Flag Act of 1818
The Flag Act of 1818 was a significant piece of legislation that established guidelines for the design and representation of the United States flag. Initially, the flag featured 13 red and white stripes and a corresponding number of stars, symbolizing the original colonies. However, as new states joined the Union, this design became impractical. The Act, signed by President James Monroe on April 4, 1818, reverted the flag to 13 stripes, representing the original states, while allowing for the addition of a star for each new state admitted, effective on the following Fourth of July. This approach aimed to create a flag that could adapt to the ongoing expansion of the United States. The design has evolved over time, with the most recent changes occurring in 1959, resulting in the current flag that features 50 stars, representing all states in the Union. The Flag Act of 1818 reflects the nation’s growth and the importance of symbols in representing unity and diversity.
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Flag Act of 1818
Flag Act of 1818
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved a flag for the United States consisting of 13 alternate red and white stripes and a union of 13 white stars on a blue field. Congress evidently intended to continue to represent each state with a star and a stripe because, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union, it voted on January 13, 1794, to add two stars and two stripes to the national banner. This act became effective on May 1, 1795, and the flag remained unchanged for 23 years.
When Congress met to consider the flag in 1818, however, five more states had joined the Union, and several territories were also petitioning for statehood. No longer was it feasible to continue the old plan for the flag. For this reason, on April 4, 1818, President James Monroe signed a congressional bill providing that the flag be redesigned, that the number of stripes be reduced to the original 13, and that there be 20 stars. The act further ordered that “on the admission of every new state into the Union one star be added to the union of the flag and that such addition shall take effect on the Fourth of July next succeeding such admission.”
The flag has been made in accordance with this design since that date. It was last redesigned in 1959, when it underwent two revisions. At the admission of Alaska to the Union on January 3, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered that, effective on July 4 of that year, the flag would consist of 49 stars arranged in seven rows of seven stars each, with alternate rows indented. After Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959, the flag was again altered, and the present 50-star flag with five rows of six stars each and four rows of five stars each became the nation's official banner on July 4, 1960.