Flag of the United States
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The flag of the United States of America is a national flag.
The flag of the United States has 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes These 13 stripes stand for the 13 original states. The flag also has a canton, a rectangle in the top left corner. The canton has one star for every state.
When a new state joins the United States a new flag is made with an extra star. The new flag is first flown on the "4th of July", the Independence Day.
The last states to join the United States were Alaska and Hawaii in 1959. Alaska joined on 3 January 1959, so the new flag with 49 stars was used from 4 July 1959. Hawaii joined on 21 August 1959 so the flag with 50 stars that is used today was not flown until 4 July 1960.
The colours in the flag are red white and blue. The colours have no special meaning in the flag, but in the coat of arms white for purity and innocence, red for bravery and strength and blue for watchfulness, perseverance and justice.
The flag is often called also stars and stripes.
[change] Design
- 13 horizontal (meaning from side to side, not top to bottom) red and white stripes, representing the original 13 states.
- 50 white stars on a blue rectangle in the top-left, representing the current 50 U.S. states.
