“Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
Flag Resolution of 1777

The resolution of June 14, 1777 created what may be the most identifiable symbol on earth, the American Flag.  Since that original flag resolution, Congress has adopted 26 changes over the last 231 years. These resolutions have allowed our flag to evolve from the original circular thirteen-star version to the current fifty-star, thirteen-stripe standard known around the world.

Although there have been many claims to the flag’s original design, it was the position of the United States government that New Jerseyan Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was responsible for the design of the red and white striped shield on a blue field. Sometime after Hopkinson’s appointment to a Continental Navy Board, and before the flag resolution, he made a claim on the flag’s design. As the only person to make such a claim during his lifetime, Hopkinson sought a “quarter cask of public wine” as payment. This was never paid because Congress said he was already being paid as a public servant and he was not the sole contributor to the design.

We hope you join Print Tech in flying the Stars and Stripes on Flag Day, June 14, in celebration of our flag, our country, and the brilliant constellation that is the United States of America.