June 14 is Flag Day, which commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States in 1777. Our nation"s first official flag had 13 stars and 13 red and white stripes to represent the original 13 colonies that broke from British rule. The stars were arranged on a blue background to represent a "new constellation." In 1795, two more stars and two stripes were added to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. Then in 1818, Congress passed a plan to go back to 13 stripes and add only stars for new states. The current version of the flag has been in effect since 1960, after Hawaii became a state the prior year. The flags we"re looking at here are flying in New Jersey"s Liberty State Park, with the Statue of Liberty in the background.
Celebrating Flag Day
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Gujō Hachiman Castle, Gifu prefecture, Japan
-
Wildebeest on the move
-
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
-
What s better than a smile?
-
European Day of Parks
-
J.R.R. Tolkien Day
-
World Art Day
-
Taking the scenic route
-
Lake Magadi, Kenya
-
Autumn’s swan song
-
Darwin s Arch
-
Computer Science Education Week
-
Unbearable cuteness
-
Evidence of human habitation
-
Happy Star Wars Day!
-
Muniellos Nature Reserve
-
Children at play for International Day of Friendship
-
Pearl of the Adriatic
-
Greetings from Asbury Park
-
Plum blossoms in China
-
Star Wars Day
-
Celebrating Panama s independence
-
Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
-
International Roller Coaster Day
-
The tortoise and the finch
-
In the path of the pronghorn
-
Ad-Deir, Petra, Jordan
-
Terraced fields of green
-
When science looks like magic
-
Bournemouth beach huts