144051714 |url-access=subscription |work=The Virginia Gazette |number=91 |location=Williamsburg, Virginia |date=October 25, 1776 |page=2 |oclc=905318657 |access-date=May 10, 2025 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> the first American flag,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Boston, November 25 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1034014546 |url-access=subscription |work=Dunlap's Pennsylvania Packet |volume=VI |number=268 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |date=December 27, 1776 |page=2 |issn=2689-7180 |oclc=9833137 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Cambridge Flag, and Grand Union Flag) was used from 1775 to 1777. It consisted of 13 red-and-white stripes, with the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] [[Flag of Great Britain|Union Flag]] in the [[Canton (flag)|canton]]. It first appeared on December 3, 1775, when Continental Navy Lieutenant [[John Paul Jones]] flew it aboard Captain [[Esek Hopkins]]' [[flagship]] ''[[USS Alfred|Alfred]]'' on the [[Delaware River]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1, 1905 |title=The Administration of the Continental Navy of the American Revolution |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1905/july/administration-continental-navy-american-revolution |access-date=June 24, 2023 |website=U.S. Naval Institute |language=en}}</ref>

Prospect Hill was the location of [[George Washington]]'s command post during the [[Siege of Boston]] during the [[American Revolution]]. On New Year's Day in 1776, Washington conducted a flag-raising ceremony to raise the morale of the men of the [[Continental Army]]. The standard account features the Continental Union Flag flying, although in 2006, Peter Ansoff advanced a theory that it was actually a British Union Flag instead.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ansoff |first=Peter |year=2006 |title=The Flag on Prospect Hill |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/raven/content/raven_2006_0013_0077_0100 |journal=Raven: A Journal of Vexillology |volume=13 |pages=77–100 |doi=10.5840/raven2006134 |issn=1071-0043|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Others, such as Byron DeLear, have argued in favor of the traditional version of events.<ref>{{cite journal |last=DeLear |first=Byron |year=2014 |title=Revisiting the Flag at Prospect Hill: Grand Union or Just British? |url=http://nava.org/digital-library/raven/Raven_v21_2014_p019-070.pdf |journal=Raven: A Journal of Vexillology |volume=21 |pages=19–70 |doi=10.5840/raven2014213 |issn = 1071-0043 }}</ref> The Continental Union Flag remained the national flag until June 14, 1777.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Joint Committee on Printing |first=United States Congress |title=Our Flag |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1989 |series=H. Doc. 100–247 |location=Washington |page=3}}</ref> At the time of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] in July 1776, there were no flags with any stars on them; the [[Continental Congress]] did not adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year. It has historically been referred to as the first flag of the United States.<ref name="Leepson">{{cite book |last=Leepson |first=Marc |title=Flag: An American Biography |year=2004}}</ref>

Colloquially referred to as the Cambridge Flag and Grand Union Flag; the terms domain did not come into use until the 19th century.{{Sfn|Hopkins|1893|p=291}} Although it has been claimed the more recent moniker, Grand Union Flag, was first applied to the Continental Union Flag by [[George Henry Preble|G. Henry Preble]] in his [[Reconstruction era]] book ''Our Flag;''{{sfn|Preble|1872|loc=part II}} the first substantiated use of the name came from Philadelphia resident T. Westcott in 1852 when replying to an inquiry made in ''[[Notes and Queries]]'', a London periodical, as to the origin of the U.S. flag.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Origin of the American Flag |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-springfield-daily-republican-1852-or/169192842/ |url-access=subscription |work=[[The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Springfield Daily Republican]] |volume=9 |number=245 |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |date=October 16, 1852 |page=1 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|thumb|The flag of the [[East India Company]], introduced in 1707 and flown at sea in the Indian Ocean]]
The flag very closely resembles the [[Flag of the East India Company|East India Company flag]] of the era. [[Charles Fawcett (historian)|Sir Charles Fawcett]] argued in 1937 that the company flag inspired the design of the U.S. flag.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{FOTW|id=gb-eic2|title=The Striped Flag of the East India Company, and its Connexion with the American "Stars and Stripes"}}</ref> Both flags could easily have been constructed by adding white stripes to a [[Red Ensign]], one of the [[British ensign#History|three maritime flags]] used throughout the [[British Empire]] at the time. However, the East India Company flag could have from nine to 13 stripes and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{FOTW|id=gb-eic|title=East India Company (United Kingdom)}}</ref>

[[Benjamin Franklin]] once gave a speech endorsing the adoption of the East India Company flag by the [[United Colonies]]. He said to George Washington, "While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company."<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert |last=Johnson |title=Saint Croix 1770–1776: The First Salute to the Stars and Stripes |page=71 |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4259-7008-6}}</ref> This was a way of symbolizing American loyalty to [[the Crown]] as well as the colonies' aspirations to be self-governing, as was the [[East India Company]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Tom |last=Horton |title=History's Lost Moments: The Stories Your Teacher Never Told You |chapter=Exposing the Origins of Old Glory's stripes |volume=5 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4907-4469-8}}</ref>

The theory that the Continental Union Flag was a direct descendant of the East India Company flag has been criticized as lacking written evidence;<ref name=i /> on the other hand, the resemblance to the company flag is obvious, and some of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States]] were aware of the East India Company's activities and of their free administration of [[Company rule in India|India under Company rule]].<ref name=i>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate/saltires-and-stars-stripes/ |title=Saltires and Stars & Stripes |work =The Economic Times |date= September 22, 2014|access-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref>

===Flag Resolution of 1777===
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the [[Flag Acts (United States)|Flag Resolution]] which stated: "''Resolved'', That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=lljc&fileName=008/lljc008.db&recNum=90|title=A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875|website=American Memory – Library of Congress }}</ref> [[Flag Day in the United States|Flag Day]] is now observed on June 14 of each year. While scholars still argue about this, tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June 1777 by the [[Continental Army]] at the [[Middlebrook encampment]].<ref>Guenter (1990).</ref>

Both the [[Barry (heraldry)|stripes (barry)]] and the [[star (heraldry)|stars (mullets)]] have precedents in classical heraldry. Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry. However, an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U.S. flag is the [[Valais]] 1618 coat of arms, where seven mullets stood for [[Sieben Zenden|seven districts]].

Another widely repeated theory is that the design was inspired by the [[Coat of arms of the Washington family|coat of arms of George Washington's family]], which includes three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/washington_link.htm|title=Washington Window|access-date=April 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204220959/http://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/washington_link.htm|archive-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> Despite the similar visual elements, there is "little evidence"<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUFvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA342 |title=The American Flag: An Encyclopedia of the Stars and Stripes in U.S. History, Culture, and Law|last=Vile|first=John R.|year=2018|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-5789-8|page=342|language=en}}</ref> or "no evidence whatsoever"<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeUCGbaOgKQC&pg=PT147 |title=Flag: An American Biography|last=Leepson|first=Marc|year=2007|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4299-0647-0|language=en|chapter=Chapter Ten: The Hundredth Anniversary}}</ref> to support the claimed connection with the flag design. The ''Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington'', published by the [[Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington]] at [[Mount Vernon]], calls it an "enduring myth" backed by "no discernible evidence."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/coat-of-arms/|title=Coat of Arms|last=Capps|first=Alan|website=The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington|publisher=[[Mount Vernon Ladies' Association]]|language=en|access-date=January 8, 2020}}</ref> The story seems to have originated with the 1876 play ''Washington: A Drama in Five Acts'', by the English poet [[Martin Farquhar Tupper]], and was further popularized through repetition in the children's magazine ''[[St. Nicholas Magazine|St. Nicholas]]''.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

The first official U.S. flag flown during battle was on August 3, 1777, at Fort Schuyler (Fort Stanwix) during the [[Siege of Fort Stanwix]]. Massachusetts reinforcements brought news of the adoption by Congress of the official flag to Fort Schuyler. Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes; scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers' wives, while material for the blue union was secured from Capt. Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth coat. A voucher is extant that Congress paid Capt. Swartwout of Dutchess County for his coat for the flag.<ref name="google">{{cite book |title = Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions| last1=Connell | first1 = R.W. | last2= Mack | first2 = W.P. |date= 2004 |publisher= Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-330-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvKiBiWKrzMC|page=140|access-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref>

The 1777 resolution was probably meant to define a [[naval ensign]]. In the late 18th century, the notion of a [[national flag]] did not yet exist or was only nascent. The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. On May 10, 1779, Secretary of the Board of War [[Richard Peters (Continental Congress)|Richard Peters]] expressed concern that "it is not yet settled what is the Standard of the United States."<ref>Mastai, 60.</ref> However, the term "Standard" referred to a national standard for the Army of the United States. Each regiment was to carry the national standard in addition to its regimental standard. The national standard was not a reference to the national or naval flag.<ref name="Furlong117"></ref>

{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width = 180
| footer =Two examples of flags with unusual stars and stripes that were created after the 1777 resolution. Top: The [[Bennington flag]]. Bottom: The [[Serapis flag]].
| image1 = Bennington Flag.svg
| image2 = Serapis Flag.svg
}}
The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white ones or vice versa.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=Earl P. Jr.|title=Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?|journal=NAVA News|date=October 2012|issue=216|pages=7–9|url=http://www.flagguys.com/pdf/NAVANews_2012_no216.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306083443/http://www.flagguys.com/pdf/NAVANews_2012_no216.pdf |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=live|access-date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> The appearance was up to the maker of the flag. Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state's star with its initial.<ref name="Lane">{{cite web | last = Lane | first = Megan | date = November 14, 2011 | title = Five hidden messages in the American flag | work = [[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15634606 | access-date = October 30, 2013}}</ref> One arrangement features 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle (as opposed to up), the [[Betsy Ross flag]]. Experts have dated the earliest known example of this flag to be 1792 in a painting by [[John Trumbull]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cooper|first1=Grace Rogers|title= Thirteen-Star Flags|date=1973|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

Despite the 1777 resolution, the early years of American independence featured many different, hand-crafted flags. As late as 1779, Captain [[John Manley (naval officer)|John Manley]] believed that the United States "had no national colors" so each ship flew whatever flag pleased the captain.{{sfn|Preble|1880|p=284}}

Some of the early flags included blue stripes<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cooper|first1=Grace Rogers|title=Thirteen-Star Flags|date=1973|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=9 (in paper); pp. 21/80 (in pdf)|quote=In 1792, Trumbull painted thirteen stars in a circle in his General George Washington at Trenton in the Yale University Art Gallery. In his unfinished rendition of the Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, dates not established, the circle of stars is suggested and one star shows six points while the thirteen stripes are red, white, and blue. How accurately the artist depicted the star design that he saw is not known. At times, he may have offered a poetic version of the flag he was interpreting which was later copied by the flag maker. The flag sheets and the artists do not agree.|citeseerx=10.1.1.639.8200}}</ref> as well as red and white. [[Benjamin Franklin]] and [[John Adams]], in an October 3, 1778, letter to [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies]], described the American flag as consisting of "13 stripes, alternately red, white, and blue, a small square in the upper angle, next to the flagstaff, is a blue field, with 13 white stars, denoting a new Constellation."<ref>{{cite book|last1= Cooper |first1=Grace Rogers|title=Thirteen-Star Flags |date=1973 |publisher= Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C. |page= 3}}</ref> John Paul Jones used a variety of 13-star flags on his U.S. Navy ships including the well-documented 1779 flags of the ''Serapis'' and the ''Alliance''. The [[Serapis flag]] had three rows of eight-pointed stars with red, white, and blue stripes. However, the flag for the ''Alliance'' had five rows of eight-pointed stars with 13 red and white stripes, and the white stripes were on the outer edges.<ref>Furlong, p. 130.</ref> Both flags were documented by the Dutch government in October 1779, making them two of the earliest known flags of 13 stars.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Moeller|first1= Henry W |title= Unfurling the History of the Stars and Stripes|date=1992 |publisher= Amereon House|location=Mattituck, NY|pages=25–26, color plates 5A, 5B}}</ref>

===Designer of the first stars and stripes===
[[File:Hopkinson Flag of the United States.svg|thumb|Francis Hopkinson's flag for the U.S., an interpretation, with 13 six-pointed stars arranged in five rows<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Williams | first1=Earl P. Jr. |title=Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags? |journal=NAVA News |date=October 2012 |issue=216 |pages=7–9 |url=https://www.flagguys.com/pdf/NAVANews_2012_no216.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306083443/http://www.flagguys.com/pdf/NAVANews_2012_no216.pdf |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Hopkinson Flag of the United States Navy.svg|thumb|Hopkinson Flag for the U.S. Navy, an interpretation<ref>Williams (2012), p.7.</ref>]]
[[Francis Hopkinson]] of New Jersey, a naval flag designer and a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], designed a flag in 1777<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hess |first1=Debra |year=2008|title=The American Flag |page=21|publisher=Benchmark Books |isbn=978-0-7614-3389-7}}</ref> while he was the chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November 1776 and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June 1777. The Navy Board was under the Continental Marine Committee.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hastings|first1=George E.|title=The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson|date=1926|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|page=218}}</ref> Not only did Hopkinson claim that he designed the U.S. flag, but he also claimed that he designed a flag for the U.S. Navy. Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own life when he sent a letter and several bills to Congress for his work. These claims are documented in the [[Journals of the Continental Congress]] and George Hasting's biography of Hopkinson. Hopkinson initially wrote a letter to Congress, via the Continental Board of Admiralty, on May 25, 1780.<ref>Hastings, p. 240.</ref> In this letter, he asked for a "Quarter Cask of the Public Wine" as payment for designing the U.S. flag, the seal for the Admiralty Board, the seal for the Treasury Board, Continental currency, the [[Great Seal of the United States]], and other devices. However, in three subsequent bills to Congress, Hopkinson asked to be paid in cash, but he did not list his U.S. flag design. Instead, he asked to be paid for designing the "great Naval Flag of the United States" in the first bill; the "Naval Flag of the United States" in the second bill; and "the Naval Flag of the States" in the third, along with the other items. The flag references were generic terms for the naval ensign that Hopkinson had designed: a flag of seven red stripes and six white ones. The predominance of red stripes made the naval flag more visible against the sky on a ship at sea. By contrast, Hopkinson's flag for the United States had seven white stripes and six red ones – in reality, six red stripes laid on a white background.<ref name="Williams, pp. 7-9">Williams, pp. 7–9.</ref> Hopkinson's sketches have not been found, but we can make these conclusions because Hopkinson incorporated different stripe arrangements in the Admiralty (naval) Seal that he designed in the Spring of 1780 and the Great Seal of the United States that he proposed at the same time. His Admiralty Seal had seven red stripes;<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Moeller|first1=Henry W. |title=Two Early American Ensigns on the Pennsylvania State Arms|journal=NAVA News|date=January 2002|issue=173|page=4}}</ref> whereas his second U.S. Seal proposal had seven white ones.<ref name=Patterson>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n81|title=The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States|last1=Patterson|first1=Richard Sharpe|last2=Dougall|first2=Richardson|publisher= Washington: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, Dept. of State: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|date=1978|orig-date=1976 i.e. 1978|series=Department and Foreign Service series; 161 Department of State publication; 8900|lccn=78602518|oclc=4268298|page=37}}</ref> Remnants of Hopkinson's U.S. flag of seven white stripes can be found in the Great Seal of the United States and the President's seal.<ref name="Williams, pp. 7-9"/> The stripe arrangement would have been consistent with other flags of the period that had seven stripes below the canton, or blue area with stars. For example, two of the earliest known examples of Stars and Stripes flags were painted by a Dutch artist who witnessed the arrival of Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones' squadron in Texel, The Netherlands, in 1779. The two flags have seven stripes below the canton.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Furlong |first1=William Rea |last2=McCandless |first2=Byron |title=So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag |date=1961 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |location=Washington |page=130}}</ref>

