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In reply to the discussion: Trump to Americans on Super Bowl Sunday: 'Stand for the National Anthem' [View all]Sophia4
(3,515 posts)just ordinary stand and cross your heart flag folks, here are the facts about the US flag and the Star Spangled Banner.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed an act establishing an official flag for the new nation. The resolution stated: Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." On Aug. 3, 1949, President Harry S. Truman officially declared June 14 as Flag Day.
. . . .
Between 1777 and 1960 Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed stars and stripes to be added to reflect the admission of each new state.
. . . .
After a British bombardment, amateur poet Francis Scott Key was so inspired by the sight of the American flag still flying over Baltimore's Fort McHenry that he wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Sept. 14, 1814. It officially became our national anthem in 1931.
http://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/old-glory/
Think of it. We managed as a country without an anthem until 1931.
And our flag has evolved as have we over time.
I remember when Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959.
https://www.google.com/search?q=When+did+alaska+become+a+state&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1&ei=84x3Wq3DN4qH0wLnxavIBg&q=when+did+hawaii+become+a+state&oq=When+did+hawaii+become+a+state&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0l2j0i20i263k1j0l3j0i7i10i30k1l2j0l2.49557.50935.0.53270.6.6.0.0.0.0.123.609.2j4.6.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.6.608...0i7i30k1j0i13k1j0i13i30k1j0i10k1.0.QMX2s_Igc2Y
I was in high school at the time.
America is always changing. Our flag has changed. Our anthem has changed.
As for the pledge of allegiance?
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of allegiance to the Flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Rear Admiral George Balch in 1887, later revised by Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942.
when did the us adopt the pledge of allegiance
The phrase "under God" was added on June 14, 1954 during the Eisenhower era. I remember that well because we always said the pledge before starting our school day and one day we came in and were told we had to add words.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-wrote-the-pledge-of-allegiance-93907224/
The flag, the pledge and the national anthem were written by human beings. They were not given to us directly by God. We honor them, but we govern ourselves. We are not governed by these symbols of our nation. We govern them and ourselves.