America's Symbols
The American Flag
For more than 200 years, the American flag has been the symbol of our nation's strength and unity. It has been a source of pride and inspiration for millions of citizens as a prominent icon in our national history. That we have this unique and special feeling for our flag is not to diminish the respect and pride people in other nations feel for their national emblems; however, no country in the world matches the intensity of the American citizens' attachment to the fifty-star, thirteen-stripe Stars and Stripes. Our flag is seen everywhere Americans live, everywhere they go, from our porches, to our schools, from our government buildings to businesses of all types. We patriotically turn to our flag in good times and in bad, to show pride during sporting events and strength during times of national tragedy. Americans are alone among the nations of the world to have our school children pledge their allegiance to the flag. Our National Anthem is a "hymn of praise" to our flag. Even the proper use of the flag comes directly for a one-of-a-kind document, the official U.S. Flag Code, which lists the set of rules developed in the 1920's. This code has been a federal statute since 1942. 3
It seems that many Americans think that the Stars and Stripes were ordered by General Washington, that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag, and the Revolutionary forces used the flag from the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. The early history of the American flag is somewhat murky. No one knows with absolute certaintywho designed the first stars and stripes or who made it. Congressman Francis Hopkinson seems most likely to have designed it, but few historians believe that Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, made the first one. Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the proportions of the flag was prescribed. 4 Because of this, flags dating before this time sometimes show different arrangements of the stars in odd proportions, depending on the discretion of the individual flag maker. Generally, though, straight rows of stars and proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used.
The principal legislative acts affecting the flag of the United States began on June 14, 1777. In order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." Over the next 200 years, the flag became the subject of two acts and three executive orders to official state its design, lastly with the Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959, which provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically. 5
Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with six white. The stripes continue to represent the original 13 colonies and the stars represent our fifty states of the union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: red symbolizes hardiness and valor; white symbolizes purity and innocence; and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice.
The Pledge of Allegiance
Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and Christian socialist, wrote the foundational words for our Pledge of Allegiance in August 1892. In his pledge, he expressed his ideas and the ideas of his first cousin, Edward Bellamy, author of the American socialist utopian novels, Looking Backward(1888) and Equality(1897). Bellamy's pledge was published in the September 8th issue of "The Youth's Companion", the leading family magazine and the Reader's Digestof its day. Its owner and editor, Daniel Ford, had hired Bellamy in 1891 as his assistant after he had enjoyed listening to Bellamy's socialist sermons. At that time, Bellamy was also a chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education in the National Education Association and as its chairman, he prepared the program for the public schools' quadricentennial celebration for Columbus Day in 1892. He structured this public school program around a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute – his 'Pledge of Allegiance.' Bellamy's hope was that this pledge would be used by citizens in any country. 6 His original pledge read as follows:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In 1923, the National Flag Conference added the words, "the Flag of the United States of America," making it truly an American pledge, and now reading:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower, in 1954, encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the thirty-word pledge we say today.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Parades
Through the years, how people have celebrated culture, community, and identity has changed very little. Tribes were identified through their colors, which evolved into flags, and parades were held ever since people first gathered. The earliest written record a parade takes place in 3000 B.C.E. Historically public parades were not for celebration, but to show power over the conquered. 7 Parades have also played a strategic role in the management of a nation and the unity of diverse people. Over the years, the parade evolved from being not only useful for a nation, but also for the common people. Parades became a medium for government overthrow or protest.
Today, parades have a much broader goal. Whether a political discussion or for giant floats, there are parades of all kinds, sharing cultures, imagination, and talents from around the world. From marching bands to circus acts, parades are not just a way to be patriotic or a form of entertainment, but underneath all of it, is a connection with who we are, where we come from, and how we can honor our traditions. Like no other activity, a parade can make us connected to a common idea.