When Hopkinson was chairman of the Navy Board, his position was like that of today's Secretary of the Navy.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zall|first1=Paul M.|title=Comical Spirit of Seventy-Six: The Humor of Francis Hopkinson|date=1976|publisher=Huntington Library|location=San Marino, California|page=10}}</ref> The payment was not made, most likely, because other people had contributed to designing the [[Great Seal of the United States]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Earl P. Jr. |title=The 'Fancy Work' of Francis Hopkinson: Did He Design the Stars and Stripes? |journal=Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives |date=Spring 1988 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=47–48}}</ref> and because it was determined he already received a salary as a member of Congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc01845)) |title=Journals of the Continental Congress – Friday, October 27, 1780 |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=September 3, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Furlong117"></ref> This contradicts the legend of the [[Betsy Ross flag]], which suggests that she sewed the first Stars and Stripes flag at the request of the government in the Spring of 1776.<ref name="fcic">[http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/ourflag/history1.htm Federal Citizen Information Center: The History of the Stars and Stripes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903224200/http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/ourflag/history1.htm |date=September 3, 2011 }}. Retrieved June 7, 2008.</ref><ref>Embassy of the United States of America [https://web.archive.org/web/20080225010634/http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/hopkinson.html]. Retrieved April 11, 2008.</ref>

On May 10, 1779, a letter from the War Board to George Washington stated that there was still no design established for a national standard, on which to base regimental standards, but also referenced flag requirements given to the board by [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben|General von Steuben]].<ref name=Furlong117>{{cite book |author1=Furlong, William Rea |author2=McCandless, Byron |year=1981 |title=So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag |pages=[https://archive.org/details/soproudlywehailh00furl/page/117 117]–118 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-87474-448-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/soproudlywehailh00furl |url-access=registration }}</ref> On September 3, Richard Peters submitted to Washington "Drafts of a Standard" and asked for his "Ideas of the Plan of the Standard," adding that the War Board preferred a design they viewed as "a variant for the Marine Flag." Washington agreed that he preferred "the standard, with the Union and Emblems in the center."<ref name=Furlong117/> The drafts are lost to history but are likely to be similar to the first [[Jack of the United States]].<ref name=Furlong117/>

[[File:US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross.svg|thumb|right| 13-star [[Betsy Ross flag|Betsy Ross]] variant]]
The origin of the stars and stripes design has been muddled by a story disseminated by the descendants of [[Betsy Ross]]. The apocryphal story credits Betsy Ross for sewing [[Betsy Ross flag|one of the first flags]] from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington. No such evidence exists either in George Washington's diaries or the Continental Congress's records. Indeed, nearly a century passed before Ross's grandson, William Canby, first publicly suggested the story in 1870.<ref>{{cite web| last = Crews| first = Ed| title = The Truth About Betsy Ross|url=http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Summer08/betsy.cfm| access-date = June 27, 2009}}</ref> By her family's own admission, Ross ran an upholstery business, and she had never made a flag as of the supposed visit in June 1776.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Canby|first1=George|last2=Balderston|first2=Lloyd|title=The Evolution of the American flag|url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionofameri0000unse_j3m2|url-access=limited|date=1917|publisher=Ferris and Leach|location=Philadelphia|pages=[https://archive.org/details/evolutionofameri0000unse_j3m2/page/48 48], 103}}</ref> Furthermore, her grandson admitted that his own search through the Journals of Congress and other official records failed to find corroborating evidence for his grandmother's story.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Canby |first1=William J. |title=The History of the Flag of the United States: A Paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (March 1870) |url=http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/more/canby.htm |publisher=Independence Hall Association |access-date=February 24, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220070301/http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/more/canby.htm |archive-date=February 20, 2015  }}</ref>

[[George Henry Preble]] states in his 1882 text that no combined stars and stripes flag was in common use prior to June 1777,{{sfn|Preble|1880|p=244}} and that no one knows who designed the 1777 flag.{{sfn|Preble|1880|p=256}} Historian [[Laurel Thatcher Ulrich]] argues that there was no "first flag" worth arguing over.<ref name=common>{{cite magazine|url=http://common-place.org/vol-08/no-01/ulrich|first=Laurel Thatcher|last=Ulrich|title=How Betsy Ross Became Famous|magazine=Common-Place|volume=8|number=1|date=October 2007|access-date=February 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404104129/http://www.common-place.org/vol-08/no-01/ulrich/ |archive-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> Researchers accept that the United States flag evolved, and did not have one design. Marla Miller writes, "The flag, like the Revolution it represents, was the work of many hands."<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Marla R.|title=Betsy Ross and the Making of America|year=2010|publisher=Henry Holt and Company, LLC|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8050-8297-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805082975 |page=181}}</ref>

The family of [[Rebecca Young (flag maker)|Rebecca Young]] claimed that she sewed the first flag.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schaun|first1=George and Virginia|title=Historical Portrait of Mrs. Mary Young Pickersgill|journal=The Greenberry Series on Maryland|volume=5|page=356|publisher=Greenberry Publications|location=Annapolis, MD}}</ref> Young's daughter was [[Mary Young Pickersgill|Mary Pickersgill]], who made the [[Star-Spangled Banner Flag]].<ref name="Furlong117"></ref><ref name="NMAH-making">{{cite web |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/making-the-flag.aspx | title=The Star-Spangled Banner: Making the Flag | work=[[National Museum of American History]] | publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] | access-date=October 5, 2009}}</ref> She was assisted by Grace Wisher, a 13-year-old African American girl.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yuen |first1=Helen and Asantewa Boakyewa |title=The African American girl who helped make the Star-Spangled Banner |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/05/the-african-american-girl-who-helped-make-the-star-spangled-banner.html |website=O Say Can You See? |publisher=Smithsonian |access-date=October 9, 2018|date=May 30, 2014 }}</ref>

===Later flag acts===
{{See also|Flag Acts}}
{{Multiple image|width=220px|direction=vertical
|image1=Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg|caption1=15-star, 15-stripe [[Star-Spangled Banner Flag]]
|image2=US flag 48 stars.svg|caption2=The 48-star flag was in use from 1912 to 1959, the second longest-used U.S. flag. The current U.S. flag is the longest-used flag, having surpassed the 1912 version in 2007.}}
[[File:US historical flags-United States of America.jpg|thumb|left|Oil painting depicting the 39 historical U.S. flags]]
In 1795, the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 (to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union). For a time the flag was not changed when subsequent states were admitted, probably because it was thought that this would cause too much clutter. It was the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired [[Francis Scott Key]] to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", later known as "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]", which is now the American [[national anthem]]. The flag is currently on display in the exhibition "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem" at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] [[National Museum of American History]] in a two-story display chamber that protects the flag while it is on view.<ref name="Smithsonian"/>

On April 4, 1818, a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain [[Samuel C. Reid]]<ref>{{Cite book |author=United States Government |title=Our Flag |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1861 |id=S. Doc 105-013 |url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=105_cong_documents&docid=f:sd013.105.pdf }}</ref> in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the [[Thirteen Colonies|original colonies]]. The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 ([[Independence Day (US)|Independence Day]]) following the admission of one or more new states.<ref name="stockholm" />

In 1912, the 48-star flag was adopted. This was the first time that a flag act specified an official arrangement of the stars in the canton, namely six rows of eight stars each, where each star would point upward.<ref name="stockholm" /> The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, however, had already been using standardized designs. Throughout the 19th century, different star patterns, both rectangular and circular, had been abundant in civilian use.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

In 1960, the current 50-star flag was adopted, incorporating the most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959. Before that, the admission of Alaska in January 1959 had prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.<ref name="stockholm">{{cite web |url=http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/flaghist.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225142325/http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/flaghist.html |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |title=United States Flag History |work=United States Embassy |access-date=February 3, 2009 |date=October 5, 2005 |author=United States Embassy Stockholm }}</ref>

===49- and 50-star unions===
[[File:Us flag with eagle.jpg|thumb|A U.S. flag with gold fringe and a gold eagle on top of the flag pole]]
When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the 1950s, more than 1,500 designs were submitted to President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. Although some were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag.<ref>These designs are in the [[Eisenhower Presidential Center|Eisenhower Presidential Archives]] in [[Abilene, Kansas|Abilene]], Kansas. Only a small fraction of them have ever been published.</ref> At the time, credit was given by the executive department to the [[United States Army Institute of Heraldry]] for the design.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The 49- and 50-star flags were each flown for the first time at [[Fort McHenry]] on [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]], in 1959 and 1960 respectively.<ref name="fnrasmussentbs">{{cite news |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Frederick |title=A half-century ago, new 50-star American flag debuted in Baltimore |work=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-backstory-1960-flag-20100702,0,1768337,full.story |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621033842/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-07-02/news/bs-md-backstory-1960-flag-20100702_1_48-star-flag-blue-canton-fort-mchenry |archive-date=June 21, 2017}}</ref> A popular myth is that an Ohio teenager and later mayor of [[Napoleon, Ohio]], named Robert G. Heft had designed the 50-star flag, but this was debunked by [[Alec Nevala-Lee]] in his investigative article "False Flag" on June 30, 2022. Before the publication of said article the myth had been cited as fact in numerous sources, including Wikipedia and the [[Smithsonian Institution]] website.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nevala-Lee |first=Alec |author-link=Alec Nevala-Lee |date=June 30, 2022 |title=False Flag |url=https://slate.com/culture/2022/06/american-flag-history-scam-designer-robert-heft-50-stars.html |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}}</ref>

On July 4, 2007, the 50-star flag became the version of the flag in the longest use, surpassing the 48-star flag that was used from 1912 to 1959.<ref name="Smithsonian2">{{cite web |last1=Institution |first1=Smithsonian |title=Facts about the United States Flag |url=https://www.si.edu/spotlight/flag-day/flag-facts |website=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=May 20, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==="Flower Flag" arrives in Asia===
The U.S. flag was brought to the city of [[Guangzhou|Canton]] (Guǎngzhōu) in China in 1784 by the merchant ship [[Empress of China (1783)|''Empress of China'']], which carried a cargo of [[ginseng]].<ref name=Preble>{{cite book|last=Preble|first=George Henry|title=History of the Flag of the United States of America|year=1880 |edition=second revised |publisher=A. Williams and Co |location=Boston |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog/page/n353 298] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog}}</ref> There it gained the designation "Flower Flag" ({{zh|c=[[wikt:花旗|花旗]]|p=huāqí|cy=fākeì}}).<ref name="Tappan">{{cite book |last=March |first=Eva |title=The Little Book of the Flag |year=1917 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=Boston |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ltAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA92}}</ref> According to a pseudonymous account first published in the ''[[Boston Courier]]'' and later retold by author and U.S. naval officer [[George Henry Preble|George H. Preble]]:

{{blockquote|When the thirteen stripes and stars first appeared at Canton, much curiosity was excited among the people. News was circulated that a strange ship had arrived from the further end of the world, bearing a flag "as beautiful as a flower". Every body went to see the ''kwa kee chuen'' [{{zh|c=花旗船|cy=Fākeìsyùhn|labels=no}}], or "flower flagship". This name at once established itself in the language, and America is now called the ''kwa kee kwoh'' [{{zh|t=[[wikt:花旗國|花旗國]]|cy=Fākeìgwok|labels=no}}], the "flower flag country"—and an American, ''kwa kee kwoh yin'' [{{zh|c=花旗國人|cy=Fākeìgwokyàhn|labels=no}}]—"flower flag countryman"—a more complimentary designation than that of "red headed barbarian"—the name first bestowed upon the Dutch.<ref>{{cite news |title=Curiosa Sinica |work=Boston Courier |date=June 15, 1843}}<!-- http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/newspapers/doc/v2:11BE3A41D7E057DF%40GBNEWS-11C7DAE2233F21E0%402394367-11C7DAE23582E5F8%400-11C7DAE288B45908%40Curiosa+Sinica/?search_terms=kwoh%7Cchoong --></ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chinese Etymologies |location=Washington, D.C. |work=[[Kendall's Expositor]] |publisher=William Greer |date=June 27, 1843 |volume=3 |issue=14 |page=222|via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEQ9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA222}}</ref>}}

In the above quote, the Chinese words are written phonetically based on spoken [[Standard Cantonese|Cantonese]]. The names given were common usage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.<ref name="ChiDict">See ''[http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddictbasic&wdqb=花旗&wdrst=0&wddmtm=1&wdeac=1 Chinese English Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426060048/http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddictbasic&wdqb=%E8%8A%B1%E6%97%97&wdrst=0&wddmtm=1&wdeac=1 |date=April 26, 2011 }}''<br />Olsen, Kay Melchisedech, ''Chinese Immigrants: 1850–1900'' (2001), p. 7.<br />"[http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=190 Philadelphia's Chinatown: An Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624040601/http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=190 |date=June 24, 2008 }}", The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.<br />Leonard, George, "[http://www.georgeleonard.com/angelisland.html The Beginnings of Chinese Literature in America: the Angel Island Poems]". {{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

{{anchor|Etymology}}Chinese now refer to the United States as ''Měiguó'' from Mandarin ({{zh|s=[[wikt:美国|美国]]|t=美國}}). ''Měi'' is short for ''Měilìjiān'' ({{zh|s=美利坚|t=美利堅}}, [[phono-semantic matching]] of "American") and "guó" means "country", so this name is unrelated to the flag. However, the "flower flag" terminology persists in some places today: for example, [[American ginseng]] is called ''flower flag ginseng'' ({{zh|s=花旗参|t=花旗參}}) in Chinese, and [[Citibank]], which opened a branch in China in 1902, is known as ''Flower Flag Bank'' ({{zh|s=花旗银行|labels=no}}).<ref name="ChiDict" />

Similarly, Vietnamese also uses the borrowed term from Chinese with [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]] reading for the United States, as {{lang|vi|{{linktext|Hoa Kỳ|lang=vi}}}} from {{vi-nom|花旗}} ("Flower Flag"). Even though the United States is also called ''nước Mỹ'' (or simpler ''Mỹ'') colloquially in Vietnamese before the name ''Měiguó'' was popular among Chinese, ''Hoa Kỳ'' is always recognized as the formal name for the United States with the [[Vietnam|Vietnamese state]] officially designates it as {{Lang|vi|Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ}} ({{Chuhan|合眾國花旗}}, {{Lit|United states of the Flower Flag}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phương Lan |date=July 10, 2007 |title=Bộ Ngoại giao: Đề nghị thống nhất sử dụng tên gọi "Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ" |trans-title=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Vietnam)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]: Request to unify the use of the name ''"Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ"'' |url=https://baochinhphu.vn/news-10210789.htm |access-date=September 14, 2023 |website=Viet Nam Government Portal |publisher=[[Government of Vietnam]] |language=vi}}</ref> By that, in Vietnam, the U.S. is also nicknamed ''xứ Cờ Hoa'' ("land of Flower Flag") based on the ''Hoa Kỳ'' designation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Đ |first=N.C.T |title=Xứ Cờ Hoa |trans-title=Land of Flag Flower? |url=https://baodanang.vn/channel/5433/201905/xu-co-hoa-3175705/ |access-date=September 14, 2023 |website=Đà Nẵng Online |language=vi}}</ref>

