9781422287422

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The newly created American flag flies at the left and center of this painting of a battle during the American War of Independence. The basic design of the American flag has not changed much in the more than 225 years since it was created in 1776.

A Flag Is Born

I n December 1775, as the possibility of a war for inde- pendence from England drew closer, a small group of important American colonial leaders met at a dinner party. Inevitably, the conversation turned to the question of a flag to represent the fight for freedom. A debate raged about what should be included on the flag until Benjamin Franklin offered a suggestion. “While the field of our flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements,” suggested Franklin. “There is already in use a flag with which the English government is familiar and which it has not only recognized but also protected for more than half a century, the design of which can be readily modi- fied, or rather extended, so as to most admirably suit our purpose.”

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