You're a Grand Old Flag

Old Glory. The star-spangled banner. The American flag has many names. But it always stands for freedom.

The first American flag had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. These stood for the first states. With two new states, the flag gained two stars and two stripes. With each new state, the stripes were becoming a problem. An 1818 law set the flag as having thirteen stripes. It would have one star for each state.

The colors of the flag each have meaning. Red stands for strength and bravery. White stands for purity. The blue square, called the field, stands for justice.

In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about the flag during a battle. It became the national anthem. The flag inspired two men to write The Pledge of Allegiance. It was first published in 1892.