The United States

Established July 4, 1776

With much of the evidence lost to history, historians disagree on which individuals designed and constructed early versions of the United States flag.

Notably, Francis Hopkinson claimed he designed the first flag and Betsy Ross, because of her grandson, has been credited with constructing it. Historians remain skeptical.

The flag has seen 27 different versions (and countless variations) since its official adoption June 14, 1777.

As new states joined, corresponding stars were added to the flag. With few specifications in place, a variety of creative star arrangements were produced. The orderly pattern of offset rows wasn’t standardized until 1959.

The current 50-star flag was adopted July 4, 1960.

Composition

The U.S. flag features thirteen horizontal stripes of alternating red and white, seven red and six white.

In the upper hoist canton is a union of blue with fifty white five-pointed stars arranged in nine horizontal offset rows.

Iconography

50 stars
the fifty states of the Union
13 stripes
the original thirteen colonies

Colors

The official colors of the flag are white, “Old Glory Red” and “Old Glory Blue.”

There are a lot of varying color values in use due to the difficulty of interpreting Cable colors for digital screens.

The values here are provided by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in the U.K.

Red represents valor and bravery, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and the blue stands for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

Red

#bb133e

Cable No. 70180 Old Glory Red

PMS 193C

White

#ffffff

Cable No. 70001 White

Pantone White

Blue

#002147

Cable No. 70075 Old Glory Blue

PMS 282c

Construction

U.S. Executive Order 10834 specifies proportions for the flag, as recreated here.

The U.S. flag has a proportion of 1:1.9.

Each stripe is 1/13 the width of the hoist and each star is 4/5 the width of a stripe.

The union is the width of seven stripes and 2/5 the length of the fly.

Previous iterations

For years every flag was constructed by hand. Because there were no specifications for dimension, color, or star arrangement, the flag saw a plethora of one-off variations. Shown here is a timeline of each official iteration (including notable variations).

Pre–1777
Continential Colors
1777–1795
13 stars
The original 13 colonies: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island
Francis Hopkinson flag
13-star variant
Betsy Ross flag
13-star variant
Cowpens flag
13-star variant
1795–1818
15 stars, 15 stripes
Vermont, Kentucky
Star-Spangled Banner
15-star variant that inspired Francis Scott Key’s “Defence of Fort M'Henry”
1818–1819
20 stars, 13 stripes
Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi
Great Star flag
20-star variant
1819–1820
21 stars
Illinois
1820–1822
23 stars
Alabama, Maine
1822–1836
24 stars
Missouri
1836–1837
25 stars
Arkansas
1837–1845
26 stars
Michigan
Great Star flag
26-star variant
1845–1846
27 stars
Florida
1846–1847
28 stars
Texas
1847–1848
29 stars
Iowa
Diamond flag
29-star variant
1848–1851
30 stars
Wisconsin
1851–1858
31 stars
California
1858–1859
32 stars
Minnesota
1859–1861
33 stars
Oregon
Fort Sumter flag
33-star variant
Great Star flag
33-star variant
Variation
33-star variant
1861–1863
34 stars
Kansas
Star flag
34-star variant
1863–1865
35 stars
West Virginia
Medallion flag
35-star variant
1865–1867
36 stars
Nevada
Wagon Wheel flag
36-star variant
1867–1877
37 stars
Nebraska
Variation
37-star variant
Medallion Centennial flag
37-star variant
1877–1890
38 stars
Colorado
Concentric circles
38-star variant
1890–1891
43 stars
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho
1891–1896
44 stars
Wyoming
1896–1908
45 stars
Utah
1908–1912
46 stars
Oklahoma
1912–1959
48 stars
New Mexico, Arizona
1959–1960
49 stars
Alaska
1960–Present
50 stars
Hawaii