Political Parties

History of Our Flag

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

1776 On July 4th the flag becomes the first national flag of the U.S.

1777The Continental Congress resolves to have an official emblem on June 14th. There will be 13 alternate red and white stripes and 13 white stars in a field of blue, representing the 13 colonies. The first official Stars and Stripes, there is no official record to indicate its earlier use. Congress does not direct a specific arrangement of the 13 stars.

The color scheme and design of the U.S. flag are symbolic of America itself. George Washington explained it this way: "We take the stars, blue union from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty."

1795 Congress adopts a new flag of 15 stars and 15 stripes to give representation to Vermont and Kentucky, the new states.

1814 The British attack Fort McHenry. The flag that flies over the fort inspires Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner. Authorized by Congress in 1795, the flag is still in use despite the fact that there are 18 states in the Union.

1816 With 19 states now in the Union, New York representative Peter Wendover wants to update the flag. He chairs a committee and forces debates in the House until the Flag Act is approved.

1817 There are 20 states in the Union.

1818 The Flag Act is approved by President James Monroe on April 4th. It restores the original design of 13 stripes and provides that each state will be represented by one star. President Monroe orders that the flag’s stars be arranged in 4 rows of 5 stars each, but his instructions will not always be followed.

1859 A 33-star flag represents the U.S.

1861 The first time the Stars and Stripes flew in a Flag Day celebration was at Hartford, Connecticut, the first summer of the Civil War. During the late 1800's, schools held Flag Day programs to assist the Americanization of immigrant children. The observance caught on in the communities, and numerous patriotic groups supported a national Flag Day. The 34-star flag becomes official July 4th, signifying the admission of Kansas into the Union. Two (2) more states (West Virginia and Nevada) will be added before the war's end bringing the total to 36 states.

1867 From 1867 to 1896, 9 more states are admitted into the Union and 9 more stars are added to the flag.

1870William Canby, the grandson of Elizabeth Betsy Griscom Ross, makes a public speech in which he tellsthe story of his grandmother’s involvement in the design and construction of the new nation’s flag. He and other family members sign sworn affidavits saying that Ross often told them that she had made the first Stars and Stripes. While there are no records proving this, she was probably commissioned to sew the flag, and she also may have been responsible for changing the stars from being six-pointed to five-pointed, which were easier to make.

1877On the flag’s 100th birthday (June 14th), the federal government requests that it be flown from all public buildings.

1897 The Stars and Stripes Forever is first performed on May 14th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1907 Oklahoma joins the Union.

1908 The flag that includes Oklahoma’s star becomes official on July 4th.

1912 New Mexico and Arizona are admitted into the Union--the flag is designed to include 48 stars. It will represent the nation for the longest period of time, 47 years. An executive order of President William H. Taft on October 29th makes the first official provision for the arrangement of the stars: Hoist (height) of flag, 1 (unit). Fly (length) of flag, 1.9. Hoist of canton, or union (blue field), 7/13. Fly of canton, 0.76. Width of each stripe, 1/13. Diameter of each star, 0.0616.

1916 President Woodrow Wilson proclaims June 14th as the first Flag Day. But Congress doesn’t officially recognize it until Truman’s administration.

1931 President Herbert Hoover signs a bill designating The Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem, effective March 3rd.

1942 Congress adopts the Flag Code on June 22nd.

1945 Americans storm the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. Atop Mount Suribachi, Joe Rosenthal photographs 5 Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the Stars and Stripes. Rosenthal’s photo becomes the model for the Marine Corps Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1949 President Truman officially recognizes June 14 as a national day of observance (August 3rd).

1959 The 49-star flag reflects the admission of Alaska into the Union. On August 21st, Hawaii becomes the 50th state and an executive order authorizes the new 50-star U.S. flag. President Dwight Eisenhower’s order sets the proportions of the flag and the design for the 13 stripes and 50 stars. The creator of the modern 50-star flag, Robert Heft, was a high school junior in Ohio when Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood. As a history project, he got out a sewing machine and made a flag with 50 stars. A year later, in 1959 the states were admitted and a search was on for a new flag design. Heft's congressman helped him submit his prototype. It was chosen over 109,000 designs, and his was the first flag with 50 stars to fly over Washington, D.C.

1960The new flag becomes official on July 4th.

1969 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin plant the flag on the moon.

1985On June 20, 1985, Congress passed and President Reagan signed a law recognizing the "Annual National Pause for the Pledge of Allegiance" as part of National Flag Day activities. All Americans are urged to participate on June 14 at 7:00 p.m. (EDT) in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This simple ceremony is a gesture of patriotism at home and a sign of unity abroad.

1987 President Ronald Reagan signs into law a bill that makes The Stars and Stripes Forever the national march of the U.S.

1989 The Flag Protection Act is passed, making it illegal to mistreat the flag.

1990 The U.S. Supreme Court declares on June 11th that the Flag Protection Act is unconstitutional.

The Flag Today

Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with 6 white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence and Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.

Flag Rules

The flag is a special symbol of our nation and it should be treated with respect, thus showing respect for America itself. The Federal Flag Code contains many rules for handling and displaying our flag, including the following:

1. When you are saluting the flag or saying the pledge of allegiance, stand up straight with your right hand over your heart.
2. If you are watching a parade and a flag is carried past you, salute it the moment it passes.
3. The flag should always be displayed and stored carefully so that it won't become torn or dirty.
4. The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, structures or objects.
5. When a flag has become old and worn, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning it.
6. When a flag is hung on a flagpole, it should only be displayed from sunrise to sunset, unless a light is shining on it.
7. The flag should be displayed on all national holidays.

