THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG 



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AS IE in augury of that perpetual 

 peace for which all mankind hopes 

 L as the outcome of the world war, 

 immediately following the entrance of 

 the United States of America into the 

 great struggle to secure democracy for 

 all peoples and freedom from the menace 

 of militarism for all nations, the Stars 

 and Stripes were received gratefully and 

 reverently into that historic shrine of the 

 English-speaking race — St. Paul's Ca- 

 thedral, London — there to be preserved 

 among the hallowed banners of the hosts 

 of liberty (see page 302). 



This epochal event marked the alli- 

 ance, in a sacred cause, of the two great 

 self-governing Anglo-Saxon nations just 

 140 years after the birth of that Star 

 Spangled Banner in the travail of the 

 conflict which severed the American Re- 

 public from the British Empire. 



From the embattled pinnacle of high 

 resolve and lofty idealism where the 

 American flag has always floated, the 

 course of its rise may be surveyed — an 

 inspiration to the patriot, an enduring 

 emblem of hope for the oppressed. The 

 story of the Stars and Stripes is the story 

 of the nation itself ; the evolution of the 

 flag is symbolic of the evolution of our 

 free institutions; its development epito- 

 mizes the amazing expansion of our 

 boundaries and the development of our 

 natural resources ; its glorious history is 

 the history of the people whose sover- 

 eignty it signifies. 



In the embryonic days of the republic, 

 when the Thirteen Original States were 

 still feeble British colonies bordering the 

 western shores of the Atlantic, there were 

 almost as many varieties of banners borne 

 by the Revolutionary forces as there are 

 today races fused into one liberty-loving 

 American people. 



The local flags and colonial devices 

 (Nos. 361-366, 377-422) displayed in bat- 

 tle on land and sea during the first months 



of the American Revolution proclaimed 

 the attitude of the people of the several 

 colonies in their grievances against the 

 Mother Country. 



When Bunker Hill and Lexington were 

 fought, some of the staunchest patriots 

 were still hopeful that an adjustment of 

 the difficulties with the home government 

 could be effected, and although on June 

 15, 1775, General Washington had been 

 appointed commander - in - chief of the 

 Continental forces raised, or to be raised, 

 "for the defense of American liberty," 

 the Continental Congress nearly a month 

 later (July 8) addressed' an appeal to 

 King George in which the petitioners 

 styled themselves "Your Majesty's faith- 

 ful subjects." 



DISINCLINED TO SEVER AEE TIES 



Disinclined to sever all ties with Eng- 

 land, yet bitterly resentful of the treat- 

 ment accorded them and unyielding in 

 their determination to resist further op- 

 pression, when it became necessary to 

 adopt an ensign for their newly created 

 navy, in the autumn of 1775, the revolt- 

 ing colonies chose a flag that reflected 

 their feeling of unity with the Mother 

 Country, but at the same time expressed 

 their firm joint purpose to demand and 

 obtain justice and liberty. 



The events which resulted in the estab- 

 lishment of the Continental navy, and 

 thereby the birth of the first flag repre- 

 sentative of the thirteen united colonies, 

 constitute one of the most picturesque 

 chapters in American history. At the be- 

 ginning of October the Continental Con- 

 gress, sitting in Philadelphia, learned that 

 two unarmed North Country-built brigs 

 were sailing from England loaded with 

 arms, powder, and other stores destined 

 for Quebec. As the colonies were in sore 

 need of powder and possessed neither 

 factories for its manufacture nor ships 

 for bringing it from abroad, Congress 



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