Additionally, the seal of Shanghai Municipal Council in [[Shanghai International Settlement]] from 1869 included the U.S. flag as part of the top left-hand shield near the flag of the UK, as the U.S. participated in the creation of this enclave in the Chinese city of Shanghai. It is also included in the badge of the Gulangyu Municipal Police in the [[Gulangyu|International Settlement of Gulangyu]], [[Amoy]].<ref>{{FOTW|id=cn-kul|title=International Settlement of Kulangsu (Gulangyu, China)}}</ref>

President [[Richard Nixon]] presented a U.S. flag and [[Moon rock]]s to [[Mao Zedong]] during [[1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China|his visit to China]] in 1972. They are now on display at the [[National Museum of China]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The U.S. flag took its first trip around the world in 1787–1790 on board the ''[[Columbia Rediviva|Columbia]]''.<ref name="Tappan"/> [[William Driver]], who coined the phrase "Old Glory", took the U.S. flag around the world in 1831–32.<ref name="Tappan"/> The flag attracted the notice of the Japanese when an oversized version was carried to [[Yokohama]] by the steamer ''Great Republic'' as part of a round-the-world journey in 1871.<ref>"[http://www.american.edu/heintze/flag.htm American Flag Raised Over Buddhist Temple in Japan on July 4, 1872]" {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202052331/http://www.american.edu/heintze/flag.htm |date=February 2, 2013 }}</ref>

===Civil War and the flag===
[[File:Our Banner in the Sky by Frederic Edwin Church.jpg|thumb|''Our Banner in the Sky'' (1861) by [[Frederic Edwin Church]]]]
Prior to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the American flag was rarely seen outside of military forts, government buildings and ships. This changed following the [[Battle of Fort Sumter]] in 1861. The [[Fort Sumter Flag|flag]] flying over the fort was allowed to leave with the Union troops as they surrendered. It was taken across [[Union (American Civil War)|Northern]] cities, which spurred a wave of "Flagmania". The Stars and Stripes, which had had no real place in the public conscious, suddenly became a part of the national identity. The flag became a symbol of the Union, and the sale of flags exploded at this time.
Historian [[Adam Goodheart]] wrote:
{{blockquote|For the first time American flags were mass-produced rather than individually stitched and even so, manufacturers could not keep up with demand. As the long winter of 1861 turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing: strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for.<ref name=goodheart-1861>{{cite book |first=Adam |last=Goodheart |author-link=Adam Goodheart |title=1861: The Civil War Awakening |chapter=Prologue |url=http://www.adamgoodheart.com/ |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |year=2011 |via=adamgoodheart.com |access-date=July 31, 2015 |isbn=978-0-307-59666-6}}</ref>}}

In the Civil War, the flag was allowed to be carried into battle, reversing the 1847 regulation which prohibited this. (During the American Revolutionary War and [[War of 1812]] the army was not officially sanctioned to carry the United States flag into battle. It was not until 1834 that the artillery was allowed to carry the American flag; the army would be granted to do the same in 1841. However, in 1847, in the middle of the [[Mexican–American War|war with Mexico]], the flag was limited to camp use and not allowed to be brought into battle.)<ref>{{Cite book|title=The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict|publisher=VZ Publications|year=2006|page=68}}</ref> Some wanted to remove the stars of the states which had seceded but [[Abraham Lincoln]] was opposed, believing it would give legitimacy to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] states.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leepson|first=Marc|title=Flag: An American Biography|publisher=[[Thomas Dunne Books]]|year=2005|pages=94–109}}</ref>

===Historical progression of designs===
{{Main|History of the flags of the United States}}
{{See also|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}
In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for the flags are merely the ''usual'' patterns, often associated with the [[United States Navy]]. Canton designs, prior to the proclamation of the 48-star flag, had no official arrangement of the stars.
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
! Number of<br />stars
! Number of<br />stripes
! class="unsortable" | Design(s)
! class="unsortable" width=15% | Arrangement of stars
! class="unsortable" | States represented<br />by new stars
! Dates in use
! Duration
|- valign="top"
| 0 || 13 || {{ListFlag|Flag of the United States (1776–1777).svg|84px}} || {{n/a}}|| [[Continental Union Flag]]: [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]], [[Delaware Colony|Delaware]], [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]], [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts Bay]], [[Province of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]], [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]], [[Province of New York|New York]], [[Province of North Carolina|North Carolina]], [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island and Providence Plantations]], [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]], [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] represented by stripes, no stars || {{nowrap|{{Dts|1775|12|3}}<ref name=leepson>Leepson, Marc. (2005). ''Flag: An American Biography.'' New York: [[St. Martin's Press]].</ref>&nbsp;– June 14, 1777}}
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|018|{{frac|1|1|2}} years}}
|- valign="top"
| 13 || 13 || [[File:US flag 13 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:Hopkinson Flag.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:John Trumbull's Depiction of the Flag of the USA.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:Cowpens Flag.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File: Flag of the United States (4-5-4 pattern).svg |border|84x84px]]
|Various:<br />3–2–3–2–3<br />''or''<br />Square<br />''or''<br />[[Betsy Ross flag|Circle]]<br />''or''<br />4–5–4
| Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia || {{Dts|1777|06|14}}&nbsp;– May 1, 1795
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|215|18 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 15 || 15 || [[File:US flag 15 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:Star-Spangled Banner flag.svg|border|84px]] ||5 rows of 3||Vermont, Kentucky || {{Dts|1795|05|1}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1818
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|278|23 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 20 || 13 || [[File:US flag 20 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 20 Star GreatStar Flag.svg|border|84px]]  ||4 rows of 5<br />''or''<br />[[Pentagram]]|| Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi || {{Dts|1818|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1819
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 21 || 13 || [[File:US flag 21 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 5–4–6–6 || Illinois || {{Dts|1819|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1820
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 23 || 13 || [[File:US flag 23 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 6–5–6–6 || Alabama, Maine || {{Dts|1820|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1822
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|024|2 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 24 || 13 || [[File:US flag 24 stars.svg|border|84px]] ||4 rows of 6|| Missouri || {{Dts|1822|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1836<br />1831 term "Old Glory" coined
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|168|14 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 25 || 13 || [[File:US flag 25 stars.svg|border|84px]] <br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div> [[File:Flag of the United States (25 stars, linear pattern).svg|border|84px]] <br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div> [[File:Flag of the United States (25 stars, staggered pattern).svg|border|84px]]
|  6–5–7–7<br />''or''<br />5 rows of 5 || Arkansas || {{Dts|1836|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1837
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 26 || 13 || [[File:US flag 26 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 26 Star GreatStar Flag.svg|border|84px]] || 7–6–6–7<br />''or''<br />Inverted pentagram with large star in center|| Michigan || {{Dts|1837|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1845
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|096|8 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 27 || 13 || [[File:US flag 27 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 7–6–7–7|| Florida || {{Dts|1845|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1846
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 28 || 13 || [[File:US flag 28 stars.svg|border|84px]] ||4 rows of 7 || Texas || {{Dts|1846|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1847
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 29 || 13 || [[File:US flag 29 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 29 Star Diamond Pattern Flag.svg|border|84px]] || 8–7–6–8<br />''or''<br />Diamond pattern|| Iowa || {{Dts|1847|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1848
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 30 || 13 || [[File:US flag 30 stars.svg|border|84px]]||5 rows of 6 || Wisconsin || {{Dts|1848|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1851
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|036|3 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 31 || 13 || [[File:US flag 31 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 7–5–6–6–7 || California || {{Dts|1851|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1858
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|084|7 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 32 || 13 || [[File:US flag 32 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 7–6–6–6–7  || Minnesota || {{Dts|1858|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1859
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 33 || 13 || [[File:US flag 33 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 33 Star Fort Sumter Flag.svg|84px|border]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 33 Star GreatStar Flag.svg|84px|border]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 33 Star Diamond Pattern Flag.svg|84px|border]]||7–7–5–7–7<br /> ''or''<br />Various patterns || Oregon || {{Dts|1859|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1861
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|024|2 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 34 || 13 || [[File:US flag 34 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:Flag of the United States of America (1861-1863).svg|border|84px]] || 7–7–6–7–7<br />''or''<br />Circle pattern|| Kansas || {{Dts|1861|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1863
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|024|2 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 35 || 13 || [[File:US flag 35 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:U.S. flag (35 stars).svg|border|84px]]|| 5 rows of 7<br />''or''<br />Circle pattern || West Virginia || {{Dts|1863|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1865
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|024|2 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 36 || 13 || [[File:US flag 36 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 36 Star Wagon Wheel Flag.svg|border|84px]] ||8–6–8–6–8<br />''or''<br />Wagon wheel pattern|| Nevada || {{Dts|1865|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1867
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|024|2 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 37 || 13 || [[File:US flag 37 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:Flag of the United States (1867-1877).svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 37 Star Medallion Centennial Flag.svg|border|84px]]||7–8–7–8–7<br />''or''<br />8–7–7–7–8<br />''or''<br />Two concentric rings || Nebraska || {{Dts|1867|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1877
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|120|10 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 38 || 13 || [[File:US flag 38 stars.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:US 38 Star Flag.svg|border|84px]]<br /><div style="line-height:0.2;"><br /></div>[[File:Flag of the United States of America (1877–1890).svg|border|84px]] || 7–8–8–8–7<br />''or''<br />8–7–8–7–8<br />''or''<br />Circle pattern||Colorado || {{Dts|1877|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1890
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|156|13 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 43 || 13 || [[File:US flag 43 stars.svg|border|84px]]  || 8–7–7–7–7–7|| North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho || {{Dts|1890|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1891
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 44 || 13 || [[File:US flag 44 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 8–7–7–7–7–8|| Wyoming || {{Dts|1891|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1896
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|060|5 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 45 || 13 || [[File:US flag 45 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 8–7–8–7–8–7|| Utah || {{Dts|1896|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1908
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|144|12 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 46 || 13 || [[File:US flag 46 stars.svg|border|84px]] || 8–7–8–8–7–8|| Oklahoma || {{Dts|1908|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1912
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|048|4 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 48 || 13 || [[File:US flag 48 stars.svg|border|84px]]|| 6 rows of 8  || New Mexico,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nmhistorymuseum.org/blog/2011/09/the-officially-unofficial-kind-of-illegal-47-star-flag-comes-in-for-repairs/ |title=The Officially Unofficial Kind of Illegal 47-Star Flag Comes in for Repairs |date=September 8, 2011 |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-date=August 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818080058/https://www.nmhistorymuseum.org/blog/2011/09/the-officially-unofficial-kind-of-illegal-47-star-flag-comes-in-for-repairs/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Arizona || {{Dts|1912|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1959
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|564|47 years}}
|- valign="top"
| 49 || 13 || [[File:Flag of the United States (1959–1960).svg|border|84px]] || 7 rows of 7  || Alaska || {{Dts|1959|07|4}}&nbsp;– July 3, 1960
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|012|1 year}}
|- valign="top"
| 50 || 13 || [[File:Flag of the United States (DDD-F-416E specifications).svg|border|84x84px]] || 6–5–6–5–6–5–6–5–6 <br />(5 rows of 6 alternating with 4 rows of 5)
|Hawaii|| {{Dts|1960|07|04}}&nbsp;– present
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Sort|{{Age in months|1960|7|4}}|{{age|1960|7|4}}}} years
|}

==Symbolism==
The flag of the United States is the nation's most widely recognized symbol.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=kaleidoscope#:~:text=Henry%20Ward%20Beecher-,%E2%80%9CThe%20most%20universally%20recognizable%20symbol%20of%20American%20government%E2%80%9D%20is%20the,adopted%20as%20America's%20new%20flag |title=The American flag and the body: How the flag and the body create an American meaning |last=Marmo |first=Jennifer |journal=Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research |volume=9 |year=2010}}</ref> Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows, and on clothing ornamentation such as badges and lapel pins. Owing to the United States's emergence as a superpower in the 20th century, the flag is among the most widely recognized symbols in the world, and is used to represent the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://libertyflags.com/blogs/default-blog/what-the-american-flag-symbolizes-around-the-world |date=December 28, 2018 |access-date=January 30, 2019|title=What the American Flag Symbolizes Around The World}}</ref>

The flag has become a powerful symbol of [[Americanism (ideology)|Americanism]], and is flown on many occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Reverence for the flag has at times reached [[American civil religion|religion-like fervor]]: in 1919 [[William Norman Guthrie]]'s book ''The Religion of Old Glory'' discussed "the cult of the flag"<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Guthrie
| first1 = William Norman
| author-link1 = William Norman Guthrie
| title = The Religion of Old Glory
|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.73469
| edition = reprint
| location = New York
| publisher = George H. Doran Company
| date = 1919
| page = [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.73469/page/n274 370]
| isbn = 978-1-178-23635-4
| access-date = April 27, 2018
}}
</ref>
and formally proposed {{linktext | vexillolatry}}.<ref>
{{cite book
| title = The Flag Bulletin
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDIrAQAAIAAJ
| volume = 23
| location = Winchester, Massachusetts
| publisher = Flag Research Center
| publication-date = 1984
| page = 107
| access-date = April 27, 2018
| quote = [...] a formal book-length proposal for vexillolatry was made by William Norman Guthrie in his ''The Religion of Old Glory'' (New York: Doran, l9l9).
| year = 1984
}}
</ref>

Despite a number of attempts to ban the practice, [[flag desecration|desecration of the flag]] remains protected as [[freedom of speech|free speech]] under the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]]. Scholars have noted the irony that "<nowiki>[t]</nowiki>he flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free, and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest".<ref>[https://time.com/3907444/flag-supreme-court-history/]  This Is Why It's Legal to Burn the American Flag</ref> Comparing practice worldwide, Testi noted in 2010 that the United States was not unique in adoring its banner, for the flags of Scandinavian countries are also "beloved, domesticated, commercialized and sacralized objects".<ref>
Arnaldo Testi, ''Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History'' (New York University Press, 2010), p. 2, {{ISBN|978-0-8147-8322-1}}.
</ref>

===Color symbolism===
When the flag was officially adopted in 1777, the colors of red, white, and blue were not given an official meaning. However, when [[Charles Thomson]], Secretary of the Continental Congress, presented a proposed [[Seal of the United States|U.S. seal]] in 1782, he explained its center section in this way: {{blockquote|The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.<ref name=Greenstein>{{Cite magazine|url=https://swampland.time.com/2013/07/04/why-the-u-s-flag-is-red-white-and-blue/|title=Why the U.S. Flag is Red, White and Blue|first=Nicole|last=Greenstein|magazine=Time|date=July 4, 2013}}</ref>}}
[[File:P20230911AS-2183 (53235189810).jpg|thumb|Flower wreath placed by [[Joe Biden]] at the [[John McCain]] Memorial Marker in [[Hanoi]], designed with the three colors of the national flag.]]
These meanings have broadly been accepted as official, with some variation,<ref name=Greenstein /> but there are other extant interpretations as well:

* [[Henry Ward Beecher]] said of the [[Fort Sumter Flag]] upon its 1865 return to the fort, {{blockquote|The stars that redeem the night from darkness, and the beams of red light that beautify the morning, have been united upon its folds. As long as the sun endures, or the stars, may it wave over a nation neither enslaved nor enslaving.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Flag Replaced on Sumter |first=William Arnold |last=Spicer |year=1885 |publisher=Providence Press Company |oclc=747737536 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C8E_AAAAYAAJ&dq=sun&pg=PA50 }}</ref>}}
* In 1986, president [[Ronald Reagan]] gave his own interpretation, saying, {{blockquote|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.<ref name=Greenstein />}}
* An interpretation attributed to George Washington claims that {{blockquote|We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity, representing our liberty.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Origin of the American Flag|author=Telfair Marriott Minton|journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research|volume=8|issue=32|publisher=Society for Army Historical Research|date=April 1929|pages=114–120 |jstor=44220286 }}</ref>}}

