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The history of Old Glory goes back to early colonial days. The first banner used in the colonies was, of course, the standard English flag, consisting of a red cross on a white field. The flags of the separate colonies followed the same lines except that occasionally a pine tree, or a hemisphere, was figured in the upper left quarter of the cross.

The beginning of the Revolution brought a flood of suggestions as to the design for a new standard. But it was not until June 14,1777, that official action was tak­en, when the Continental Congress passed a resolution fixing the design as thirteen alternate red and white stripes, and thirteen white stars on a blue field. Each star and each stripe represented a state. As each new state was admitted to the Union, a star and a stripe were add­ed, but it was soon realized that the addition of many more stripes would make the flag too bulky. Consequent­ly, after having been increased to fifteen, the number of bars was reduced to the original number. But the number of stars steadily increased, until the present number of 50 equals the same number of states. The story goes that Betty Ross sewed the first flag, and it was at her sugges­tion that five-pointed, instead of six-pointed, stars were used.

While controversy continues as to why Congress se­lected this design, there is good reason to believe that the coat of arms of the Washington family, which con­tains both stars and stripes, furnished the inspiration.

It is interesting to note that, prior to the adoption of an official flag, a banner frequently used bore the figure of a rattlesnake, coiled to strike, with the motto, «Don»t tread on me.»