For Flag Day, watch how much the American flag has changed

In 1916, Flag Day was established by national proclamation in order to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of a flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. The relatively recent establishment of the holiday makes sense. Before then, the American flag was in a constant state of flux.

Specifically, before 1912 states could put almost whatever they wanted in the canton of the flag. (The canton is what vexillologists — people who study flags — call a separate quarter in a flag. It's the blue rectangle in the American flag.) But in 1912 there was a huge change: the US officially adopted the 48-state flag.

Because these flags represent, in a way, the entire history of the United States, there's a lot to tease out. (You can pore over the flag source list here — it includes some, but not all, major American flag designs.)

Here are some key points:

• Early flags were chaotic because of the absence of a national template. From 1777 to 1795, all of these flags and more were in use to represent the same exact number of states:

Phil Edwards/Vox

The flag from 1777 to 1795.

• The flag's change was rapid as the US brought new states into the fold. Take, for example, 1845 to 1855. In that decade, there were at least eight different flag designs in use.

Phil Edwards/Vox

Flags from 1845 to 1855. (Phil Edwards/Vox)

• From 1912 to 1959, there was an at-the-time unprecedented period of stability both for the country and the flag, with no new states added:

Phil Edwards/Vox

The flag from 1912 to 1959.

• The flag we have today is the longest-lasting flag in American history. With the additions of Hawaii and Alaska in 1959, and the current flag issued by 1960, the United States — both in flag and state makeup — is more stable than it's ever been:

Phil Edwards/Vox

The flag from 1960 to present.

So what's the best way to celebrate Flag Day? The United States' flag has been more versatile than we might assume — in a way, it's a hybrid of a political symbol and, thanks to its ever-changing canton, a good old-fashioned chart.

But in President Woodrow Wilson's original proclamation for Flag Day in 1916, he offered some loftier guidance for the unique holiday:

It has therefore seemed to me fitting that I should call your attention to the approach of the anniversary of the day upon which the flag of the United States was adopted by the Congress as the emblem of the Union, and to suggest to you that it should this year and in the years to come be given special significance as a day of renewal and reminder, a day upon which we should direct our minds with a special desire of renewal to thoughts of the ideals and principles of which we have sought to make our great Government the embodiment.

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Flag Day: What it means

Flag Day: What it meansLatest News

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Today is Flag Day. So Happy 238th birthday, Old Glory. Long may you wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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WASHINGTON — What’s Flag Day? It’s the American celebration of the birthday of the Stars and Stripes. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution “that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white on a blue field, representing the new constellation”.

So Happy 238th birthday, Old Glory. Long may you wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

After all, we’re a nation that puts unique emphasis on the symbols of its revolutionary past. The flag unites us. Sarah Palin celebrates Flag Day.Hillary Clinton celebrates Flag Day. Little kids waving tiny flags from California to Connecticut celebrate Flag Day.

Recommended: Know your US presidents? See if D.C. Decoder can stump you!

“Nowhere on Earth do citizens fly their national flags, as Americans do, everywhere they live and everywhere they go, from our front porches to our pickup trucks,” writes journalist and historian Marc Leepson in his book“Flag: An American Biography.”

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE Know your US presidents? See if D.C. Decoder can stump you!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY Photos of the weekend

Like many American holidays, Flag Day didn’t really get rolling until the mid to late 1800s. Like many American holidays, Flag Day has competing people, cities and states that claim to be the first to establish its celebration.

The National Flag Day Foundation cites Bernard J. Cigrand, a young schoolteacher from Waubeka, Wisconsin who in 1885 assigned his students to write an essay about what the flag meant to them. Later in life he spent years trying to get Congress to declare Flag Day a national holiday.

Then there’s William T. Kerr, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania schoolboy who in 1885 founded the American Flag Day Association, according to the Veterans Administration. Some also dub him the Father of Flag Day.

On the Washington level, Presidents Wilson and Coolidge both issued proclamations that June 14 be observed as Flag Day. But it wasn’t until 1949 that Congress passed legislation to that effect and President Truman signed it into law.

So Flag Day has an official date. But it is not a full-blown federal holiday. Federal workers don’t get the day off (except when it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, as it does this year). Schools don’t close, mail is still delivered, and offices don’t shut down. Why is that?

As we’ve written before, the short answer is that it wasn’t part of the 1968 Uniform Holiday Act. That’s the law that sets the framework for the 11 official federal holidays and multiple three-day weekends that have launched a million picnics and mattress retailer sales.

So in that sense Flag Day didn’t quite make the holiday Major Leagues. Thanksgiving, it’s not.

We’d guess Flag Day faces the problem that to lawmakers it seemed a bit superfluous. It’s smack in the middle of bunting-heavy holidays Memorial Day and July 4th. That’s a lot of red, white and blue. Throw in Veterans Day and the patriotism day-off category starts to look full.

But does that really matter? The flag celebrates the nation’s components, its states, not the central capitol of Washington D.C. It’s about a piece of cloth that people use as decoration, insulation, and inspiration. It’s not complicated. Celebrating it isn’t complicated. There aren’t rituals. There aren’t Flag Day foods. You don’t have to have guests over. It doesn’t have … requirements.

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FLAG DAY SKULL SESSION

Say what you want about America (just not in the comments), but Old Glory has been sitting at No. 1 in the World Flag Power Rankings rankings since 1777.