==Design==

===Specifications===
[[File:Flag of the United States specification.svg|450px|Diagram of the flag's design]]

The basic design of the current flag is specified by {{usc|4|1}} (1947): "The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field." {{usc|4|2}} outlines the addition of new stars to represent new states, with no distinction made for the shape, size, or arrangement of the stars. [[s:Executive Order 10834|Executive Order 10834]] (1959) specifies a 50-star design for use after Hawaii was added as a state, and Federal Specification DDD-F-416F (2005) provides additional details about the production of physical flags for use by [[federal government of the United States|federal agencies]].<ref>[[General Services Administration]] "{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514200019/https://assist.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch/basic_profile.cfm?ident_number=52554 Federal Specification DDD-F-416F]}}: Flag, National, United States of America and Flag, [[Jack of the United States|Union Jack]]". March 31, 2005. PDF [http://everyspec.com/FED_SPECS/F/DDD-F-416F_49205/ available from everyspec.com].</ref>

* Hoist (height) of the flag: ''A'' = 1.0
* Fly (width) of the flag: ''B'' = 1.9<ref>The flag ratio (''B''/''A'' in the diagram) is not absolutely fixed. Although the diagram in Executive Order 10834 gives a ratio of 1.9, earlier in the order is a list of flag sizes authorized for executive agencies. This list permits eleven specific flag sizes (specified by height and width) for such agencies: 20.00 × 38.00; 10.00 × 19.00; 8.95 × 17.00; 7.00 × 11.00; 5.00 × 9.50; 4.33 × 5.50; 3.50 × 6.65; {{nobr|3.00 × 4.00}}; {{nobr|3.00 × 5.70}}; {{nobr|2.37 × 4.50}}; and {{nobr|1.32 × 2.50}}. Eight of these sizes conform to the 1.9 ratio, within a small rounding error (less than 0.01). However, three of the authorized sizes vary significantly: 1.57 (for {{nobr|7.00 × 11.00}}), 1.27 (for {{nobr|4.33 × 5.50}}) and 1.33 (for {{nobr|3.00 × 4.00}}).</ref>
* Hoist (height) of the canton ("union"): ''C'' = 0.5385 (''A'' × 7/13, spanning seven stripes)
* Fly (width) of the canton: ''D'' = 0.76 (''B'' × 2/5, two-fifths of the flag width)
* ''E'' = ''F'' = 0.0538 (''C''/10, one-tenth of the height of the canton)
* ''G'' = ''H'' = 0.0633 (''D''/12, one twelfth of the width of the canton)
* Diameter of star: ''K'' = 0.0616 (approximately ''L'' × 4/5, four-fifths of the stripe width)
* Width of stripe: ''L'' = 0.0769 (''A''/13, one thirteenth of the flag height)

The executive order establishing these specifications directly governs only flags made for or by the federal government, but it is also used as the definition of the flag in the [[United States Flag Code|Flag Code]].<ref>[[s:Executive Order 10834|Ex. Ord. No. 10834]], August 21, 1959, 24 F.R. 6865 (governing flags "manufactured or purchased for the use of executive agencies", Section 22). Section 32 explains that, "As used in this order, the term 'executive agencies' means the executive departments and independent establishments in the executive branch of the Government, including wholly owned Government corporations.",{{usc|4|5}}</ref> In practice, most U.S. national flags available for sale to the public follow the federal star arrangement, but have a different width-to-height ratio; common sizes are {{nobr|2 × 3&nbsp;ft.}} or {{nobr|4 × 6&nbsp;ft.}} (flag ratio 1.5), {{nobr|2.5 × 4&nbsp;ft.}} or {{nobr|5 × 8&nbsp;ft.}} (1.6), or {{nobr|3 × 5&nbsp;ft.}} or {{nobr|6 × 10&nbsp;ft.}} (1.667). Even flags flown over the U.S. Capitol for sale to the public through Representatives or Senators are provided in these sizes.<ref>Architect of the Capitol: [https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/flagform.pdf "Flag Request Form"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428060620/https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/flagform.pdf |date=April 28, 2017 }}. Retrieved July 1, 2017.</ref> Flags that are made to the prescribed 1.9 ratio are often referred to as "G-spec" (for "government specification") flags.

===Colors===
The red, white, and blue colors are derived from the [[flag of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-mass-media/flag-united-states|title=Flag of the United States|publisher=EBSCO|last1=Sheposh|first1=Richard|date=2023|access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/gq-us-colors/|title=How Did Red, White & Blue Become America's Colors?|publisher=CBS News|date=June 27, 2018|access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gettysburgflag.com/american-flag-symbolism|title=Understanding the American Flag: Symbolism in the American Flag's Red, White & Blue Design|publisher=Gettysburg Flag Works|access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref> The flag colors are not standardized by law, and there are no legally specified shades of red, white, and blue.<ref>{{citation|url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title4/chapter1&edition=prelim|title=Title 4—FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES|publisher=United States House of Representatives|access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref> Despite this, some government agencies have specified the use of certain shades.

Federal Specification DDD-F-416E specifies shades of red, white, and blue to be used for physical flags procured by federal agencies with reference to the [[Standard Color Reference of America|Standard Color Card of America]] 10th edition, a set of dyed silk fabric samples produced by [[The Color Association of the United States]]. The colors are "White" No. 70001, "Old Glory Red" No. 70180, and "Old Glory Blue" No. 70075.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://everyspec.com/FED_SPECS/F/DDD-F-416E_49206/|title=DDD-F-416E, FEDERAL SPECIFICATION: FLAG, NATIONAL, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND FLAG, UNION JACK|date=November 27, 1981|author=United States Commissioner, Federal Supply Service, and General Services Administration|publisher=EverySpec|access-date=September 28, 2025}}</ref> There are no easy or proper methods for converting these colors to digital colors.

<gallery class="left" widths="120px" heights="95px">
File:Old Glory Red.png|"Old Glory Red" No. 70180
File:Standard Color Card of America White.png|"White" No. 70001
File:Old Glory Blue.png|"Old Glory Blue" No. 70075
</gallery>

According to the California flag code, "Old Glory Red" No. 70180 should be used as red on the California state flag.<ref>{{Cite web |title=California State Flag Specifications |url=http://www.bearflagmuseum.org/California%20State%20Flag%20Specifications%201953%201954%201959.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507052044/http://www.bearflagmuseum.org/California%20State%20Flag%20Specifications%201953%201954%201959.PDF |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |website=bearflagmuseum.org}}</ref> In 2002, the [[California Military Department]] suggested PMS 200C as a Pantone color equivalent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.militarymuseum.org/Flags_Over_Ca.pdf|title=Flags Over California A History and Guide|publisher=Military Department of the State of California|date=March 2002|access-date=November 2, 2025}}</ref>

Several government websites have given [[Pantone]] (PMS) equivalents for the flag colors. These colors are "Old Glory Red" PMS 193C and "Old Glory Blue" PMS 281C. When converted to RGB, the colors are "Old Glory Red" #BF0A30,<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 1, 2022 |title=PANTONE® USA {{!}} PANTONE 193 C – Find a Pantone Color {{!}} Quick Online Color Tool |url=https://www.pantone.com/connect/193-C |access-date=February 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801163342/https://www.pantone.com/connect/193-C |archive-date=August 1, 2022 }}</ref> "Old Glory Blue" #00205B,<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2022 |title=PANTONE® USA {{!}} PANTONE 282 C – Find a Pantone Color {{!}} Quick Online Color Tool |url=https://www.pantone.com/connect/282-C |access-date=February 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928124440/https://www.pantone.com/connect/282-C |archive-date=September 28, 2022 }}</ref> and #FFFFFF for white.

[[File:Flag of the United States (DDD-F-416E specifications).svg|thumb|Pantone color specifications]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
|+ Pantone color specifications
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Pantone Identifier
! rowspan="2" style="width:3em; min-width:3em" |
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | RGB
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | CMYK
|-
! style="text-align:center" | ''R'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''G'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''B'' !! style="text-align:center" | 8-bit hex
! style="text-align:center" | ''C'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''M'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''Y'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''K''
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{nobr|White}}
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#fff" title="#FFFFFF" |
| 255 || 255 || 255 || {{code|#FFFFFF}}
| 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left" | PMS 193C
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#BF0A30" title="#BF0A30" |
| 191 || 10 || 48 || {{code|#BF0A30}}
| 0.00 || 0.95 || 0.75 || 0.25
|-
| style="text-align:left" | PMS 281C
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#00205B" title="#00205B" |
| 0 || 32 || 91 || {{code|#00205B}}
| 1.00 || 0.65 || 0.00 || 0.64
|}

The specific shade of Pantone blue varies in government sources. Blue is either listed as PMS 281C, or as PMS 282C.<ref name=USES>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041021021046/http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/colors.html|title=COLORS OF THE U.S. FLAG|publisher=United States Embassy Stockholm|date=November 2001|access-date=September 28, 2025}}</ref>

As early as 1996, the website of the [[U.S. Embassy, London|U.S. embassy in London]] listed red PMS 193C and blue PMS 282C. They later changed blue to be PMS 281C. The website of the U.S. embassy in [[Stockholm]] claimed in 2001 that those colors had been suggested by Pantone, and that the [[United States Government Printing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]] preferred a different set. Red PMS 186C and blue PMS 288C are preferred by the U.S. Government Printing Office.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/19971014170401/http://www.usembassy.org.uk/rcflags.html In 1996, "U.S. Flag Facts"]}} at the website of the U.S. embassy in London listed the colors red PMS 193C and blue PMS 282C. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20021016055710/http://www.usembassy.org.uk/rcflags.html By October 2002]}}, these had changed to red PMS 193 and blue PMS 281. These latter PMS equivalents are listed on many websites including various other U.S. Government organizations, such as the [[Millennium Challenge Corporation]]'s [http://www.mcc.gov/mcc/press/branding/branding-mcc/index.shtml website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522114622/http://www.mcc.gov/mcc/press/branding/branding-mcc/index.shtml |date=May 22, 2010 }}. See also [https://www.fotw.info/flags/us.html "United States of America"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713191619/http://www.fotw.us/flags/us.html |date=July 13, 2010 }}, ''[[Flags of the World (website)|Flags of the World]]''.<br />The website of the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm instead lists PMS 186 and PMS 288 as the colors specified by the U.S. Government Printing Office: [https://web.archive.org/web/20041021021046/http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/usflag/colors.html "Colors of the U.S. Flag"]. United States Embassy Stockholm. November 2001.</ref>

[[File:Flag of the United States (US Government Printing Office specifications).svg|thumb|U.S. Government Printing Office color specifications]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
|+ U.S. Government Printing Office specifications<ref name=USES/>
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Pantone Identifier
! rowspan="2" style="width:3em; min-width:3em" |
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | RGB
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | CMYK
|-
! style="text-align:center" | ''R'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''G'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''B'' !! style="text-align:center" | 8-bit hex
! style="text-align:center" | ''C'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''M'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''Y'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''K''
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{nobr|White}}
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#fff" title="#FFFFFF" |
| 255 || 255 || 255 || {{code|#FFFFFF}}
| 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left" | PMS 186C 
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#C8102E" title="#C8102E" |
| 187 || 19 || 62 || {{code|#C8102E}}
| 0.00 || 0.90 || 0.67 || 0.27
|-
| style="text-align:left" | PMS 288C
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#002D72" title="#002D72" |
| 0 || 45 || 114 || {{code|#002D72}}
| 1.00 || 0.61 || 0.00 || 0.55
|}

In 2001, the Texas legislature specified that the colors of the Texas flag should be "(1) the same colors used in the United States flag; and (2) defined as numbers 193 (red) and 281 (dark blue) of the Pantone Matching System."<ref>[http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.3100.htm#3100.002 The Government Code; Title 11. State Symbols and Honors; Subtitle A; Chapter 3100]. Statutes.legis.state.tx.us. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>

The U.S. [[Millennium Challenge Corporation]] on their website listed red PMS 193C and blue PMS 281C as the flag colors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522114622/http://www.mcc.gov/mcc/press/branding/branding-mcc/index.shtml|title=MCC Brand Color Palettes|publisher=Millennium Challenge Corporation of the United States|access-date=September 28, 2025}}</ref>

The [[United States Department of State]] recognizes red PMS 193C and blue PMS 282C, though they also suggest alternate shades of red and blue and give RGB and CMYK conversions.<ref name=DOS/>

[[File:Flag of the United States (US Department of State specifications).svg|thumb|U.S. Department of State color specifications]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
|+ United States Department of State specifications<ref name=DOS>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214222233/https://fa.statebuy.state.gov/Content/documents/style_guide_public_hi.pdf|title=United States Department of State Identity and Marking Standards|publisher=United States Department of State|date=June 2012|access-date=September 28, 2025}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Color
! rowspan="2" style="width:3em; min-width:3em" |
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | RGB
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | CMYK
|-
! style="text-align:center" | ''R'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''G'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''B'' !! style="text-align:center" | 8-bit hex
! style="text-align:center" | ''C'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''M'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''Y'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''K''
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{nobr|White}}
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#fff" title="#FFFFFF" |
| 255 || 255 || 255 || {{code|#FFFFFF}}
| 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Red 
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#BB133E" title="#BB133E" |
| 187 || 19 || 62 || {{code|#BB133E}}
| 0.00 || 0.90 || 0.67 || 0.27
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Blue
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#002147" title="#002147" |
| 0 || 33 || 71 || {{code|#002147}}
| 1.00 || 0.54 || 0.00 || 0.72
|}

The current internal style guide of the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] [[Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs]] recognizes red PMS 193C and blue PMS 282C, though it also suggests alternate shades of red and blue and gives RGB and CMYK conversions generated by [[Adobe InDesign]].<ref name="eca flag standards">
{{cite report |access-date=January 21, 2023 |date=January 2017 |title=ECA Design Guidelines |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820205101/https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/eca_design_guide.pdf |publisher=[[Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs]] Office of Public Affairs and Strategic Communications }}</ref>

[[File:Flag of the United States (DoS ECA Color Standard).svg|thumb|DoS Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs color specifications]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
|+ Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs specifications<ref name="eca flag standards" />
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | Color
! rowspan="2" style="width:3em; min-width:3em" |
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | RGB
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | CMYK
|-
! style="text-align:center" | ''R'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''G'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''B'' !! style="text-align:center" | 8-bit hex
! style="text-align:center" | ''C'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''M'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''Y'' !! style="text-align:center" | ''K''
|-
| style="text-align:left" | {{nobr|White}}
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#fff" title="#FFFFFF" |
| 255 || 255 || 255 || {{code|#FFFFFF}}
| 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00 || 0.00
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Red 
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#B31942" title="#B31942" |
| 179 || 25 || 66 || {{code|#B31942}}
| 0.00 || 1.00 || 0.66 || 0.13
|-
| style="text-align:left" | Blue
| class="mw-no-invert" style="background:#0A3161" title="#0A3161" |
| 10 || 49 || 97 || {{code|#0A3161}}
| 0.90 || 0.49 || 0.00 || 0.62
|}

Other colors are often used for mass-market flags, printed reproductions, and other products intended to evoke flag colors. The practice of using [[colorfulness|more saturated]] colors than the official cloth is not new. As Taylor, Knoche, and Granville wrote in 1950: "The color of the official wool bunting [of the blue field] is a very dark blue, but printed reproductions of the flag, as well as merchandise supposed to match the flag, present the color as a deep blue much brighter than the official wool."<ref>Helen Taylor, Lucille Knoche, and Walter Granville, eds. (1950), ''[[Descriptive Color Names Dictionary]]''. Container Corporation of America.</ref>

