Thursday, June 15, 2017

Yesterday Was Flag Day-- Part 5: Addition of Stars

Stars and stripes were added to the U.S. flag each July 4th following the state's entry into the Union.  But once there were twenty states (20 stars and 20 stripes), designers got the notion to flag wasn't going to look good.

The Flag Act of 1818 returned the flag to its original 13 stripes, but allowed the stars in the union to increase for each new state.  Those thirteen stripes represent the original 13.  The arrangement of stars changes as their number increased.

Under president James Madison, the United States welcomed Illinois into the Union on December 3, 1818, and about seven months later, the flag had a new star update.

--Cooter

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