1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: show that flies the flag of history every day of 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: celebrating a milestone in early American history, the day when 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: the new nation finally earned its stars and stripes. The 7 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: day was June fourteenth, seventeen seventy seven, the Second Continental 8 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: Congress passed a resolution adopting an official flag for the 9 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: United States of America. More than two centuries later, the 10 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,639 Speaker 1: anniversary of the flag's adoption is now recognized with its 11 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: own annual holiday, a national observance called What Else Flag Day. 12 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: Before the passage of the flag resolution, American colonists had 13 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: flown a variety of flags, one of which closely resembled 14 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: the one we know today. It was called the Grand 15 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: Union Flag or the Continental Colors, and its design consisted 16 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: of thirteen horizontal stripes alternately red and white, representing the 17 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: thirteen colonies, with a blue field in the upper left 18 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: hand corner bearing the same design as the British flag, 19 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: the red Cross of Saint George of England with the 20 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: white cross of Saint Andrew of Scotland. The Grand Union 21 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: Flag was first flown at the start of the Revolutionary 22 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: War in seventeen seventy five, and when the colonies declared 23 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: their independence from Britain the following July, it served as 24 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: the unofficial national flag until a new one could be chosen. 25 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: The newly formed Continental Congress recognized the growing need for 26 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: a national flag. It would help to symbolize the patriot 27 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: cause as something distinct from England, while also providing a 28 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: much wish needed morale boost at a time when American 29 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: victory was far from assured. General George Washington is said 30 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: to have met with Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross to discuss 31 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: potential designs, but more than a year into the process, 32 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: the final look of the flag remained undecided. This extended 33 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: delay was of special concern to Thomas Green, a Native 34 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: American whose tribal leaders were set to embark on a 35 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: diplomatic mission to Philadelphia in the summer of seventeen seventy seven. 36 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: By that point, the Revolutionary War was in full swing, 37 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: and Green knew that without a flag of the United 38 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: States to march under the chiefs of his nation were 39 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,239 Speaker 1: at risk of being shot by colonists on their way 40 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: to Philadelphia. With this in mind, he wrote a letter 41 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: to the Pennsylvania Council that spring and asked them to 42 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 1: send him an American flag so that his leaders could 43 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: carry it for their protection. And because Green knew that 44 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: the Continental Treasury was likely in a sorry state due 45 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:05,399 Speaker 1: to the war, he thoughtfully included three strings of wampum 46 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: beads as payment. On June third, the President of the 47 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: Pennsylvania Council referred Green's letter to Congress, and eleven days 48 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: later they finally passed the nation's first Flag Act. It 49 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: said quote resolved that the flag of the United States 50 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: be made of thirteen stripes alternate red and white. That 51 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: the Union be thirteen stars white in a blue field, 52 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: representing a new constellation. The origins of the stars and 53 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: stripes designed have long been debated by historians. According to legend, 54 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: it was Betsy Ross who designed and sewed the first 55 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: American flag. However, that claim wasn't put forward until the 56 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies, more than thirty years after her death, and 57 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: there's no hard evidence to back it up or to 58 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: refute it. Still, even if Ross didn't directly contribute to 59 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: the flag's design. She certainly did so some of the 60 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: earliest American flags, perhaps even the first one. The other, 61 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: maybe more likely candidate for the flag's designer is New 62 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: Jersey Congressman Francis Hopkinson. He was once a member of 63 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: the Marine Committee that adopted the Flag resolution, and in 64 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy seven he was the chairman of the Navy 65 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: Board's Middle Department, which worked under the Committee. In those roles, 66 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: Hopkinson helped design other symbols for the early US government, 67 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: including the Great Seal of the United States and several 68 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: forms of currency. Three years after the flag resolution was passed, 69 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: Hopkinson claimed credit for its design too. We know this 70 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: because he sent a letter to the Continental Admiralty Board 71 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:54,040 Speaker 1: asking for a quote quarter cask of the public wine 72 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 1: in payment for his help in designing the national flag 73 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: and the Great Seal. The request was ultimately refused, as 74 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: Hopkinson wasn't the only person on those committees, and it 75 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: would have been unfair to reward his efforts alone, not 76 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: to mention, he was supposed to be a public servant 77 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: and probably shouldn't have been asking for bonus payments of 78 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: free wine. There are no surviving illustrations of the flag 79 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: Hopkinson claimed to create, but since he seemed pretty convinced 80 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,600 Speaker 1: that his design was the one chosen, it most likely 81 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: had thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen six pointed 82 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: white stars set against a blue field. For those keeping track, 83 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: that's essentially the Grand Union Flag, except with thirteen white 84 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: stars in place of the Union jack. The thirteen stripes 85 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: and stars, which were later whittled down to just five points, 86 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: are clearly meant to represent the thirteen colonies, but Congress's 87 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: resolution provided no insight as to why red, white, and 88 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: blue were the chosen colors. The closest thing to an 89 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: official explanation came from when Charles Thompson, the Secretary of 90 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: the Continental Congress and co designer of the Great Seal's 91 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:10,720 Speaker 1: eventual design, he wrote a detailed account of the Seal's features, 92 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: including the meanings behind the colors. According to him, quote, 93 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: the colors are those used in the flag of the 94 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: United States of America. White signifies purity and innocence, red 95 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: heartiness and valor, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice. 96 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: Another thing that the First Flag Resolution left ambiguous was 97 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: the arrangement of the thirteen stars. All it says, rather poetically, 98 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: is that they should form a new constellation. As a result, 99 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: some early flags had stars scattered all across the blue 100 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: field without any specific pattern. Others organized them in tidy rowse, 101 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: and some, including the so called Betsy Ross flag, placed 102 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: them in a circle. Aside from its shifting star field, 103 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: the look of the flag stayed about the same until 104 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: two new states, Vermont and Kentucky, were added to the 105 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: Union in seventeen ninety one and seventeen ninety two. At 106 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: that point, a new version of the flag was made 107 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: that had fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. Clearly the idea 108 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: was to add one of each for every new state 109 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: to join the Union, but as time went on, it 110 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: started to feel like a few stripes too many. Finally, 111 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighteen, Congress decided to revert to thirteen stripes 112 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: as a nod to the original colonies, and to just 113 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: add new stars to reflect the current number of states. 114 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: The flag's design continued to evolve from there, including in 115 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, when the layout of the stars was at 116 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: last officially standardized. At the time of recording, the current 117 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: flag of the United States is counted as the twenty 118 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: seventh version of the national flag. So far. It features 119 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: fifty stars to represent the fifty states and has remained 120 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: unchanged since Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union in nineteen 121 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: fifty nine. That makes it the longest running rendition of 122 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 1: the flag to date. I'm Gabe blues Gay and hopefully 123 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 124 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with 125 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and 126 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have any 127 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my way 128 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,959 Speaker 1: by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks 129 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: to Kasby Bias for producing the show, and thanks to 130 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 131 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: for another day in History Class.