Facts in brief

Capital: Washington, D.C.

Form of government: Republic.

Physical features: Longest river – Missouri, 2, 540 miles (4,090 km). Largest lake within the United States – Michigan, 22,300sq. miles (57,757 sq. km). Largest island – Hawaii, 4,038 sq. miles (10, 458 sq. km).

Flag: Adopted on June 14, 1777.

Motto: In God We Trust, adopted on July 30, 1956

National Anthem: ”The Star – spangled Banner”, adopted on March 3, 1931.

Bird: Bald eagle, adopted on June 20, 1782.

Flower: Rose, adopted on October 7, 1986.

Money: Basic unit – dollar.

The us national flag

The true history of the origin of the flag of the USA has become so overcrowded with traditions and legends that at times it is next to impossible to establish the true facts.

No one knows for sure who designed this flag, or who made the first one. Francis Hopkinson, a delegate to the Constitutional Congress, claimed that he had designed it. Most scholars accept this claim.

In 1870, William J. Canby claimed that his grandmother, Betsy Ross, had made the first United States flag in 1776 at the request of a committee composed of George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross. Betsy Ross was a Philadelphia seamstress who made flags during the Revolutionary War. However, few historians support Canby’s claim.

The Stars and Stripes is the most popular name for the red, white and blue national flag of the US. No one knows where the name come from but we do know the origin of several other names. Francis Scott Key first called the US flag the Star – Spangled Banner in 1814 when he wrote the poem that became the national anthem in 1931.

William Driver, a sea captain from Salem, Mass., gave the name Old Glory to the US flag in 1824.

The Stars and Stripes stands for the land, the people, the government and the ideals of the United States no matter when or where it is displayed. Some other flags also stand for the United States, or its government, in certain situations. The Navy Jack, a blue flag with white stars, stands for the US whenever it flies from a US navy ship. The stars and colors of the US flag appear in many federal and state flags.

The US flag was raised in its first unified form on January 2, 1776 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It consisted of 13 alternate red and white stripes, equal to the number of states. The original states were Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. For that flag, on June 14, 1777, “Flag Day”, Congress substituted a similarly striped flag with 13 white stars on a blue field in the left – hand corner.

In 1794, with admission of Vermont and Kentucky, Congress added two more stripes and two more stars. The new country began to grow. More states joined it. But there was no place on the flag for more stripes. So in 1818 the original 13 stripes were restored, to remain unchanged thereafter, for each new state admitted to the Union, however, a new star was to be added.

Today the USA flag has 13 horizontal (7 red and 6 white) stripes and 50 white stars on the blue background representing the 50 states. The red stripes proclaim courage, the white stripes proclaim liberty, the field of blue stands for loyalty.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: “THE STAR – SPANGLED BANNER”

The words were created by Francis Scott Key (1779 – 1843) who watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry in September, 1814, during the war between the USA and Great Britain in 1812 – 1815. The melody was taken from an English song composed by John Stafford Smith (1760-18360). Congress adopted “The Star – Spangled Banner” as a national anthem in 1931.