Veterans Day
World War I – known at the time as "The Great War" – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of "the war to end all wars." 8
United States Currency
Presidents on Our Coins
The one-cent coin, commonly known as the penny, was the first currency of any type authorized by the United States, with its design a suggestion from Benjamin Franklin. The original one-cent coin was over five times heavier and almost fifty-percent larger than its current counterpart. The word "penny" came to the United States from the British coin pence. Over 300 billion one-cent coins, with 11 different designs, have been minted since 1787. 9
The first one-cent coin was made in 1787 by a private mint and was 100% copper. This composition would continue until the 1856, when the Flying Eagle cent was produced and composed of 88% copper and 12% nickel. The Indian cent was first introduced in 1859 and showed an Indian princess on the obverse (head of the coin). A popular story about its design claims a visiting Indian chief lent the designer's daughter his headdress so she could pose as the Indian princess. Most Indian cents minted during the Civil War went primarily to pay Union soldiers. 1 0
After the Civil War, in 1864, the composition of the one-cent coin was changed to 95% copper and 5% zinc and was made legal tender by the Coinage Act of 1864. In 1909, Abraham Lincoln was the first historical figure to grace a U.S. coin when he was portrayed on the one-cent coin. The Lincoln penny was also the first U.S. cent to include the words "In God We Trust." During part of World War II, zinc-coated steel cents were struck due to a copper shortage. The Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse of the one-cent coin by Mint engraver Frank Gasparro in 1959 to mark Lincoln's 150th birthday, making it the first and only coin to have the same person on both sides. If you inspect it carefully, you will see the statue of Lincoln inside the Memorial.
The presidents that appear on the obverse side of our circulating coins were all selected by Congress in recognition of their service to our country. However, they were chosen under slightly different circumstances. Designed by Victor Brenner, the Lincoln cent was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Felix Schlag's portrait of Thomas Jefferson, which began to appear on the obverse side of the nickel in 1938, was chosen in a design competition among some 390 artists. The death of Franklin Roosevelt prompted many requests to the Treasury Department to honor the late president by placing his portrait on a coin. Less than one year after his death, the dime bearing John R. Sinnock's portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt was released to the public on FDR's birthday, January 30, 1946. The portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan, which appears on quarters minted from 1932 to today, was selected to commemorate the 200th anniversary of our first president's birth. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy generated such an outpouring of public sentiment that President Lyndon Johnson sent legislation to Congress to authorize the Treasury Department new 50-cent pieces. Bearing the portrait designed by Gilroy Roberts, the first Kennedy half-dollars were minted on February 11, 1964. 1 1
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States. Originally named "Liberty Enlightening the World," the statue was proposed by the French historian Edouard de Laboulaye to commemorate the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution. French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi designed the 151-foot statue as the form of a woman with an uplifted arm holding a torch. Its framework of gigantic steel supports was designed by Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the latter famous for his design of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 1 2
In February 1877, Congress approved the use of a site on New York Bedloe's Island, which was suggested by Bartholdi. In May 1884, the statue was completed in France, and three months later the Americans laid the cornerstone for its pedestal in New York Harbor. In June 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty arrived in the United States, having travelled in 200 packing cases. Its copper sheets were reassembled, and the last rivet of the monument was fitted on October 28, 1886, during a dedication presided over by President Cleveland and attended by numerous French and American dignitaries.
On the pedestal was inscribed "The New Colossus," a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus that welcomed immigrants to the United States with the declaration:
"Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. / I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
In 1892, Ellis Island, adjacent to Bedloe's Island, opened as the chief entry station for immigrants to the United States, and for the next 62 years more than 12 million immigrants were welcomed into New York harbor by the sight of "Lady Liberty." In 1924, the Statue of Liberty was made a national monument, and in 1956 Bedloe's Island was renamed Liberty Island. 1 3
The statue is a national monument and a symbol of many things. The lady herself represents freedom and independence. The tablet in her left hand represents the Declaration of Independence. She holds the torch of freedom high in her right hand. A broken chain near her feet represents the victory of liberty over tyranny. The spikes on her crown reach to the seven seas and the seven continents and stand for seven liberties – civil, moral, national, natural, personal, political, and religious.
