Peoria Standard

The United States flag is celebrated each year on Flag Day, June 14, to commemorate the day the official flag act resolution was adopted in 1777.

The Second Continental Congress adopted this resolution on June 14, 1777, which stated that the official American Flag should have thirteen stripes, alternating between red and white, thirteen stars to represent the states in the union, and a blue field to represent this new constellation.

Before the resolution was adopted during the American Revolutionary War, some of the colonies were fighting under different flags instead of being a united front under one flag. In June of 1775, the "Grand Union Flag" was informally adopted and used as the "first" official American flag until the adoption of the flag act resolution in 1777. This allowed colonists to fight united under one flag. The Grand Union Flag contained the Flag of Great Britain in the left-hand corner with thirteen vertical stripes alternating between red and white.

Before Flag Day became an official holiday, different states showed their appreciation for the American flag in various ways. The first celebration dates back to 1861 in Hartford, Connecticut when a resident, Victor Morris urged his community members to celebrate the 84th anniversary of adopting the flag act resolution.

In 1885, Wisconsin native and teacher B.J. Cigrand shared Morris's passion and challenged his students to write an essay about what the American flag meant to them. Following Wisconsin’s footsteps in 1889, another educator from New York City named George Balch also established a Flag Day project. His project became so popular that New York state adopted it and incorporated it into their curriculum statewide.

After hearing about these ceremonies commemorating Flag Day, a Philadelphia historian joined in by organizing a gathering at town square in 1893 where students sang patriotic songs and waved small American Flags. The largest of these gatherings took place in Chicago in 1894 when the American Flag Association organized its first public school Flag Day celebration with over 300,000 student participants.

After years of informal celebrations, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 naming June 14 as Flag Day. However, it was not until President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress in 1949 that June 14 was officially designated as a national holiday to honor Flag Day.

To date, Pennsylvania is the only state that marks June 14 as a state holiday by closing government offices while other states conduct business as usual. Annually, the president of the United States observes this holiday by delivering an address discussing the history of the American flag—a tradition started by President Woodrow Wilson. Many towns and cities across the country continue to hold events commemorating this holiday.