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The 48-star flag first appeared on the General Casimir Pulaski issue of 1931, though in a small monochrome depiction. The first U.S. postage stamp to feature the flag as the sole subject was issued July 4, 1957, Scott catalog number 1094.[134] Since then, the flag has frequently appeared on U.S. stamps. But the favored symbol of America was the powerful, independent and imposing bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus, or "white-headed sea-bird").[5]Guenter, p. 39. Benjamin Franklin, who was a member of the first committee, proposed that the wild turkey was more suitable as a symbol of peace. It was not strictly an American icon, but during the Federalist Era it was the most conspicuous wild creature to be seen on the banks of the major watercourses that were the preferred travel routes between the Atlantic Coast and the Mississippi River. The flags of England, France, Spain, and latterly Russia, had already been committed to that mission for several decades, but it was Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery, who wakened their countrymen from that long, apocryphal dream.  
  
Flags are keys to their owners’ identities—essentially non-verbal enshrinements of historical verities and mystical secrets.It recognized the existence of the Pledge of Allegiance, which had been introduced (by the Reverend Francis Bellamy, a socialist!) into the public schools beginning in 1892; the words "under God" were added in 1954, at the height of the Cold War with Russia.Today, there is no conclusive evidence supporting or denying this claim.The Pieces are bound together at their upper ends by the blue bar or Chief, which represents the Congress.The Fort Sumter Flag’s design is quite distinct with 33 white stars arranged in a unique diamond pattern.The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.The original design had six-sided stars representing the thirteen colonies on a field of blue with red and white stripes."America" was sometimes grouped with three similar figures to represent the four continents.  
  
Lewis’ and Clark’s American Flag  
  
  
  
Section 176-j of the Code as amended by Congress on 7 July 1976, states that "The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing." With that declaration, the apotheosis of the American flag would seem to be virtually complete. A popular belief is that Elizabeth Griscom, a Philadelphia flag maker who was also known as Betsy Ross, sewed the first "official" flag in June 1776. The legend goes that George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross came to Betsy Ross’s house to discuss the design of a national flag. The original design had six-sided stars representing the thirteen colonies on a field of blue with red and white stripes.  
  
World War II  
  
With this drawing of a dissected snake Franklin evoked the then-common superstition that a snake that had been cut into pieces would return to life if they were put back together before sunset. With New England at its head, the reptile’s seven remaining segments are New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Caroline, and South Carolina. Together they accounted for the thirteen original Colonies plus the two states that had recently been admitted to the Union, Vermont in 1791 and Kentucky in 1792. But change was a vital element in the nation’s destiny, and its flag would have to follow.  
  
  
  
Great Seal of the United States  
  
  
  
However, an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U.S. flag is the Valais 1618 coat of arms, where seven view religious and cultural flags here mullets stood for seven districts. Similarly inspiring were personifications of Columbia and Liberty, which the French government celebrated in 1886 with the gift they called "Liberty Enlightening the World," soon familiarly known around the globe as the Statue of Liberty. Another was "America," a woman clad in a Roman, carrying a shield decorated with an eagle, and accompanied by an American Indian. "America" was sometimes grouped with three similar figures to represent the four continents. Of course, when you want to learn about historic United States flags, it makes sense to start at the beginning. Although historians cannot confirm that the first American Flag was actually sewn by Betsy Ross, it is the place that many consider to be the birth of the Star Spangled Banner.  
  
and 50-star unions  
  
The three men, amazed at how quickly she could cut the five-pointed stars, assigned her with the task of sewing the flag. Between 1776 and 1782, three successive Congressional committees worked on a design for a Great Seal of the United States. But it was Charles Thompson, the Secretary of Congress and the creator of the final design based on the committees’ recommendations, who made the bald eagle the dominant symbol.  
  
  
  
Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey, claims that he designed the "Stars and Stripes" that was designated as the national flag. The above resolution was adopted from the Marine Committee, who had been using these guidelines for flags since July 4, 1776. Francis Hopkinson was chairman of the Navy Board’s Middle Department which was under the Marine Committee at the time that these guidelines were established in 1776. On May 25, 1780, he requested a quarter cask of wine in payment for his help in designing the national flag and aiding in designing the Great Seal for the United States.  
  
  
  
  
  
The current flag has shop veteran-friendly flag collections fifty stars and has remained unchanged since Alaska and Hawaii entered the Union in 1959. The current flag of the United States is the twenty-seventh version of the national flag. When the Thirteen Colonies were seceding from the British, there became a necessity for a flag to symbolize the patriot cause and rally individuals for the Revolution. U.S. flags are displayed continuously at certain locations by presidential proclamation, acts of Congress, and custom. Every U.S. astronaut since the crew of Gemini 4 has worn the flag on the left shoulder of their space suits, except for the crew of Apollo 1, whose flags were worn on the right shoulder. Several government websites have given Pantone (PMS) equivalents for the flag colors.  
  
  
  
  
  
Capitol for sale to the public through Representatives or Senators are provided in these sizes.[99] Flags that are made to the prescribed 1.9 shop flags from this trusted source ratio are often referred to as "G-spec" (for "government specification") flags. The two white crosses in the British Union represented the kingdoms of England and Scotland. The thirteen alternating red and white stripes stood for the thirteen colonies of New England and the southern Atlantic Coast. The flag was created as an item of military equipment to identify U.S. ships and forts. It evolved gradually during early American history, and was not designed by any one person. The flag exploded in popularity in 1861 as a symbol of opposition to the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter.