In May of 1776, Betsy Ross reported that she sewed the first American flag.
On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."
Between 1777 and 1960, Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed for additional stars and stripes to be added to reflect the admission of each new state.
Our flag is not a decoration, it is the symbol of a living nation.
It is not to be trivialized by well-meaning but thoughtless uses.
"Our flag carries American ideas, American history and American feelings. It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the Government. It is the emblem of the sovereignty of the people.
It is the NATION."
-Henry Ward Beecher, 1861
Flag Storage: For storage purposes, you may use the ordinary rectangular fold and, perhaps, place your flag in a plastic bag. If the flag is affixed to a staff, you may roll the flag around the staff for storage. The triangular fold is not required, but is traditional for display of the flag, often placed in a rectangular wooden display box. Instructions for the triangular fold as provided on this page. Before folding the flag, always be sure it is dry and clean. Any valued flag may be displayed in the triangular box. It is not exclusively for display of funeral flags. For example, if you were to get a flag that flew over the White House, you could display that in the triangular box.