The Star-Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'T is the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

You're a Grand Old Flag, by George M. Cohan

You're a grand old flag,
you're a high flying flag,
and forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of the land I love,
the home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
keep your eye on the grand old flag.

History of Voting

1776 When this country announced its independence from Britain, voting rights were based on property ownership. This typically meant that those voting were white males over the age of 21 of Protestant religion.

1787 In the newly drafted Constitution, states were given the power to set voting mandates and most were still favorable to white males who owned property.

1830 Many states had dropped religion and property ownership as requirements for voting and with such a large percentage of the population at the polls, political parties were beginning to develop.

1868 The 14th Amendment recognizes African Americans as citizens, giving them the right to vote. However, state officials continue attempts to deny this right.

1870 African Americans were given the right to vote in the 15th Amendment. It prohibited any state or local government from denying that right.

1890 Wyoming becomes the first state to recognize women's right to vote and provide for it in a state constitution.

1913 Voting power is expanded with 17th Amendment, calling for the popular election of US. senators.

Schoolhouse Rock: Sufferin' Til Suffrage

Watch video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dPF0SGh_PQ

1920 The 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution, giving women across the nation the right to vote.

1940 Congress recognizes Native Americans as citizens. However, it wasn't until 1947 that all states granted them the right to vote.

1964 The 24th Amendment declares that no person should be denied the right to vote because they cannot pay a "poll tax."

1965 An amendment to the Voting Rights Act bans the use of literacy tests, poll taxes and other obstacles designed to keep people from voting.

1971 The voting age is lowered to 18.

Additional Resources

American Voting History

A detailed timeline from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in NYC:

American Voting History

Vote: The Machinery of Democracy

An exhibition from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History which explores how ballots and voting systems have evolved over the years as a response to political, social, and technological change, transforming the ways in which Americans vote.

Vote: The Machinery of Democracy

Electoral College

The United States is the oldest continuously functioning democracy in the world. Its constitution was ratified in 1788 and has been amended only 27 times since then. The first 10 of these amendments, called the Bill of Rights, were approved in 1790.

The procedure for electing a president is spelled out in Article II. Each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to that state's representation in Congress (Senate + House). Since each state has two senators and at least one Representative, every state has at least three electors. Currently California has the largest number of electors: 55. The electors meet in their respective state capitals in December of each election year to cast their votes for president and vice president. These electors, who together form the electoral college, are the ones who actually elect the president. If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral vote, the House of Representatives elects the president, with each state having one vote. This happened in 1800 and again in 1824.

Each state is free to choose its electors as it wishes. In the 18th Century, America was largely rural and most people were farmers who knew little about politics. In this climate, a direct election of the president would probably have been difficult in any case. In the early days of the nation, electors were chosen due to their wisdom and knowledge of politics, not due to their preference for any particular candidate. Even in the modern world, direct election of a distant president is not always so easy. For example, the European Union does not have a direct election for its president. Instead, a complex system exists in which countries, not citizens, are the key players, exactly like the role of the states in the U.S.

Electoral Votes In Florida

Florida will gain two congressional seats and two additional electoral votes as a result of 2010 census data. Florida, which has 25 U.S. House of Representatives seats now, will have 27 beginning with the 2012 elections.

The Sunshine State will have 29 electoral votes in the 2012 presidential election, up from 27 in 2008. This makes it the only state, other than Texas, to gain more than one. Florida has gained at least one electoral vote in every Census since 1930.

More information: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/

Each state determines how its electors are chosen by state law and the process varies from state to state. In states with primary elections, each presidential candidate usually designates a slate of electors who then appear on the November ballot. The voters are then actually voting for a slate of electors pledged to one candidate or another. In caucus states, the electors may be chosen at the state caucus. Electors are actual human beings, with houses, children, jobs, and very occasionally, their own opinions. In most states, the slate of electors that gets the most votes wins and gets to travel to the state capital in December to vote for president and vice president. In the bitterly contested election in Florida in 2000, George Bush carried the state by 537 votes out of over six million cast, and thus got all 25 of Florida's electoral votes. Since it is the electoral vote, not the popular vote, that actually elects the president, keeping track of it is crucial for people who want to know how the campaign is going.

If Florida's 25 electoral votes had been split 13 for George Bush and 12 for Al Gore, then Al Gore would now be president. There is nothing in the constitution mandating winner-take-all. The manner for choosing electors is regulated by state law. In fact, two states, Maine and Nebraska, do not use winner-take-all. In those states, the winner of each congressional district gets one elector and the winner of the state as a whole gets an additional two. Any state that wanted to adopt this system need only pass a state law to do so. No constitutional amendment is required.

Electoral Votes

Each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its number of senators and representatives. Each state gets one electoral vote for each senator and one for each representative it has in Congress. Every state has two senators and between 1 and 52 representatives, depending on the state's population. States with small populations, like Alaska and Delaware, have only 3 electoral votes. States with big populations, like California, have lots of electoral votes (California has 55!).

Presidential Electoral Votes - 1980 to present

Electoral Map Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/

Whichever candidate ticket gets the most votes in a state, that candidate gets all of that state's electoral votes (except in Nebraska and Maine, where electoral votes can be split). That means candidates will spend a lot more time in California than they will in Delaware or Alaska!

There are a total of 538 electoral votes (for the 100 senators, 435 representatives, and 3 extras for the District of Columbia - another one of those amendments). A ticket needs a majority of the electoral votes, or 270, to win. After Election Day, each state assigns people called electors who will vote for the ticket that won their state. The electors then get together at a big meeting in the middle of December, called the Electoral College, where they elect the President and Vice President. The new President and Vice President are then sworn in during January and begin their term.