===Decoration===
Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden [[fringe (trim)|fringe]] surrounding the perimeter of the flag as long as it does not deface the flag proper. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in [[parade]]s or on indoor posts, often use fringe to enhance the flag's appearance. Traditionally, the Army and Air Force use a fringed flag for parades, [[Colour guard|color guard]] and indoor display, while the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard use a fringeless flag for all occasions.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835, and the [[United States Army|Army]] used it officially in 1895. No specific law governs the legality of fringe. Still, a 1925 opinion of the [[United States Attorney General]] addresses the use of fringe (and the number of stars) "is at the discretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy" as quoted from a footnote in previous volumes of [[Title 4 of the United States Code]] law books. This opinion is a source for claims that a flag with fringe is a military ensign rather than a civilian. However, according to the Army [[Institute of Heraldry]], which has official custody of U.S. flag designs and makes any change ordered, there are no implications of symbolism in using fringe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tioh.army.mil/FAQs/Faqs.aspx?SectionID=101|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111020133/https://tioh.army.mil/FAQs/Faqs.aspx?SectionID=101|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 11, 2021| title=FAQs – U.S. Flag Etiquette| access-date = November 7, 2024 | website=The Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army|quote=There is no record of an Act of Congress or Executive Order which either prescribes or prohibits the addition of fringe, nor is there any indication that any symbolism was ever associated with it.}}</ref>

Individuals associated with the [[sovereign citizen movement]] and [[tax protester conspiracy arguments]] have claimed, based on the military usage, that the presence of a fringed flag in a civilian courtroom changes the nature or jurisdiction of the court.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/30/sovereign-citizens-are-a-sometimes-violent-fringe-group-rejecting-all-government|title=Sovereign Citizens Are a Sometimes Violent Fringe Group Rejecting All Government|last=Ross|first=Winston|date=December 30, 2012|access-date=July 8, 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">[http://evans-legal.com/dan/tpfaq.html#flagfringes Rebuttal of "martial law flag" claims by tax protesters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502182441/http://evans-legal.com/dan/tpfaq.html#flagfringes |date=May 2, 2016 }}. Evans-legal.com. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref> Federal and state courts have rejected this contention.<ref name=":0"/><ref>See ''McCann v. Greenway'', 952 [[Federal Supplement|F. Supp.]] 647 ([[United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri|W.D. Mo.]] 1997), which discusses various court opinions denying any significance related to trim used on a flag.</ref><ref name="state">{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Court_of_Appeals/opinion/2010/08CA2664.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513011723/http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Court_of_Appeals/opinion/2010/08CA2664.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2014 |url-status=live |title=state.co.us: "Colorado Court of Appeals – Order Order Affirmed: Colorado v Drew" (Munsinger) 13 May 2010 |publisher=courts.state.co.us|access-date=April 19, 2015}}</ref>

==Display and use==
The flag is customarily flown year-round at most public buildings, and it is not unusual to find private houses flying full-size ({{convert|3|by|5|ft}}) flags. Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like [[Memorial Day]], [[Veterans Day (United States)|Veterans Day]], [[Presidents' Day (United States)|Presidents' Day]], [[Flag Day in the United States|Flag Day]], and on [[Independence Day (US)|Independence Day]]. On Memorial Day, it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war veterans. Also, on Memorial Day, it is common to fly the flag at half staff until noon to remember those who lost their lives fighting in U.S. wars.
<gallery widths="180px" heights="160px">
File: American Embassy in Warsaw 1939 (cropped).jpg|An American flag on the U.S. embassy in [[Warsaw]] during a German air raid in [[Invasion of Poland|September 1939]].
File:VAB aerial 1977.jpg|The NASA [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] in 1977. The VAB has the largest U.S. flag ever used on a building, with the [[United States Bicentennial|Bicentennial Star]] opposite the flag.
File:Graves at Arlington on Memorial Day.JPG|Gravestones at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] decorated with U.S. flags on Memorial Day.
File:Flag Dumpster.JPG|A [[dumpster]] in Chicago painted to resemble the American flag.
File:NFL Wild Card Game Packers at Cardinals.JPG|A large flag displayed during the singing of [[The Star-Spangled Banner]] prior to the start of an [[National Football League|NFL]] game.
File:United States Capitol Dome and Flag.jpg|The flag at the [[United States Capitol]].
File:United States Flag RFK DOJ Building July 2010.jpg|The flag on the [[Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building]].
</gallery>

===Flag etiquette===
{{Main|United States Flag Code}}
[[File:Vertical United States Flag.svg|thumb|left|upright|150px|The proper stationary vertical display. The union (blue box of stars) should always be in the upper-left corner.]]
[[File:Tattered Flag.jpg|thumb|upright|A tattered flag at Spokane Valley Police Headquarters, [[Spokane, Washington]]]]
[[File:US Navy 030915-N-8726C-007 lowers a tattered ensign.jpg|thumb|A proper and respectful manner of disposing of a damaged flag is a ceremonial burning (as seen here at [[Misawa Air Base]])]]
The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the flag's use, display, and disposal. For example, the flag should never be [[Flag dipping|dipped]] to any person or thing, unless it is the [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation. This tradition may come from the [[1908 Summer Olympics]] in London, where countries were asked to dip their flag to [[Edward VII|King Edward VII]]: the American flag bearer did not. Team captain [[Martin Sheridan]] is famously quoted as saying, "this flag dips to no earthly king", though the true provenance of this quotation is unclear.<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv7n3/JOHv7n3i.pdf LA84 Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909224103/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv7n3/JOHv7n3i.pdf |date=September 9, 2008 }}. (PDF). Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070219000252/http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/06/24/olympics_history_feature.shtml London Olympics 1908 & 1948]. BBC. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>

The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and should be illuminated if flown at night. The flag should be repaired or replaced if the edges become tattered through wear. When a flag is so tattered that it can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Properly Dispose of Worn-Out U.S. Flags |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/article/2206946/how-to-properly-dispose-of-worn-out-us-flags/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.defense.gov%2FNews%2FFeature-Stories%2FStory%2FArticle%2F2206946%2Fhow-to-properly-dispose-of-worn-out-us-flags%2F |access-date=October 22, 2023 |website=U.S. Department of Defense |language=en-US}}</ref> The American Legion and other organizations regularly conduct flag retirement ceremonies, often on Flag Day, June 14. (The [[Boy Scouts of America]] recommends that modern nylon or polyester flags be recycled instead of burned due to hazardous gases produced when such materials are burned.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://boyslife.org/about-scouts/scouting-around/16380/consider-recycling-not-burning-a-retired-flag/ |title=Consider Recycling, not Burning, a Retired Flag |publisher=[[Boy Scouts of America]] |year=2012 |access-date=July 6, 2012}}</ref>

The [[United States Flag Code|Flag Code]] prohibits using the flag "for any advertising purpose" and also states that the flag "should not be embroidered, printed, or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use".<ref>4 U.S.Code Sec. 8(i).</ref> Both of these codes are generally ignored, almost always without comment.

Section 8, entitled "Respect For Flag", states in part: "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery", and "No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform". Section 3 of the Flag Code<ref>4 U.S.Code Chapter 1&nbsp;Sec. 3.</ref> defines "the flag" as anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag of the United States of America". An additional provision that is frequently violated at sporting events is part (c) "The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free."<ref name="What does it mean to disrespect the U.S. Flag?">{{cite web |url=https://www.brandingthenations.com/blog/what-does-it-mean-to-disrespect-the-us-flag |title=What Does It Mean To Disrespect The U.S. Flag |last1=Green |first1=Michael |date=June 13, 2019 |website=brandingthenations.com |access-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref>

Although the Flag Code is U.S. federal law, there is no penalty for a private citizen or group failing to comply with the Flag Code, and it is not widely enforced—punitive enforcement would conflict with the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] right to [[freedom of speech]].<ref>''[[Texas v. Johnson]]'', 491 U.S. 397 (1989); ''[[United States v. Eichman]]'', 496 U.S. 310 (1990).</ref> Passage of the proposed [[Flag Desecration Amendment]] would overrule the legal precedent that has been established.

===Display on vehicles===
[[File:9121 Truck with Backwards Flag Sticker.jpg|thumb|Truck with sticker showing the flag as if moving forward with the truck]]
When the flag is affixed to the right side of a vehicle of any kind (e.g., cars, boats, planes, any physical object that moves), it should be oriented so that the canton is towards the front of the vehicle, as if the flag were streaming backward from its hoist as the vehicle moves forward. Therefore, U.S. flag [[decal]]s on the right sides of vehicles may appear to be reversed, with the union to the observer's right instead of left as more commonly seen.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The flag has been displayed on every U.S. spacecraft designed for crewed flight starting from [[Mercury-Atlas 6|John Glenn's ''Friendship 7'' flight]] in 1962, including [[Project Mercury|Mercury]], [[Project Gemini|Gemini]], [[Apollo Command/Service Module]], [[Apollo Lunar Module]], and the [[Space Shuttle]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Flag Day – Flying High: The Stars and Stripes in Space |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/flag-day-flying-high-the-stars-and-stripes-in-space |website=NASA |date=June 11, 2019 |access-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref> The flag also appeared on the [[S-IC]] first stage of the [[Saturn V]] launch vehicle used for Apollo. Nevertheless, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were launched and landed vertically instead of horizontally as the Space Shuttle did on its landing approach, so the streaming convention was not followed. These flags were oriented with the stripes running horizontally, perpendicular to the direction of flight.

===Display on uniforms===
On some U.S. military uniforms, flag patches are worn on the right shoulder, following the vehicle convention with the union toward the front. This rule dates back to the Army's early history when mounted cavalry and infantry units would designate a standard-bearer who carried the Colors into battle. As he charged, his forward motion caused the flag to stream back. Since the Stars and Stripes are mounted with the canton closest to the pole, that section stayed to the right, while the stripes flew to the left.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thebalancecareers.com/why-is-the-u-s-flag-worn-backwards-on-army-uniforms-3357002 |title=Why the U.S. Flag Is Worn Backward on Army Uniforms |website=The Balance |publisher=[[Dotdash]] |date=September 23, 2019 |first=Stewart |last=Smith |access-date=April 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519154639/https://www.thebalancecareers.com/why-is-the-u-s-flag-worn-backwards-on-army-uniforms-3357002 }}</ref> Several U.S. military uniforms, such as flight suits worn by members of the United States Air Force and Navy, have the flag patch on the left shoulder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi36-2903/afi36-2903.pdf|title=SUBJECT: Air Force Guidance Memorandum to AFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel|website=Static.e-publishing.af.mil|access-date=October 15, 2017|archive-date=November 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102090647/http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi36-2903/afi36-2903.pdf}}</ref><ref name="navytimes">{{cite web|url=http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/09/navy-aviators-ditch-new-flight-suit-wear-rules-092611w/ | title=Navy aviators ditch new flight suit wear rules|website=Navy Times|access-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref>

Other organizations that wear flag patches on their uniforms can have the flag facing in either direction. The [[congressional charter]] of the Boy Scouts of America stipulates that [[Uniform and insignia of the Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scout uniforms]] should not imitate U.S. military uniforms; consequently, the flags are displayed on the right shoulder with the stripes facing front, the reverse of the military style.<ref name="scouting">{{cite web |url=http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/03/11/ask-the-expert-is-the-american-flag-backward-on-scout-uniforms/ |title=Is the American flag 'backward' on Scout uniforms? |last1=Self |first1=Peter |date=March 11, 2014 |work=[[Scouting (magazine)|Scouting]]|access-date=November 18, 2014 |quote="Imitation of United States Army, Navy or Marine Corps uniforms is prohibited, in accordance with the provisions of the organization's Congressional Charter."}}</ref> Law enforcement officers often wear a small flag patch, either on a shoulder or above a shirt pocket.

Every U.S. [[astronaut]] since the crew of [[Gemini 4]] has worn the flag on the left shoulder of their [[space suits]], except for the crew of [[Apollo 1]], whose flags were worn on the right shoulder. In this case, the canton was on the left.

<gallery widths="180" heights="160">
File:Amflagurban.jpg|A subdued-color [[flag patch]], similar to the style worn on the United States Army's [[ACU uniform]]. The patch is customarily worn reversed on the right upper sleeve.
File:Neil Armstrong pose.jpg|Flag of the United States on American astronaut [[Neil Armstrong]]'s space suit
File:160803-N-RY232-012 - United States Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type III U.S. flag patch.png|Patch with the union to the front, as seen on a [[Navy Working Uniform|Navy uniform]]
</gallery>

===Postage stamps===
[[File:US Flags green (cropped).jpg|thumb|Flags depicted on U.S. postage stamp issues]]
[[File:George W. Bush Star-Spangled Banner.jpg|alt=Image of the Star-spangled-banner flag in the National Museum of American History, being observed By George W. bush|thumb|Image of the [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|Star-Spangled Banner flag]] in the [[National Museum of American History]], being observed by [[George W. Bush]]]]
The flag did not appear on U.S. postal stamp issues until the [[Battle of White Plains#Aftermath|Battle of White Plains]] Issue was released in 1926, depicting the flag with a circle of 13 stars. The 48-star flag first appeared on the General [[Casimir Pulaski]] issue of 1931, though in a [[:File:General Pulaski 1931 Issue-2c.jpg|small monochrome depiction]]. The first U.S. postage stamp to feature the flag as the sole subject was issued July 4, 1957, [[Scott catalog]] number 1094.<ref>Scott's Specialized Catalogue of United States Postage Stamps.</ref> Since then, the flag has frequently appeared on U.S. stamps.

