A look at the many faces of the American flag
When you think of the American flag, one specific image likely comes to mind. It’s the flag you faced during the Pledge of Allegiance in elementary school. It’s where you turn during the anthem at Fenway, the Garden, or Gillette. It’s the image you have splashed across a festive tank or two.
But it hasn’t always been this way. Throughout our nation’s history, the flag has been an ever-changing entity. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, there wasn’t necessarily such a thing as the American flag; people often made their own, which resulted in a variety of designs, according to flag collector Anthony Iasso.
Our national symbol underwent a long journey to arrive in its current glory of 50 stars and 13 bold stripes. We turned to Iasso, as well as the book The Stars and The Stripes to learn more.
Take a look:
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American creativity really comes across in the variety of designs and patterns that Iasso has seen over the years. Even the government used flags with creative designs in the 1800s. Though the Navy tended to arrange the stars in rows, he said that he couldn’t even necessarily pin down which design would have been flying in front of the White House during the Civil War, according to Iasso.
It wasn’t until 1912, when President Taft signed an Executive Order mandating the flag’s design and proportions, that the positioning of stars in rows became a law. This also concided in a decrease in homemade flags due to manufacturing, ensuring that the flag became a uniform symbol across the nation.
With the additoin of Hawii and Alaska, the star count hit 50 and the flag took on the design that we’re familiar with today.
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