final facts
I Pledge
Allegiance…
Washington is the only state with an image of a
Oregon is the
only state flag
(George Washington) on its flag.
with
by Shawntaye Hopkins On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed an act that established the official United States flag. Long before the birthday of the Stars and Stripes became an observed national holiday in 1949, U.S. presidents, state leaders and schoolteachers celebrated the flag on June 14. Here, we recognize Flag Day with a few facts about the U.S. flag and state flags.
U.S. PRESIDENT
different images on the
front and back.
Baltimore businesswoman Mary Young Pickersgill made the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that became the national anthem. The 30-by-42-foot flag flew over Fort McHenry during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore.
Thirteen-year-old Benny Benson designed Alaska’s state flag, adopted in 1927.
New Mexico’s
Zia sun symbol appears on the state flag
Territorial Gov. George Parks thought a flag would help Alaska become a state and held a contest among Alaska children in grades 7–12.
and is also reflected in the
architectural design of the capitol building in Santa Fe.
The Ohio state flag has a swallowtail design.
MAY/JUNE 2018 | CAPITOL IDEAS
It is the only U.S. state flag that is not rectangular.
48
Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, is often credited with making the
There have been
27 OFFICIAL VERSIONS of the U.S. flag. The current version was established July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the 50th state.
The original Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1892 by socialist minister Francis Bellamy, read: “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
first American flag AT THE REQUEST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON IN 1776,
but little evidence exists to support this claim.