===Display in museums===
In 1907, Eben Appleton, New York stockbroker and grandson of Lieutenant Colonel [[George Armistead]] (the commander of Fort McHenry during the 1814 bombardment), loaned the [[Star-Spangled Banner Flag]] to the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. In 1912 he converted the loan into a gift. Appleton donated the flag with the wish that it would always be on view to the public. In 1994, the [[National Museum of American History]] determined that the [[Star-Spangled Banner Flag]] required further conservation treatment to remain on public display. In 1998 teams of museum conservators, curators, and other specialists helped move the flag from its home in the Museum's Flag Hall into a new conservation laboratory. Following the reopening of the [[National Museum of American History]] on November 21, 2008, the flag is now on display in a special exhibition, "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem," where it rests at a 10-degree angle in dim light for conservation purposes.<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite web|url=http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/ |title=The Star-Spangled Banner Online Exhibition |publisher=National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution |access-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref>

===Places of continuous display===
[[File:US Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Monument) near Washington DC.jpg|thumb|[[Marine Corps War Memorial]], Arlington, Virginia]]
[[File:Americanflags.jpg|thumb|Flags covering the [[National Mall]]]]
[[File:AS15-88-11866 - Apollo 15 flag, rover, LM, Irwin - restoration1.jpg|thumb|Astronaut [[James Irwin]] salutes the flag during the 1971 [[Apollo 15]] lunar mission.]]
U.S. flags are displayed continuously at certain locations by presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom.
* Replicas of the [[Star-Spangled Banner Flag]] (15 stars, 15 stripes) are flown at two sites in [[Baltimore]], Maryland: [[Fort McHenry|Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine]]<ref>[[s:Proclamation 2795|Presidential Proclamation No. 2795]], July 2, 1948 [https://archive.today/20120707025814/http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=image;size=100;id=mdp.39015073075999;page=root;seq=224;num=212 Code of Federal Regulations of the United States, Title 3 Compilation (1943–1948)], HathiTrust, Google Books/University of Michigan scan, pages 212–213.</ref> and [[Flag House Square]].<ref>Public Law 83-319, approved March 26, 1954.</ref>
* [[Marine Corps War Memorial]] ([[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]), [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]].<ref>Presidential Proclamation No. 3418, June 12, 1961.</ref>
* The [[Lexington Battle Green|Battle Green]] in [[Lexington, Massachusetts]], site of the first shots fired in the Revolution<ref>Public Law 89-335, approved November 8, 1965.</ref>
* The [[White House]], Washington, D.C.<ref>Presidential Proclamation No. 4000, September 4, 1970.</ref>
* Fifty U.S. flags are displayed continuously at the [[Washington Monument]], Washington, D.C.<ref>Presidential Proclamation No. 4064, July 6, 1971, effective July 4, 1971.</ref>
* At continuously open [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] Ports of Entry.<ref>Presidential Proclamation No. 4131, May 5, 1972.</ref>
* A Civil War era flag (for the year 1863) flies above [[Pennsylvania Hall (Gettysburg)|Pennsylvania Hall]] (Old Dorm) at [[Gettysburg College]].<ref>[http://www.gettysburg.edu/news_events/news_detail.dot?inode=2746067&pageTitle=34-star+flag+flies+over+Gettysburg+College+without+Congressional+approval Gettysburg College – News Detail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617041330/http://www.gettysburg.edu/news_events/news_detail.dot?inode=2746067&pageTitle=34-star+flag+flies+over+Gettysburg+College+without+Congressional+approval |date=June 17, 2010 }}. Gettysburg.edu. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref> This building, occupied by both sides at various points of the [[Battle of Gettysburg]], served as a lookout and battlefield hospital.
* Grounds of the National Memorial Arch in [[Valley Forge National Historical Park|Valley Forge NHP]], Valley Forge, Pennsylvania<ref>[[s:Public Law 94-53|Pub. L. 94−53]], 89 Stat. 259, S.J.Res. 98, approved July 4, 1975.</ref>
* By custom, at the Maryland home, birthplace, and grave of [[Francis Scott Key]]; at the [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] war memorial; at the [[Taos Plaza|plaza]] in [[Taos, New Mexico]] (since 1861); at the [[United States Capitol]] (since 1918); and at [[Mount Moriah Cemetery (South Dakota)|Mount Moriah Cemetery]] in [[Deadwood, South Dakota]].
* [[Newark Liberty International Airport]]'s Terminal A, Gate 17 (2001&ndash;2021)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ocscanner.news/2021/09/11/flag-flying-at-newark-airport-terminal-honoring-flight-93-victims-retired-today-after-20-years/ |title=Flag Flying at Newark Airport Terminal Honoring Flight 93 Victims Retired Today After 20 Years |date=September 11, 2021 |website=Ocean County Scanner News |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322042913/https://ocscanner.news/2021/09/11/flag-flying-at-newark-airport-terminal-honoring-flight-93-victims-retired-today-after-20-years/ }}</ref> and [[Boston Logan Airport]]'s Terminal B, Gate 32, and Terminal C, Gate 19 in memoriam of the events of [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wbur.org/morningedition/2016/09/08/logan-memorial |title=At Logan, Some 9/11 Tributes Go Unnoticed By Most Of The Flying Public |last=Guzman |first=Dan |date=September 8, 2016 |website=wbur.org |access-date=March 22, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Slover Mountain]] ([[Colton Liberty Flag]]), in [[Colton, California]]. July 4, 1917, to {{Circa|1952}} & 1997 to 2012.<ref>With the consent of Congress, [http://www.press-enterprise.com/news/NEWS_nmark17.html Old Glory kept perpetual shine] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717175759/http://www.press-enterprise.com/news/NEWS_nmark17.html |date=July 17, 2011 }}, PE Press Archive.</ref><ref>With the consent of Congress, [http://www.sbsun.com/livinghere/ci_9262629 Slover Mountain], The Sun, May 14, 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518164411/http://www.sbsun.com/livinghere/ci_9262629 |date=May 18, 2013 }}</ref><ref>By Act of Congress. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060510004229/http://www.calportland.com/coltons-libertyflag.htm California Portland Cement Co]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calportland.com/about/media-center/|title=Calportland Media Center|website=Calportland.com|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref>
* At the ceremonial South Pole as one of the 12 flags representing the signatory countries of the original Antarctic Treaty.
* On the Moon: six crewed missions successfully landed at various locations and each had a flag raised at the site. Exhaust gases when the Ascent Stage launched to return the astronauts to [[Apollo Command/Service Module|their Command Module ''Columbia'']] for return to Earth blew over the flag the [[Apollo 11]] mission had placed.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Space.com]]|url=https://www.space.com/16798-american-flags-moon-apollo-photos.html|title=Apollo Moon Landing Flags Still Standing, Photos Reveal|first= Clara|last= Moskowitz|author-link= Clara Moskowitz |date=July 27, 2012|access-date=January 14, 2019}}</ref>

===Particular days for display===
[[File:NewYorkStockExchangeWallStreetManhattan.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[New York Stock Exchange]] at Christmas time]]
The flag should especially be displayed on the following days:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/6|title=4 U.S. Code § 6 – Time and occasions for display|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref>
* January: 1 (New Year's Day), third Monday of the month ([[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]]), and 20 ([[Inauguration Day]], once every four years, which, by tradition, is postponed to the 21st if the 20th falls on a Sunday)
* February: 12 ([[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]]'s birthday) and the third Monday (legally known as [[Washington's Birthday]] but more often called [[Presidents' Day]])
* March–April: [[Easter Sunday]] (date varies)
* May: Second Sunday ([[Mother's Day]]), third Saturday ([[Armed Forces Day#United States|Armed Forces Day]]), and last Monday ([[Memorial Day]]; half-staff until noon)
* June: 14 ([[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]]), third Sunday ([[Father's Day (United States)|Father's Day]])
* July: 4 ([[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]])
* September: First Monday (Labor Day), 17 ([[Constitution Day and Citizenship Day]]), and last Sunday (Gold Star Mother's Day)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36/111|title=36 U.S. Code § 111 – Gold Star Mother's Day|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref>
* October: Second Monday ([[Columbus Day]]) and 27 ([[Navy Day#United States|Navy Day]])
* November: 11 ([[Veterans Day]]) and fourth Thursday ([[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving Day]])
* December: 25 (Christmas Day)
* and such other days as may be proclaimed by the president of the United States; the [[List of U.S. states by date of statehood|birthdays of states]] (date of admission); and on state holidays.<ref>[http://www.mdva.state.mn.us/FlagStatus.htm MDVA: Flag Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406025617/http://www.mdva.state.mn.us/FlagStatus.htm |date=April 6, 2013 }}. Mdva.state.mn.us. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>

===Display at half-staff===
[[File:Flight 93 gate flag.jpg|thumb|An American flag now flies at half-staff over Gate 17 of Terminal A at [[Newark Liberty International Airport]] in [[Newark, New Jersey]], departure gate of [[United Airlines Flight 93]] on [[9/11]].]]
[[File:The United States Flag Flies at Half-Staff Atop the White House (48918934896).jpg|thumb|The flag at half-staff on the White House.]]

The flag is displayed at half-staff ([[half-mast]] in naval usage) as a sign of respect or mourning. Nationwide, this action is proclaimed by the president; statewide or territory-wide, the proclamation is made by the governor. In addition, there is no prohibition against municipal governments, private businesses, or citizens flying the flag at half-staff as a local sign of respect and mourning. However, many flag enthusiasts feel this type of practice has somewhat diminished the meaning of the original intent of lowering the flag to honor those who held high positions in federal or state offices. President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] issued the first proclamation on March 1, 1954, standardizing the dates and periods for flying the flag at half-staff from all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels; other congressional resolutions and presidential proclamations ensued. However, they are only guidelines to all other entities: typically followed at state and local government facilities and encouraged of private businesses and citizens.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

To properly fly the flag at half-staff, one should first briefly hoist it top of the staff, then lower it to the half-staff position, halfway between the top and bottom of the staff. Similarly, when the flag is to be lowered from half-staff, it should be first briefly hoisted to the top of the staff.<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/4/7(f).html U.S. Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, §7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107075721/http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/4/7(f).html |date=November 7, 2011 }}.</ref>

Federal statutes provide that the flag should be flown at half-staff on the following dates:

* May 15: [[Peace Officers Memorial Day]] (unless it is the third Saturday in May, [[Armed Forces Day]], then full-staff)<ref>[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+36USC136 36 U.S.C. Sec. 136] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230181947/https://www.govinfo.gov/app/browse/category |date=December 30, 2022 }}. None. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>
* Last Monday in May: [[Memorial Day]] (until noon)
* [[September 11 attacks|September 11]]: [[Patriot Day]]<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050909-12.html Patriot Day, 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712041859/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050909-12.html |date=July 12, 2017 }}. Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>
* First Sunday in October: Start of [[Fire Prevention Week]], in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service.<ref>[http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/more/pl107-51.htm Public Law 107-51] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207155509/http://ushistory.org/BETSY/more/pl107-51.htm |date=February 7, 2009 }}. Ushistory.org. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref><ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-Fire-Prevention-Week Presidential Proclamation Fire Prevention Week {{!}} The White House] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031094701/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-Fire-Prevention-Week |date=October 31, 2009 }}. White House. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>
* December 7: National [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] Remembrance Day<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071204-9.html National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712042241/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071204-9.html |date=July 12, 2017 }}. Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved May 27, 2011.</ref>
* For 30 days: Death of a president or former president
* For 10 days: Death of a vice president, Supreme Court chief justice/retired chief justice, or speaker of the House of Representatives.
* From death until the day of interment: Supreme Court associate justice, member of the Cabinet, former vice president, [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president ‘’pro tempore’’]] of the Senate, or the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. Also, for federal facilities within a state or territory, for the governor.
* On the day after the death: Members of Congress, territorial delegates, or the resident commissioner of the Commonwealth of [[Puerto Rico]]

===Desecration===
[[File:US flag burning.jpg|thumb|upright|U.S. flag being burned in protest on the eve of the 2008 election]]
{{further|Flag desecration#United States}}
The flag of the United States is sometimes burned as a cultural or political statement, in protest of the policies of the U.S. government, or for other reasons, both within the U.S. and abroad. The [[United States Supreme Court]] in ''[[Texas v. Johnson]]'', {{ussc|491|397|1989}}, and reaffirmed in ''[[United States v. Eichman|U.S. v. Eichman]]'', {{ussc|496|310|1990}}, has ruled that due to the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]], it is unconstitutional for a government (whether federal, state, or municipal) to prohibit the desecration of a flag, due to its status as "[[symbolic speech]]." However, [[content-neutral restrictions]] may still be imposed to regulate the time, place, and manner of such expression. If the flag that was burned was someone else's property (as it was in the ''Johnson'' case, since Johnson had stolen the flag from a Texas bank's flagpole), the offender could be charged with petty [[larceny]], or with destruction of private property, or possibly both.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===Flying a U.S. flag upside down===

{{see also|Distress signal#Inverted flags}}

[[File:Upside-down US flag at Hands Off rally in Olympia, WA (2025) - 0707.jpg|thumb|An upside down U.S. flag at a protest in [[Olympia, Washington]]]]

The original meaning of displaying a U.S. flag upside down is "a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|4|8}} (United States Flag Code) "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."</ref>

More recently, it has been used by extension to make a statement about distress in civic, political, or other areas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Upside Down US Flag|url=https://www.jeffhead.com/liberty/flagdistress.htm|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=jeffhead.com}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> It is most often meant as political protest, and is usually interpreted as such. The musical group [[Rage Against the Machine]], a group known for songs expressing [[Political views and activism of Rage Against the Machine|revolutionary political views]], displayed two upside-down American flags from their amplifiers on the April 13, 1996, episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. This was intended to indicate protest about the host, billionaire businessman [[Steve Forbes]]. The flags were ripped down by stagehands about 20 seconds before the group's performance of "[[Bulls on Parade]]". Afterward, show officials asked band members to leave the building as they were waiting in their dressing room to perform "[[Bullet in the Head (song)|Bullet in the Head]]" later in the show.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-21-ca-60908-story.html|title=Just Further Fueling the Rage|date=April 21, 1996|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

Flying flags upside down has been used as a sign of protest against U.S. presidents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/why-i-fly-the-flag-upside-down/ |title=Why I fly the flag upside down |date=March 3, 2017 |newspaper=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

In 2020, as [[George Floyd protests|protests]] spread across the U.S. demanding an end to police brutality, some U.S. citizens chose to fly their flags upside down as part of the protests.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ezzone |first1=Zac |title=Santa Maria resident's upside-down flag protest bothers neighbors |url=https://www.newtimesslo.com/SLOthevirus/archives/2020/06/02/santa-maria-residents-upside-down-flag-protest-bothers-neighbors |access-date=May 25, 2024 |work=New Times San Luis Obispo |date=June 2, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020–21, some individuals in the "[[Stop the Steal]]" movement flew upside down flags to protest the 2020 presidential election amid claims it was rigged against [[Donald Trump]]. Such a flag was flown at the home of Supreme Court justice [[Samuel Alito]] in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kantor |first=Jodi |date=May 16, 2024 |title=At Justice Alito's House, a 'Stop the Steal' Symbol on Display |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/justice-alito-upside-down-flag.html |access-date=May 17, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525102619/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/justice-alito-upside-down-flag.html|archive-date=May 25, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jouvenal |first1=Justin |last2=Marimow |first2=Ann E. |title=Wife of Justice Alito called upside-down flag 'signal of distress' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/25/alito-flag-martha-ann-washington-post/ |access-date=May 25, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 25, 2024}}</ref> The upside-down flag was frequently flown in response to Trump's [[Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York|conviction of 34 felonies]] by his right-wing supporters.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bowman |first=Emma |title=The upside-down American flag goes mainstream as a form of right-wing protest |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/06/03/nx-s1-4987590/upside-down-american-flag-protest-symbol-history |language=en-US |access-date=June 23, 2024 |publisher=NPR |date=June 3, 2024|archive-date=June 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614195618/https://www.npr.org/2024/06/03/nx-s1-4987590/upside-down-american-flag-protest-symbol-history|url-status=live}}</ref>

On February 22, 2025, a giant upside down flag was dropped in Yosemite park by staff recently fired by the Trump administration. Rallies held on March 1, 2025, also saw upside down flags dropped from iconic spots during a day of action in numerous national parks opposing reductions in staff and protections for public lands.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=McIntyre |first1=Iain |last2=Commons Librarian |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Where to Fight Back: Lessons from US Anti-Coup Actions |url=https://commonslibrary.org/where-to-fight-back-lessons-from-us-anti-coup-actions/ |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==Folding for storage==

[[file:fold-us-flag-animated.gif|thumb|Folding the U.S. flag]]

Though not part of the official Flag Code, according to military custom,{{according to whom|date=July 2024}} flags should be folded into a triangular shape when not in use. To properly fold the flag:

# Begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground.
# Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely.
# Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside.
# Make a rectangular fold then a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open top edge of the flag, starting the fold from the left side over to the right.
# Turn the outer end point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle.
# The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner (usually thirteen triangular folds, as shown at right). On the final fold, any remnant that does not neatly fold into a triangle (or in the case of exactly even folds, the last triangle) is tucked into the previous fold.
# When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.