#ShoutoutToBetsyRoss #CavsIn6

 11W WEEK IN REVIEW. Here is some stuff written this week by people more talented than me:

• Ohio State double-booked (maybe even triple-booked) the Horseshoe last Saturday. It worked out.
• 2015's five most important seniors.
• Meet Dakari Carter, one of the state's fastest prospects.
• Mirko Jurkovic, a 2015 three-star OL signee from IMG Academy, was unable to enroll due to an unanmed academic issue.
• Tweets from around campus.
• Matt Burrell, a guy who can play all five OL positions, is extremely good.
• The pitfalls of appealing to kids.
• 33% of Ohioan OSU fans want Dolodale to be the starting QB.
• Urban Meyer might have cheat codes.
• Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer headline the 2015 OSU Athletics Hall of Fame class.

 #ELITE15 ON DECK. College move-in day is one of the best days in human existence. Dorm life is trash, but on move-in day you're too stupid to realize that.

(I was so stupid; I drank MD-2020 unironically at the time. I didn't set any academic records my freshman year at the University of Montana, but I would go back in a second.)

For the members of #Elite15 who didn't early enroll, the transition from recruits to Ohio State students is complete.

Justin Hilliard, the crown jewel of the class, already packed all the dorm essentials:

Let us all join hands and pray Hilliard doesn't have 14 bottles of MD-2020 smuggled away in there.

(Parents: Text your #teen right now and say, "The jig's up, [Name]: I know about the Mad Dog." Mad Dog is #teen slang for MD-2020. They won't be able to lie due to you speaking in their serpent tongue. Just a little parenting tip from a childless man that lives alone with three cats.)

 SLOBS RUN WILD. Remember when Marcus Hall made history's bossiest exit from Michigan Stadium, and a wide-eyed Pat Elflein checked into the game? Once he got his sea legs under him, there was no looking back. That's when I knew he'd be a good one.

Decker deserves the love, but it's good to see the Pickerington product get some shine too.

From Mike Huguenin of NFL.com:

1. Ohio State: G Pat Elflein and OT Taylor Decker

The skinny: Decker (6-8, 315) will go into the season as one of the top three tackles nationally, and if he makes the improvement expected of top prospects from their junior to senior seasons, he will be in the mix to be selected in the top 10 of the 2016 NFL Draft. Decker started as a sophomore on the right side, then moved to left tackle last season and was the Buckeyes' best lineman. He was a good high school basketball player, and that shows in his top-flight footwork. Elflein (6-3, 300), a junior, is heading into his second season as a starter. He is a mauler in the running game, not surprising considering he was a high school wrestler of some renown; in addition, his summertime work in high school was pouring concrete.

I know history is littered with units that looked good on paper yet fell short, but I don't see how teams will stop Ohio State's attack outside of arming their defenders with tire irons.

Everything Ohio State does is based off the offensive line, and that unit is going to be a perfect balance of polished technique and old-school nastiness. (Please stay healthy, Taylor Decker.) It's going to be so unfair.

 DANG, THE 90s WERE WILD. Reader K.M. Losh emailed me a link to a patented 1993 banger — No. 3 Ohio State at No. 14 Wisconsin — that features the exalted Keith Jackson.

I was six at the time, and I'm not about to sit here and front like I gave a shit about Buckeye football at that point in my life, so I'll let Mr. Losh set the scene:

I was 20 years old when this game took place, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Look at how much Ohio State's offense has changed in the past 22 years. Wisconsin's offense is exactly the same.

Holy hell, Mr. Losh wasn't lying. WISCONSIN HAS BEEN THE SAME TEAM SINCE 1993, AT LEAST.

Sure, they had that one year with Russell Wilson (and three losses), but every Badger QB I can remember looks like the amicable adult son of a family featured in a Kraft Cheese commercial. Every. Single. One. The only hint of difference is the graininess of the broadcast. 

Mr. Losh is also right about Ohio State's offense. Urban Meyer has this school on another level. My friend and I watched the 2008 PSU-OSU game on BTN Saturday night (dynamite night, I know) and we both agreed the 2014 team would light the 2008 team up by about 50.

Cooper's teams were stuffed to the gills, but I don't think Coop is walking into a game against Urban Meyer and walking out with a W. Still, that's not an insult to the 1993 team, which finished10-1-1 (damn you to Hell, Michigan) and taxed BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

Oh, and good thing we got rid of ties. They work in soccer; they do not work in college football.

 WOMEN'S CLINIC STARTS AT 9 A.M. Are you a woman/hundredaire looking for something to do in Columbus today? Look no further:

Among other things, I assume it includes a workshop on how to explain the nuances of football to your dumb-ass boyfriend, paramour, fiancé, or husband. (Just try to stay patient, and remember: We're basically toilet-trained chimps.)

 THOSE WMDs. Milwaukee man hopes to confuse airline passengers by painting "Welcome to Cleveland" on his roof... It didn't end well for India's deepest mole into Pakistan... The science of water... Me, My Dad, and American Pharoah... At CatCon, Breaking a Stereotype.

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Flag Day, commemorating the adoption of the U.S. flag celebrated in Waubeka

WAUBEKA — Flag Day is celebrated on June 14th — and it commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on June 14th, 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day — and Flag Day was celebrated in Ozaukee County on Sunday, June 13th.

Waubeka is the birthplace of Flag Day.

Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka  in 1885, Bernard Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at the Stony Hill School. The school has been restored, and a bust of Cigrand also honors him at the National Flag Day Americanism Center in Waubeka.

From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke around the country promoting patriotism, respect for the flag, and the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14, the day in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes. 

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