Friday, June 27, 2014

Flag History: Two More Stripes

While the number of stars in the United States flag has changed 27 times through history, from the placing of 13 stars in the original "Betsy Ross" flag to today's 50-star variant (in place for almost 54 years, the longest of all American flags), the number of stripes has only changed twice. The number was increased from 13 to 15 stripes in 1795 (along with 15 stars) upon the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. Following the admission of five more states, the number of stripes was reduced back to 13 in 1820 to honor the original 13 colonies while five more stars were added to the blue field.

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