American Flags
The history of American flags goes back to the 1700s. Each state has its own flag which it proudly flies, alongside the national flag. The Americans are very proud of their Star-Spangled Banner also known as Old Glory and Stars & Stripes. When it was originally introduced in 1777, it had only 13 stars and 13 stripes. The current version which has 50 stars, to represent the 50 American states, was adopted on the 4th of July, 1960.
Americans are equally proud to fly their state flags. These flags express a large variety of territorial influences and local histories. The American flags of the 50 states go back as far as the 1890s. Most individual state flags originated sometime between 1893 and WWI. The different colors on the American flags of each of the states have different meanings.
For example, Alaska’s flag has a blue background which represents the sky, the sea, mountain lakes and the state’s wildflowers. It also has the big dipper and the northern star on it to depict the northern-most state.
Another interesting state flag belongs to New Mexico. It has a yellow background with a red sun with rays stretching out of it. There are four groups of rays with four rays in each group depicting the four directions – north, east, south and west; the four seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter; the day – sunrise, noon, evening and night; and life itself – childhood, youth, middle years and old age. All of these are bound by a circle of life and love, without a beginning or end.
For our last bit of trivia, the Washington state flag is the only one of the state flags that has a green background and the only one that has a picture of a President on it.
There were also flags of the Confederate States of America used while in existence between 1861 and 1865. Even after the Civil War, personal and formal use of these flags, though under some controversy, has continued. The American flags for the States of Mississippi and Georgia were inspired by the original Confederate flags. As were the Alabama, North Caroline and Florida flags.
