HIGHLAND, UT | 14 June 2008 | Many years ago, I stood in a crowd of fellow students singing the national anthem before the kick off of a high school football game. My heart began to swell as I pondered over the words of that song and over those who had gone before me to represent my country in various forms, fathers and forefathers who battled for freedom from the Continental Army in 1776 to the modern day volunteer army of the Cold War; and civilians who served in many other capacities. The year was 1984. Los Angeles had just hosted the world in the Olympic Games. I had dreams and aspirations to stand on the highest podium with a gold medal around my neck as I listened to that stirring music honoring my country in a future gathering. Today marks an obscure day in history, one that few people seem to recognize or know anything about. One that gets comparatively little recognition. But one, nonetheless that deserves the attention of those who love this great nation.

June 14, 1777! The newly independent country was embroiled in war against its mother country. The Founders were looking for symbols to create a distinction for this land. The Second Continental Congress published the following resolution.

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

Throughout history the American flag has taken on various appearances, with the stars assuming many different shapes as sizes.  Designers have even toyed with 51- and 52-star flags in recent years as Puerto Rico and the Philippines have toyed with entering the Union.

Ever since the Revolutionary War, the American Flag has symbolized freedom. It is no wonder then that Francis Scott Key, while aboard HMS Tonnant negotiating the release of a prisoner friend, kept an eye on the flag over the battlements of Fort McHenry. As long as the then 15 star, 15 striped Star Spangled Banner flew atop the flag post, he knew freedom still reigned in that Maryland night. Our national anthem memorializes that experience that shows Key’s exultation of seeing that flag wave over the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Today, the flag still stands for freedom wherever it flies and its perseverent nature tends to tug at the heartstrings of even the most hardened American, such as viewing the sight of the flag found at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. But take away two keystone documents and the symbolism of the American flag begins to ring empty.

Our Founders, driven by newfound glimpses of freedom based upon ancient principles, declared their break from England in 1776. The Declaration of Indepedence explains that when a “government becomes destructive of [those ancient principles] it is the right of the people … to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles…” Eleven years later they completed that process by creating the Constitution. Thus, the Declaration of Indepence enumerates ancient principles that declare man free, and the Constitution makes the rules under which the government will keep man free. Without these two documents, the freedom and power of the American flag is nothing more than a piece of cloth flapping in the wind.

Today we pledge allegiance to that flag. We declare our love for this country. But if we allow the strength of these two documents to sink into oblivion ignorance and entitlement behavior, how long will that land be free and the people be brave over which Old Glory flies?  

Resources

Declaration of Independence

The History of Flag Day USFlag.org

A Brief Outline of the Flag of the United States, God-bless-America.org

Flag Acts (United States), Wikipedia.org

A History of Our Flag, by Rose Marie Heck, republished on Hasbrouck Heights, NJ website

Friends of the American Revolution

The Stars and Stripes: An Official History of the American Flag, New York Times, May 29, 1892. This is a fascinating read in the original printing of the newspaper. You get the history of the flag plus the visual history of how the paper was printed back in 1892.

29 Little-Known, Fascinating Flag Facts from the Book; Flag: An American Biography.

What Do the Colors of the Flag Mean? USFlag.org

Francis Scott Key, wikipedia.org