How many stars are on the American flag and what do they mean?

Each country has its own flag. America is no exception. For US citizens, such concepts as patriotism, the homeland, a sense of duty to it, etc. mean a lot. Therefore, they are very sensitive to their national symbol - the US flag. For Americans, this is not just an ordinary flag, but a universal symbol of their nation.

how many stars on the american flag
The USA flag with its stars and stripes is the main official symbol of America. The flag is a rectangular cloth with red and white, horizontal and alternating stripes and a blue square with numerous stars depicted on it. Moreover, each color of the American flag has its own meaning. Red symbolizes the spilled blood of the founders of the colonies, and white symbolizes the moral principles on which the United States was founded.

Of course, everyone saw the flag of America with its stars and stripes. But not everyone knows about how many stars on the American flag, what they matter. And this is a rather interesting question. After all, the US flag has changed many times in its history, and the number of stars on it also has not remained unchanged.

So, in order to understand how many stars on the flag of America in fact and what they symbolize, you need to turn to history. And the history of the American flag began from the day when the United States was proclaimed an independent state - July 4, 1776. Up to this point, the country did not have its own official banner. Therefore, the symbol of Great Britain was depicted on the first version of the American flag instead of the current stars. It was called the Continental Flag. For the next year and a half, this flag was carried by North American revolutionaries under the command of George Washington.

how many stars on the flag of america
However, everyone understood that the new independent state needed its own, unique and unique symbol. Therefore, in June 1777, Congress approved the new official American flag. Instead of the symbol of Great Britain , stars appeared on it. They began to symbolize the United States. So how many stars were there on the American flag from the start? 13 states - 13 stars.

According to legend, the first American flag was made by the seamstress Betsy Ross from Philadelphia on the occasion of US Independence Day. And the day it was adopted by Congress (June 14) is still celebrated in America as Flag Day.

Throughout the history of the United States, the number of stars on the flag has repeatedly changed. So, in 1795, two more states joined the United States : Kentucky and Vermont, and the number of stars on the flag was increased to 15. It was this flag that got the name "Star-Spangled Banner". And so it was repeated every time a new state joined the United States. The banner with 48 stars lasted the longest (1912-1959).

So how many stars are on the American flag today?

flag of america

In 1960, the last state joined Hawaii. At the moment when he became part of the country, the last, 50th star appeared on the flag. And to this day, the American flag consists of 13 stripes and 50 stars.

However, since 2012, negotiations are underway to make Puerto Rico the 51st state of America. And the Institute of Heraldry of the U.S. Army has already prepared proposals regarding changes in the design of the future flag.

Now you know exactly how many stars are on the American flag. As well as the fact that they mean the number of US states.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/G11719/


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