American Flag Celebrates 100 Years

Can you believe the American flag celebrates 100 years as our national symbol! This weekend marks the official anniversary.

This weekend marks the 100^th anniversary of the signing of the executive order that standardized the dimensions for the current American Flag. President William Howard Taft enacted the order, but sadly many designers today do not abide by the rules he set forth so long ago. If fact, most Americans would be surprised to find the flag flying outside their house is probably not constructed with the right dimensions as described in the federal law.

Richard Gideon, professional vexillologist, spends his career studying every inch of the American flag and will commemorate this milestone year with an event June 24^th held in Scott Township. Gideon wants to spread the word about this common misconception, letting the community know a flag should be almost twice as long as it is wide, unlike typically 3×5 flags sold in most stores. Unfortunately this flag code acts more as a recommendation or courtesy since no enforcements or penalties exist for those who do not abide by the rules.

Three individual flag acts, one in 1777, 1794, and 1818, led up to this one signed by Taft, June 24^th, 1912. Since the official passing of the Flag Resolution in 1777, the flag has undergone 26 modifications. Each addition state added required another star, which meant rearranging them each time. The final change to the American flag came in 1959 with the acceptance of Hawaii and the 50^th star.

Source: US Flag, Patch.com

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