US Flag Plaza at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey
© Antonino Bartuccio/eStock Phot
Celebrating Flag Day
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.
Related Images
Donkeys in a valley near Rhyolite, Nevada
Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Plaza de España, Seville, Spain
The Milky Way framed by Double Arch in Arches National Park, Utah
Spire Cove in Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, Alaska
Joshua trees under the Milky Way, California
Zion National Park, Utah
Hot air balloons over Göreme Historical National Park in Cappadocia, Türkiye
Today on Bing
US Capitol building and US flags, Washington, DC
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
