If you grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning in school, that flag was simply part of the scenery. Red, white, and blue. Always had been. Always would be.
But those colors have a story behind them, one that goes all the way back before the United States was even a country.
It Started With the British
Before the stars and stripes were official, the flag that represented these colonies also carried the Union Jack, the flag of Great Britain, right in the upper left corner. It had 13 red-and-white stripes for the 13 colonies. So the red, white, and blue go back to the days when America was still British territory.
When independence came, the young country had a chance to start fresh with brand-new colors. It did not take that chance.
June 14, 1777: The Day It Became Official
The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777. It called for thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars set in a blue field, described as “representing a new constellation.”
That is why we celebrate Flag Day every June 14th, right to this day.
What Each Color Means
The Flag Resolution did not explain what the colors symbolized. That meaning came a few years later.
Charles Thomson was the secretary of the Continental Congress when the Great Seal of the United States was being finalized in 1782. That seal also uses red, white, and blue, and it was Thomson who defined what each color represented.
- Red — valor and bravery
- White — purity and innocence
- Blue — vigilance, perseverance, and justice
Those meanings were then carried over to the flag itself.
How the Flag Changed Over the Years
The design has been updated many times. As new states joined the union, stars, and for a while, stripes, were added. By 1795, the flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes.
That 15-stripe version is the one Francis Scott Key saw flying over Fort McHenry in 1814. It inspired him to write what became the Star-Spangled Banner.
Eventually, adding a stripe for every new state became impractical. The Flag Act of 1818 locked the stripe count back at 13 and reserved the star field for new additions.
The last change came in 1960, after Hawaii became the 50th state. The flag was officially updated on the first Independence Day following Hawaii’s admission. That is the same flag we know today.
The 50-star design is now the longest-serving version in the flag’s entire history, more than 60 years and counting.
Not bad for a pattern that traces its colors all the way back to the colonies. Every time you see it wave, you are looking at nearly 250 years of history in three simple colors.