There is also no specific meaning for each fold of the flag. However, there are scripts read by non-government organizations and also by the Air Force that are used during the flag folding ceremony. These scripts range from historical timelines of the flag to religious themes.<ref>{{cite web
 | url          = http://mortuary.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100317-022.pdf
 | title        = Flag Folding Ceremony Air Force Script
 | access-date  = December 25, 2012
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130217183234/http://mortuary.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100317-022.pdf
 | archive-date = February 17, 2013
| df           = mdy-all
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url          = http://legion.org/flag/folding
 | title        = Flag-Folding Procedures &#124; The American Legion
 | publisher    = Legion.org
 | access-date  = September 8, 2013
}}</ref>

==Use in funerals==
[[File:Flag funeral.jpg|thumb|A flag prepared for presentation to the next of kin]]
Traditionally, the flag of the United States plays a role in [[military funeral]]s,<ref name="ANC">{{cite web|url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/ceremonies/military_funerals.html |title=Sequence of Events for an Army Honors Funeral At Arlington National Cemetery |publisher=[[Arlington National Cemetery]] |access-date=February 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125050451/http://arlingtoncemetery.org/ceremonies/military_funerals.html |archive-date=January 25, 2009 }}</ref> and occasionally in funerals of other civil servants (such as law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and U.S. presidents). A burial flag is draped over the deceased's casket as a [[Pall (cloth)|pall]] during services. Just prior to the casket being lowered into the ground, the flag is ceremonially folded and presented to the deceased's next of kin as a token of respect.<ref name="VANG">{{cite web|url=http://www.vi.ngb.army.mil/html/content/Flags/Flag_Presentation.htm |title=Flag Presentation Protocol |publisher=[[Virginia Army National Guard]] |access-date=February 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511023846/http://www.vi.ngb.army.mil/html/content/Flags/Flag_Presentation.htm |archive-date=May 11, 2009 }}</ref>

==Surviving historical flags==
This is a list of surviving flags that have been displayed at or otherwise associated with notable historical battles or events.

===Revolutionary War===
* '''Forster Flag''' (1775) – Historians believe the Manchester Company of the First Essex County Militia Regiment carried this flag during the battles of [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]] on April 19, 1775. The militia unit was activated but was not involved in the day's fighting. This flag is historic because it is the oldest surviving flag depicting the 13 colonies. This flag may have been a British ensign flag that had its Union Jack removed and replaced with 13 white stripes before or after the battles of [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]]. The slight variation in the canton area suggests something else might have been sewn into place before.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Studio|first=Inside The Conservator's|date=April 2, 2014|title=The Forster Flag, and the conservation of a Revolutionary War textile|url=http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-forster-flag.html|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Inside the Conservator's Studio}}</ref> The flag gets its name from Samuel Forster, a First Lieutenant in the Manchester Company. He took possession of the flag, and his descendants passed it down until donating it to the American Flag Heritage Foundation in 1975, two hundred years later.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Historic Forster Flag Auction in New York |url=https://doyle.com/auctions/14ff01-forster-flag/historic-forster-flag|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Doyle Auction House }}</ref> In April 2014, the foundation sold the flag at auction.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Forster Flag sold |url=https://www.flagheritagefoundation.org/news/forster-flag-sold/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=The Flag Heritage Foundation }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Forster Flag |website=Manchester Historical Museum|url=https://manchesterhistoricalmuseum.org/forsters-flag/|access-date=October 8, 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=April 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423013345/https://manchesterhistoricalmuseum.org/forsters-flag/}}</ref>
* '''Westmoreland Flag''' (1775?) – Flag used by the 1st Battalion of [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]]. In 1774 the town of Hanna, the county seat of Westmoreland County, began preparations for a conflict with the mother country as tensions between the two sides began to heat up. The town decided in May 1775, following the battles of Lexington and Concord, to create two battalions. The town sheriff, John Proctor, would have command over the 1st, and the unit would see action at Trenton and Princeton. Due to the flag's remarkable condition, it is speculated that it never flew in many battles, if at all. The flag is said to have been made in the fall of 1775 from a standard British red ensign. This flag is one of two surviving revolutionary flags that feature a coiled rattlesnake, along with the flag of the United Company of the Train of Artillery. After the war in 1810, Alexander Craig, a captain in the 2nd battalion, was given the flag. It would stay with the Craig family until donated to the Pennsylvania State Library in 1914.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Burke|first=Mike|date=June 14, 2018|title=Don't Tread on Me: The Flag of Colonel John Proctor's 1st Battalion of Westmoreland County, Pa.|url=https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/fort-pitt-museum/dont-tread-on-me|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Home|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=July 23, 2015|title=Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (U.S.) Colonel John Proctor's 1st Battalion Flag 1791–1793|url=https://americanrelichysteries.wordpress.com/westmoreland-county-pennsylvania-u-s-colonel-john-proctors-1st-battalion-flag-1791-1793/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=American Relic Hysteries|language=en}}</ref>
* '''[[Brandywine flag]]''' (1777) – This flag is stated in most research as being the flag of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment. However, the [[Independence National Historical Park]], which currently owns the flag, states it is the flag of the Chester County Militia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=In honor of #FlagDay|work=X (formerly Twitter) |url=https://mobile.twitter.com/independencenhp/status/1270763620960534543|access-date=October 8, 2021|via=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2025}} The flags gets its name for being used at the [[Battle of Brandywine]] which took place on September 11, 1777, less than three months after the passage of the first [[Flag Acts|flag act]] making it one of the earliest stars and stripes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Brandywine flag used by the Chester County Militia|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/independencenhp/status/776074784329326592|access-date=October 8, 2021|via=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 4, 2012|title=Textile Conservation of the Brandywine Flag|url=http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-white-and-not-blue.html|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Inside the Conservator's Studio}}</ref>
* '''Dansey Flag''' (1777) – Flag used by a Delaware militia early in the war. Before the Battle of Brandywine, a soldier with the British 33rd Regiment of foote named William Dansey captured the militia's flag during a skirmish in Newark, Delaware. Dansey would take the flag back to England as a war trophy. It would remain in his family until 1927, after being auctioned off to the Delaware Historical Society. This flag would have been one of the earliest to use 13 stripes to represent the united colonies. Another interesting note about this flag is that it was most likely a Division color instead of being used by one militia regiment.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Byrne|first=Tom|title=Enlighten Me: Reuniting pieces of the First State's Revolutionary history|url=https://www.delawarepublic.org/post/enlighten-me-reuniting-pieces-first-state-s-revolutionary-history|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=delawarepublic.org|date=August 30, 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Object Record|url=https://dehistory.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/D72D47FD-4FA1-4FEA-AED8-711438271400 |website=Delaware Historical Society}}</ref>
* '''First Pennsylvania Rifles Flag''' (1776?) – Battle colors for the First Pennsylvania Regiment This regiment, also known as the First Pennsylvania Rifles, was formed in 1775 following an act passed by the Continental Congress calling for ten companies of marksmen. The regiment would participate in many significant battles during the Revolution, such as the siege of Boston, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Monmouth. They would be dissolved in November 1783 following the treaty of Paris. The earliest mention of this flag was mentioned in a 1776 letter by one of its soldiers. The flag would be with the unit until the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Weathered Revolutionary War flag to unfold its story {{!}} The State Museum of Pennsylvania|url=http://statemuseumpa.org/pennsylvania-icons-revolutionary-war-flag/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=statemuseumpa.org|archive-date=October 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009001441/http://statemuseumpa.org/pennsylvania-icons-revolutionary-war-flag/}}</ref>
* '''Third New York Regiment Flag''' (1779) – The Third New York was formed in 1775 on five-month enlistments that expired later that year. In 1776 however, the regiment would be re-established twice, once in January and the other in December. During the war, the Third New York saw action in Canada, White Plains, and New York, during which it participated in the [[Siege of Fort Stanwix|defense of Fort Stanwix]]. In 1780 the soldiers of the third were transferred over to the 1st New York Regiment. While not the most famous of regiments in turns of battles fought, it does leave behind a legacy that can be seen in the flag of New York. In 1778 New York adopted a [[Coat of arms of New York|coat of arms]] for the state. The following year, the regiment's colonel [[Peter Gansevoort]] gifted the unit a blue regimental flag bearing the newly adopted arms. This flag would serve as the basis of the current [[Flag of New York (state)|flag of New York]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 3rd New York Regiment of the Continental Line 1777–1781 – Fort Stanwix National Monument |url=https://www.nps.gov/fost/learn/historyculture/the-3rd-new-york-regiment-of-the-continental-line-1777-1781.htm|access-date=October 8, 2021|website= U.S. National Park Service |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 3rd New York Regiment of the Continental Line 1777–1781 (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-3rd-new-york-regiment-of-the-continental-line-1777-1781.htm|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=nps.gov|language=en}}</ref>

===War of 1812===
* [[Star-Spangled Banner (flag)|'''Star Spangled Banner Flag''']] (1814) – Flag that flew over [[Fort McHenry]] during a British bombardment in the War of 1812. This flag is depicted by [[Francis Scott Key]] in the song "Star-Spangled Banner" which would later become the national anthem of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Star-Spangled Banner|url=https://www.si.edu/spotlight/flag-day/banner-facts|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Smithsonian Institution|language=en}}</ref> Details : 30 x 34&nbsp;ft. (Currently) 15 horizontal stripes alternating red and white stripes 14 stars (one missing) Stars arranged in a staggered 3-3-3-3-3 pattern

===Antebellum Period===
* '''Fillmore Flag''' — A historic [[Bennington flag]] currently maintained by the [[Bennington Museum]], held to be an heirloom from president [[Millard Fillmore]]'s family. Though it is sometimes taken to be an authentic artifact of the [[Battle of Bennington]], curators date it no earlier than the 19th century based on its construction. The Bennington Museum estimates it was made sometime between 1812 and 1820, though one estimate places it as late as 1876.<ref name="Bennington">{{cite web|title=A60 Flag |work=Highlights From The Collection |url=http://www.benningtonmuseum.com/vewebsite/exhibit1/e10002a.htm |date=March 6, 2007 |publisher=Bennington Museum |access-date=March 14, 2008 |quote=''Early Date'' 1812, ''Late Date'' 1820 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201256/http://www.benningtonmuseum.com/vewebsite/exhibit1/e10002a.htm |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Cooper">{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=Grace Rogers |title=Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to identification|url=https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/2420|access-date=March 14, 2008 |series=Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology • Number 21 |date=November 6, 1973 |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] Press |location=Washington, D.C. |id=(GR113.072 929.9'0973 72-8229) |pages=29–30|hdl=10088/2420 }}</ref>
* '''[[Old Glory|Old Glory Flag]]''' – This flag was the first American Flag to be given the name "Old Glory". The flag was made in 1824 and was a gift to William Driver, a sea captain, by his mother. He named the flag 'Old Glory' and took it with him during his time at sea. In 1861 the flag's original stars were replaced with 34 new ones, and an anchor was added to the corner of the canton. During the Civil war, Driver hid his flag until Nashville became under union hands, to which he flew the flag above the Tennessee capitol building.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Old Glory flag|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_463145|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=National Museum of American History|language=en}}</ref>
* '''Matthew Perry Expedition Flag''' (1853) – On July 14, 1853, this flag was raised over [[Uraga, Kanagawa|Uraga]], Japan, during the [[Perry Expedition]], in doing so it became the first American Flag to officially fly in mainland Japan. In 1855 it was presented to the [[United States Naval Academy|US Naval Academy]]. In 1913 it received a linen backing during preservation treatments by [[Amelia Fowler]], who would also work on restoring the Star-Spangled Banner. Nearly a century after its historic voyage to Japan, in 1945, the flag once again returned and was present at the formal [[surrender of Japan]] on board the [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']] on September 2, 1945. Owing to its condition, it had to be presented on its reverse side. As of 2021, the U.S. Naval Academy possesses the flag.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Object 89: Perry's Flag, Present at Japanese 1853 Opening & WWII Surrender|url=https://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-89.php|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=usna.edu|language=en}}</ref>

===Civil War===
* '''[[Fort Sumter Flag]]''' (1861) – During the bombardment of [[Fort Sumter]] in April 1861, the flagpole was hit by artillery fire. The flag was raised again from a makeshift pole and was taken down after the Union garrison surrendered. The terms of surrender allowed the U.S. artillery to fire a salute for the flag. The flag was taken by the departing commander of the fort and was displayed to the public on a tour of the northern states. From this point, private citizens' display of the United States flag became much more common. Four years after the flag was lowered at Fort Sumter, it flew over the fort again on April 14, 1865, following the Confederate surrender. Later that day, [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Battle of Fort Sumter, April 1861 (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/battle-of-fort-sumter-april-1861.htm|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=nps.gov|language=en}}</ref>
* '''Abraham Lincoln Assassination Flag''' (1865) – Flag that was placed under the head of President Abraham Lincoln following his [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|fatal shooting]] while he was still in the presidential box.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Artifact of the Assassination: The Lincoln Flag and the Gourlay Family|url=https://tess.fords.org/artifact-of-the-assassination-the-lincoln-flag-and-the-gourlay-family/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Fords Theatre|date=May 21, 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

===Reconstruction===
* '''Little Big Horn Guidon''' – Guidon used by the [[7th Cavalry Regiment|7th U.S. Cavalry]] during the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn|Battle of Little Big Horn]] in 1876. The battle is infamous, for all U.S. cavalry troops engaged in battle were killed, including Lt. Col [[George Armstrong Custer|George A. Custer]]. Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson discovered this flag under the body of one of the slain soldiers. In 2010, this flag was sold for $2.2&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Matthew|title=Custer's 'Last Flag' sells for $2.2 million|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40608795|access-date=October 8, 2021|publisher=NBC News|date=December 10, 2010 |language=en}}</ref>

===World War II===
* '''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima Flag]]''' (1945) – American flag that was raised above [[Mount Suribachi]] during the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] in WW2. The photo of this flag being raised by U.S. Marines was captured in the 1945 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo ''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iconic Artifacts|url=https://www.usmcmuseum.com/iconic-artifacts.html|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=National Museum of the Marine Corps|language=en}}</ref>

===Cold War===
* '''''Freedom 7'' Flag''' (1961) – This American Flag flew on the ''[[Mercury-Redstone 3|Freedom 7]]'' mission to space, becoming the first American flag to leave the Earth's atmosphere. The flag was a last-minute addition after a local student council president asked a reporter if this flag could be taken on board. The reporter took it to the head of the NASA space task group, to which he agreed. In 1995, the flag was again taken to space to commemorate the [[STS-71|100th American crewed space mission]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flag, United States, Freedom 7 Flight|url=https://www.si.edu/object/flag-united-states-freedom-7-flight%3Anasm_A19840955000|access-date=October 9, 2021|website=Smithsonian Institution|language=en}}</ref>

===Modern day===
* '''[[Raising the Flag at Ground Zero|9/11 Flag]]''' (2001) – Flag is believed to have been from a [[yacht]] called ''Star of America'' owned by Shirley Dreifus and her late husband Spiros E. Kopelakis. The yacht and its flag were docked in the [[Hudson River]] on the morning of 9/11. The flag was later found by three members of the New York Fire Department, George Johnson, Billy Eisengrein, and Dan McWilliams, who raised it over the rubble on a tilted flag pole (thought to be from the grounds of the Marriot hotel). This was captured in a photograph taken by [[Thomas E. Franklin|Thomas Franklin]], who worked for the New Jersey–based newspaper ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]''. The photograph soon made its way to the Associated Press, and from there, it became shown worldwide on many newspapers' front pages. The photo has been compared to Joe Rosenthal's WW2 "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima". Lori Ginker and Ricky Flores captured other photos of the same event from different angles. Shortly after the famous photograph was taken, the flag disappeared. Another flag, thought to be the real one, was toured around the country, but it was later found that the size of this flag was not the same as the one in the photograph. The one in the photo was 3x5, while the one the city possessed was larger. The flag would remain missing for nearly 15 years until a man named Brian turned an American flag into a fire station along with its halyard. Investigators determined that his flag was genuine after comparing dust samples and event photographs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Returning the Ground Zero flag: How detectives solved the mystery of the missing Stars and Stripes|url=https://www.police1.com/sept11-20years/articles/returning-the-ground-zero-flag-how-detectives-solved-the-mystery-of-the-missing-stars-and-stripes-NL9stzsg777wgUkZ/|access-date=October 9, 2021|website=Police1|date=September 9, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Today the [[National September 11 Memorial & Museum|9/11 Memorial Museum]] possesses the flag.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iconic Ground Zero Flag Donated to 9/11 Memorial Museum {{!}} National September 11 Memorial & Museum|url=https://911memorial.org/connect/blog/iconic-ground-zero-flag-donated-911-memorial-museum|access-date=October 9, 2021|website=911memorial.org}}</ref>

==Related flags==
{{Main|List of flags of the United States}}
The U.S. flag has inspired many other flags for regions, political movements, and cultural groups, resulting in a [[Flag families#Stars and Stripes|stars and stripes flag family.]] The other national flags belonging to this family are those of [[Flag of Chile|Chile]], [[Flag of Cuba|Cuba]], [[Flag of Greece|Greece]], [[Flag of Liberia|Liberia]], [[Flag of Malaysia|Malaysia]], [[Flag of Togo|Togo]], and [[Flag of Uruguay|Uruguay]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Znamierowski |first=Alfred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwueMQEACAAJ |title=The World Encyclopedia of Flags: The Definitive Guide to International Flags, Banners, Standards and Ensigns, with Over 1400 Illustration |date=2013 |publisher=Lorenz Books |isbn=978-0-7548-2629-3 |page=114 |language=en}}</ref>

* Several [[Flags of the U.S. states and territories|flags of U.S. states and territories]] take elements from the American flag. Stars, stripes, and red, white, blue colors are common among U.S. state and territory flags.

