Integrated Civics: Symbols
The American Flag
The most recognized symbol of the United States is the American flag. The first United States flag, made by Betsy Ross and officially adopted in 1777, had 13 stripes and 13 stars which represented the original thirteen colonies.
The flag has since been changed 26 times with the last change in 1960, when Hawaii was admitted to the Union.
On today's flag, we have 50 stars, representing each of the fifty states. The flag has nicknames such as "Old Glory", "The Stars and Stripes" and "The Star Spangled Banner".
The National Anthem
If the flag is the most recognized United States symbol, the Star Spangled Banner, our National Anthem, is the most recognized symbolic song. The lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.
The following lyrics are from the first part of the song:
O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