Bald Eagle
The bald eagle was chosen June 20, 1782 as the emblem of the United States of America, because of its long life, great strength and majestic appearance. We see an eagle with outspread wings on the backs of our gold coins, the silver dollar, the half dollar and the quarter.
At the Second Continental Congress, after the thirteen colonies voted to declare independence from Great Britain, the colonies determined they needed an official seal. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, as a committee, began the design for a seal of the United States of America. However, the only portion of that design accepted by the Congress was the statement"E pluribus unum",which means "out of many, one."
Six years later, in May of 1782, a Philadelphia naturalist provided a drawing showing an eagle displayed as the symbol of "supreme power and authority." Congress approved the drawing, so by the end of 1782, an eagle holding a bundle of arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other was accepted as the seal. The image was completed with a shield of red and white stripes covering the breast of the bird; a crest above the eagle's head, with a cluster of thirteen stars surrounded by bright rays going out to a ring of clouds; and a banner, held by the eagle in its bill, bearing the wordsE pluribus unum.Yet, it was not until 1787 that the American bald eagle was officially adopted as the emblem of the United States. Although, the official seal has undergone some modifications in the last two hundred years, the basic design is the same. 1 4 The eagle represents freedom. Living as he does on the tops of mountains, able to soar about the landscape, he has unlimited freedom, a foundation of the American spirit.
Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a great American icon, in his colorful, patriotic clothes with his finger pointed forward, urging each of us to get involved in aiding our country through difficult times. Many myths and stories exist that may be just very good guesses or possibly at least one of them is correct. Maybe the most captivating story of Uncle Sam's beginning is that of Mr. Samuel Wilson, a prominent meat-packer in Troy, New York during the first decades of the nineteenth century, a time when America was still in its infancy as a nation. During the War of 1812, Mr. Wilson helped the troops fighting the British by sending them crates of meat, which he stamped U.S., presumably stood forUnited States. The soldiers themselves, familiar with Sam Wilson, claimed the U.S. to stood for "Uncle Sam." The exact origin of this story is not clear, but from this point on, Uncle Sam (a man who, apparently, bore a striking resemblance to the familiar image of the old, pointing gentleman) became a symbol of everyday Americans. According to an official act of congress in 1961, it is the Samuel Wilson story which is the "official" explanation of the Uncle Sam legend. 1 5
The White House
For more than 200 years, the White House has been more than just the home of the Presidents and their families. Throughout the world, it is recognized as the symbol of our President and of the United States in general. Its history, and the history of the nation's capital, began when President George Washington signed an Act of Congress in December of 1790 declaring that the federal government would reside in a district "not exceeding ten miles square…on the river Potomac." President Washington, together with city planner Pierre L'Enfant, chose the site for the new residence, which is now 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Construction began in October of 1792 when the first cornerstone was laid. Although President Washington oversaw the construction of the house, he never lived in it. It was not until 1800, when the White House was nearly completed, that its first residents, President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved in. The White House has an interesting history. It survived a fire at the hands of the British in 1814 (during the war of 1812) and another fire in the West Wing in 1929, during Herbert Hoover's presidency. For much of Harry S. Truman's presidency, the interior of the house, with the exception of the third floor, was completely gutted and renovated while the Trumans lived at Blair House, right across Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, the exterior stone walls are the originals, first put in place when the White House was constructed two centuries ago. 1 6
Monuments and Memorials
Monuments,memorialsandpublic spacesare places of collective memory in most societies. Nationshonortheir war dead and their social and political leaders in as well as commemorate important events in their history. Often, these structures serve to provide a place for the living to grieve or simply to learn and remember. It seems that doing so in a public forum allows people to feel connected to history even if they didn't experience it firsthand. Monuments are generally built to keep alive the memory of a person or event and memorials are intended to maintain some aspect of history and public memory.
Americans have numerous local, state, and national monuments and memorials to remind us of our history. Many familiar monuments serve as symbols of our country and are common vacation and touring stops.
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