* The [[Confederate States of America]] used a variety of [[flags of the Confederacy|flags]] inspired by the American flag.

* The [[flag of Bikini Atoll]] is symbolic of the islanders' belief that a great debt is still owed to the people of Bikini due to the United States government detonating a [[thermonuclear bomb]] on the island as part of the [[Castle Bravo]] test in 1954.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bikiniatoll.com/anthem.html |title=Bikinian Anthem & Flag |publisher=Bikiniatoll.com |date=March 1, 1954 |access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref>

* The [[First Brazilian Republic|Republic of the United States of Brazil]] briefly used a [[Flag of Brazil|flag]] inspired by the U.S. flag between November 15 and 19, 1889, proposed by the lawyer [[Ruy Barbosa]]. The flag had 13 green and yellow stripes, as well as a blue square with 21 white stars for the canton. The flag was vetoed by the then provisional president [[Marshal (Brazil)|Marshal]] [[Deodoro da Fonseca]] citing concerns that it looked too similar to the American flag.<ref name="Seysell">[http://www.ia.unesp.br/pos/arquivos-pos/bandeira.pdf Um estudo histórico perceptual: A Bandeira Brasileira sem Brasil] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726140124/http://www.ia.unesp.br/pos/arquivos-pos/bandeira.pdf |date=July 26, 2011 }} Seysell, Ricardo. Universidade Estadual Paulista, 2006. Retrieved October 10, 2010. {{in lang|pt}}.</ref> Likewise, several Brazilian states have [[List of Brazilian flags#First-level administrative divisions|flags]] that are reminiscent of the 1889 Brazilian national flag.

* The colors on the [[flag of the Philippines]] were influenced in part by the United States flag.

* In 1901, [[Mark Twain]] wrote a satirical essay titled ''[[To the Person Sitting in Darkness]]'', in which Twain sardonically suggested a flag for the American-controlled Philippines: "And as for a flag for the Philippine Province, it is easily managed. We can have a special one—our States do it: we can have just our usual flag, with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://guides.loc.gov/world-of-1898/mark-twain#:~:text=And%20as%20for%20a%20flag,the%20skull%20and%20cross%2Dbones. |title=World of 1898: International Perspectives on the Spanish American War / Mark Twain |author= |date= |work=Library of Congress |access-date=October 16, 2024}}</ref>

* The [[flag of Liberia]] bears a close resemblance, showing the origin of the country as having been founded by [[free people of color]] from North America, primarily the United States.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--staff author(s);no by-line-->|title=President Sirleaf Worships at Abyssinian Baptist Church; Pleads with African Americans to Serve as Ambassadors for Liberia|url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/2press.php?news_id=2329|date=September 23, 2012|access-date=July 16, 2014|publisher=Ministry of State Presidential Affairs, Executive Mansion, Government of Liberia|archive-date=July 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720040437/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/2press.php?news_id=2329}}</ref> The Liberian flag has 11 similar red and white stripes, which stand for the 11 signers of the [[Liberian Declaration of Independence]], as well as a blue square canton with one large white star.

* Despite [[Malaysia]] having no historical connections with the U.S., the [[flag of Malaysia]] greatly resembles the U.S. flag. Some theories posit that the [[Flag of the East India Company|flag]] of the [[East India Company|British East India Company]] influenced both the Malaysian and U.S. flag.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

* The [[flag of El Salvador]] from 1865 to 1912 was based on the flag of the United States, with a field of alternating blue and white stripes and a red canton containing white stars.<ref>
{{cite journal
| last       = Arbizú
| first      = Gregorio
| date       = May 4, 1865
| title      = Decreto del Gobierno designado los colores del pabellón nacional y atributos del escudo de armas de la república
| url        = https://www.diariooficial.gob.sv/diarios/1865/1865_Parte4.pdf
| journal    = El Constitucional (Diario Oficial)
| volume     = 1
| issue      = 82
| pages      = 1 (14 in Archives)
| language=Spanish
| access-date = June 14, 2021
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614134543/https://www.diariooficial.gob.sv/diarios/1865/1865_Parte4.pdf
| archive-date=June 14, 2021
}}
</ref>

* The [[flag of Brittany]] was inspired in part by the American flag.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Regionalism after Regionalisation (AUP Dissertation Series)|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-90-5629-428-1|page=223}}</ref>

* The [[flag of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus]], an unrecognized state that existed from 1917 to 1922, during the [[Russian Civil War]], was divided into seven horizontal stripes that altered between green and white. In the top right corner was placed a blue canton with seven five-pointed yellow stars.<ref>''The Flag Bulletin'', vol. 148. The Flag Research Center. 1992. p. 184.</ref> This flag is the bases for the [[flag of Abkhazia]].

* The [[flag of Ambazonia]] is the national flag of the unrecognized [[Ambazonia]]. It contains a circle of 13 stars, in the style of the Betsy Ross flag, as well as nine blue and white stripes.

<gallery>
File:Naval jack of the United States (2002–2019).svg|[[First Navy Jack]] of the United States
File:United States yacht flag.svg|United States yacht ensign
File:Flag of the Confederate States (1861–1863).svg|Stars and Bars flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863)
File:Flag of Liberia.svg|Flag of Liberia
File:Flag of Bikini Atoll.svg|Flag of Bikini Atoll
File:Flag of Brittany (Gwenn ha du).svg|Flag of Brittany
File:Flag of Brazil (November 1889).svg|Flag of Brazil (1889)
File:Flag of El Salvador (1875–1912).svg|Flag of El Salvador (1875–1912)
File:Flag of the Mountain Republic.svg|Flag of the MRNC (1917–1922)
</gallery>

==Unicode==
The flag of the United States is represented as the [[Unicode]] [[emoji]] sequence {{unichar|1F1FA|REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U}} and {{unichar|1F1F8|REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER S}}, making "🇺🇸".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://emojipedia.org/flag-for-united-states/|title=🇺🇸 Flag for United States Emoji|access-date=December 19, 2024|language=en}}</ref> Platforms also use the flag of the United States to represent the [[United States Minor Outlying Islands]] in the sequence {{unichar|1F1FA|REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U}} and {{unichar|1F1F2|REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U}}, making 🇺🇲.<ref>{{Cite web |title=🇺🇲 Flag: U.S. Outlying Islands Emoji {{!}} Meaning, Copy And Paste |url=https://emojipedia.org/flag-us-outlying-islands |access-date=2025-10-26 |website=Emojipedia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goswami |first=Samyak |date=2025-05-06 |title=Why Are There Two American Flag Emojis? |url=https://www.slashgear.com/1847930/two-american-flag-emojis-reason/ |access-date=2025-10-26 |website=SlashGear |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Ensign of the United States]]
* [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]]
* [[Flags of the Confederate States of America]]
* [[Flags of the United States Armed Forces]]
* [[Flags of the U.S. states and territories|Flags of the U.S. states]]
* [[Flag Desecration Amendment]]
* [[Fort Sumter Flag]]
* [[List of flags of the United States]]
* [[Nationalism in the United States]]
}}

===Article sections===
* [[Unit colors|Colors, standards and guidons § United States]]
* [[Flag desecration#United States|Flag desecration § United States]]

===Associated people===
* [[Robert Anderson (Union officer)|Robert Anderson]] (1805–1871), war hero who lowered the [[Fort Sumter Flag]], which became a national symbol
* [[Francis Bellamy]] (1855–1931), creator of the [[Pledge of Allegiance (United States)|Pledge of Allegiance]]
* [[Thomas E. Franklin]] (1966–present), photographer of ''Ground Zero Spirit'', better known as ''[[Raising the Flag at Ground Zero]]''
* [[Christopher Gadsden]] (1724–1805), after whom the [[Gadsden flag]] is named
* [[Francis Hopkinson]] (1737–1791), designed the U.S. flag in 1777
* [[Jasper Johns]] (born 1930), painter of ''[[Flag (painting)|Flag]]'' (1954–55), inspired by a dream of the flag
* [[George Preble]] (1816–1885), author of ''History of the American Flag'' (1872) and photographer of the Fort McHenry flag
* [[Joe Rosenthal]] (1911–2006), photographer of ''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]''
* [[Betsy Ross]] (1752–1836), said to have sewn the first U.S. flag in a popular legend, and after whom the [[Betsy Ross flag]] is named

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Allentown Art Museum. ''The American Flag in the Art of Our Country.'' Allentown Art Museum, 1976.
* {{cite journal |last=Ansoff |first=Peter |year=2006 |title=The Flag on Prospect Hill |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/raven/content/raven_2006_0013_0077_0100 |journal=Raven: A Journal of Vexillology |volume=13 |pages=77–100 |doi=10.5840/raven2006134 |issn=1071-0043|url-access=subscription }}
* Herbert Ridgeway Collins. ''Threads of History: Americana Recorded on Cloth 1775 to the Present.'' Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979.
* Grace Rogers Cooper. ''Thirteen-star Flags: Keys to Identification.'' Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.
* David D. Crouthers. ''Flags of American History.'' Hammond, 1978.
* {{cite journal |last=DeLear |first=Byron |year=2014 |title=Revisiting the Flag at Prospect Hill: Grand Union or Just British? |url=http://nava.org/digital-library/raven/Raven_v21_2014_p019-070.pdf |journal=Raven: A Journal of Vexillology |volume=21 |pages=19–70 |doi=10.5840/raven2014213 |issn = 1071-0043 }}
* Louise Lawrence Devine. ''The Story of Our Flag.'' Rand McNally, 1960.
* William Rea Furlong, [[Byron McCandless]], and Harold D. Langley. ''So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag.'' Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981.
* Scot M. Guenter, ''The American Flag, 1777–1924: Cultural Shifts from Creation to Codification.'' [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3075209 Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 1990. online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524163641/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3075209 |date=May 24, 2012 }}
* George E. Hastings. ''The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson.'' University of Chicago Press, 1926.
* {{cite journal |last=Hopkins |first=Albert C. |date=September 30, 1893 |title=Historic American Flags |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_school-journal_1893-09-30_47_12 |journal=The School Journal |volume=XLVII |number=12 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* Kevin Keim & Peter Keim. ''A Grand Old Flag: A History of the United States through its Flags''. DK Publishing. 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-7566-2847-5}}.
* ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150217060007/http://www.marcleepson.com/flagbiography/index.html Flag: An American Biography]}}''. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2005.
* David Roger Manwaring. ''Render Unto Caesar: The Flag-Salute Controversy.'' University of Chicago Press, 1962.
* Boleslaw Mastai and Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai. ''The Stars and the Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present.'' Knopf, 1973.
* Henry W. Moeller "Two Early American Ensigns on the Pennsylvania State Arms." ''NAVA News'', Issue 173, Jan.–Mar. 2002.
* Milo Milton Quaife. ''The Flag of the United States.'' 1942.
* Milo Milton Quaife, Melvin J. Weig, and Roy Applebaum. ''The History of the United States Flag, from the Revolution to the Present, Including a Guide to Its Use and Display.'' Harper, 1961.
* Richard S. Patterson and Richardson Dougall. [https://archive.org/details/TheEagleAndTheShield The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States]. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978 [1976 i.e. 1978].
* {{cite book |last=Preble |first=George Henry |author-link=George Henry Preble |year=1872 |title=Our Flag |url=https://archive.org/details/ourflagoriginpro00prebrich |location=Albany |publisher=[[Joel Munsell]] |lccn=09026595 |oclc=990016 |ol=7159532M |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* Albert M. Rosenblatt. "[http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2723&context=law_lawreview Flag Desecration Statutes: History and Analysis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811141921/http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2723&context=law_lawreview |date=August 11, 2016 }}", ''Washington University Law Quarterly'' 1972: 193–237.
* George and Virginia Schaun. "Historical Portrait of Mrs. Mary Young Pickersgill." The Greenberry Series on Maryland, Greenberry Publications. Volume 5.
* Leonard A. Stevens. ''Salute! The Case of The Bible vs. The Flag.'' Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973.
* Arnaldo Testi. ''Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History'' (New York University Press; 2010) 192 pages. A European perspective on the symbolism and political, social, and cultural significance of the flag.
* Earl P. Williams Jr. " ''NAVA News'', Issue 216, Oct.–Dec. 2012.
* Paul M. Zall. "Comical Spirit of Seventy-Six: The Humor of Francis Hopkinson." The Huntington Library, 1976.
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web|url=http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/Content/documents/style_guide_public_hi.pdf |title=Identity and Marking Standards |publisher=United States Department of State |date=June 2012 |location=Washington, D.C. |department=Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs |access-date=February 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214222233/http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/Content/documents/style_guide_public_hi.pdf |archive-date=February 14, 2013 }}

==External links==
{{sister project links|voy=no|c=Category:Flags of the United States|n=no|wikt=Stars and Stripes|s=no|b=no|v=no|species=no}}
* {{FOTW|id=us|title=United States}}
* [http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/flag.htm Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Facts About the United States Flag]
* [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/chapter-1 Text] of the [[United States Flag Code]] (chap. 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code)
* [https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10834.html Executive Order No. 10798], with specifications and regulations for the current flag
* [http://americanhistory.si.edu/1942/index.html July 1942: United We Stand] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511164748/http://americanhistory.si.edu/1942/index.html |date=May 11, 2012 }} – [[National Museum of American History]] online exhibition highlighting some 500 magazines featuring the American flag on their cover during World War II

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