U.S. Flag Day
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Poster commemorating the 140th Flag Day on June 14, 1917
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Observed by
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United States
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Date
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June 14
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In the
United States
Flag Day
is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the
flag of the United States
, which happened that day by resolution of the
Second Continental Congress
in 1777.
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The
United States Army
also celebrates the
Army Birthday
on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.
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In 1916,
President
Woodrow Wilson
issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an
Act of Congress
.
Flag Day is not an official
federal holiday
, though on June 14, 1937,
Pennsylvania
became the first (and only)
U.S. state
to celebrate Flag Day as a
state holiday
, beginning in the town of
Rennerdale
.
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Title 36 of the United States Code, Subtitle I, Part A, CHAPTER 1, § 110
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is the official statute on Flag Day; however, it is at the President's discretion to officially proclaim the observance.
One of the longest-running Flag Day parades is held annually in
Quincy, Massachusetts
, which began in 1952, celebrating its 59th year in 2010.
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The 59th Annual Appleton Wisconsin 2009 Flag Day Parade featured the U.S. Navy. The largest Flag Day parade is held annually in
Troy, New York
, which bases its parade on the Quincy parade and typically draws 50,000 spectators.
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Perhaps the oldest continuing Flag Day parade is at
Fairfield, Washington
.
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Beginning in 1909 or 1910, Fairfield has held a parade every year since, with the possible exception of 1918, and celebrated the "Centennial" parade in 2010, along with some other commemorative events.
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History
Flag of the United States
Several people and/or organizations played instrumental roles in the establishment of a national Flag Day celebration. They are identified here in chronological order.
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1861, George Morris
The earliest reference to the suggestion of a "Flag Day" is cited in
Kansas: a Cyclopedia of State History
, published by Standard Publishing Company of
Chicago
in
1912
. It credits George Morris of
Hartford, Connecticut
:
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- To George Morris of Hartford, Conn., is popularly given the credit of suggesting "Flag Day," the occasion being in honor of the adoption of the American flag on June 14, 1777. The city of Hartford observed the day in 1861, carrying out a program of a patriotic order, praying for the success of the Federal arms and the preservation of the Union.
The observance apparently did not become a tradition.
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1885, Bernard J. Cigrand
Stony Hill School, in Waubeka, Wisconsin, the site of the first formal observance of Flag Day
Working as a grade school teacher in
Waubeka, Wisconsin
, in 1885,
Bernard J. 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.
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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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He moved to
Chicago
to attend dental school and, in June 1886, first publicly proposed an annual observance of the birth of the United States flag in an article titled "The Fourteenth of June," published in the Chicago
Argus
newspaper. In June 1888, Cigrand advocated establishing the holiday in a speech before the "Sons of America," a Chicago group. The organization founded a magazine,
American Standard
, in order to promote reverence for American emblems. Cigrand was appointed editor-in-chief and wrote articles in the magazine as well as in other magazines and newspapers to promote the holiday.
On the third Saturday in June 1894, a public school children’s celebration of Flag Day took place in Chicago at Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks. More than 300,000 children participated, and the celebration was repeated the next year.
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Cigrand became president of the American Flag Day Association and later of the National Flag Day Society, which allowed him to promote his cause with organizational backing. Cigrand once noted he had given 2,188 speeches on patriotism and the flag.
Cigrand lived in
Batavia, Illinois
, from 1913?1932.
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Cigrand generally is credited with being the "Father of Flag Day," with the
Chicago Tribune
noting that he "almost singlehandedly" established the holiday.
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1888, William T. Kerr
William T. Kerr
, a resident of
Collier Township, Pennsylvania
, for a number of years, founded the American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania in 1888, and became that organization's national chairman one year later, serving as such for fifty years. He attended President
Harry S. Truman
's 1949 signing of the Act of Congress that formally established the observance.
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1889, George Bolch
In 1889, the principal of a free kindergarten, George Bolch, celebrated the Revolution and celebrated Flag Day, as well.
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1893, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie
In 1893, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, attempted to have a resolution passed requiring the American flag to be displayed on all Philadelphia's public buildings. This is why some credit Philadelphia as Flag Day's original home.
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In 1937, Pennsylvania became the first state to make Flag Day a legal holiday.
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1907, BPOE
American
fraternal order
and
social club
the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
has celebrated the holiday since the early days of the organization and allegiance to the flag is a requirement of every member.
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In 1907, the BPOE Grand Lodge designated by resolution June 14 as Flag Day. The Grand Lodge of the Order adopted mandatory observance of the occasion by every Lodge in 1911, and that requirement continues.
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The Elks prompted President
Woodrow Wilson
to recognize the Order's observance of Flag Day for its patriotic expression.
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1908, Theodore Roosevelt
Oral tradition passed on through multiple generations holds that on June 14,
Theodore Roosevelt
was dining outside Philadelphia, when he noticed a man wiping his nose with what he thought was the American Flag. In outrage, Roosevelt picked up a small wooden rod and began to whip the man for "defacing the symbol of America." After about five or six strong whacks, he noticed that the man was not wiping his nose with a flag, but with a blue handkerchief with white stars. Upon realization of this, he apologized to the man, but hit him once more for making him "riled up with national pride."
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1913, City of Paterson, New Jersey
During the
1913 Paterson silk strike
,
IWW
leader
“Big” Bill Haywood
asserted that someday
all of the world's flags would be red
, “the color of the working man's blood.” In response, the city's leaders (who opposed the strike) declared March 17th to be “Flag Day,” and saw to it that each of the city's textile mills flew an American flag. This attempt by Paterson's leaders to portray the strikers as
un-American
backfired when the strikers marched through the city with American flags of their own, along with a banner that stated:
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“
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WE WEAVE THE FLAG
WE LIVE UNDER THE FLAG
WE DIE UNDER THE FLAG
BUT DAM'D IF WE'LL STARVE UNDER THE FLAG.
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”
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Observance of Flag Day
The week of June 14 is designated as "National Flag Week." During National Flag Week, the president will issue a proclamation urging U.S. citizens to fly the American flag for the duration of that week. The flag should also be displayed on all government buildings. Some organizations hold parades and events in celebration of America's national flag and everything it represents. Other organizations and tribal groups hold counter-celebrations and
protests
.
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citation needed
]
The National Flag Day Foundation holds an annual observance for Flag Day on the second Sunday in June. The program includes a ceremonial raising of the flag, recitation of the
Pledge of Allegiance
, singing of the
national anthem
, a parade and more.
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The
Betsy Ross House
has long been the site of Philadelphia's observance of Flag Day.
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External links
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References
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a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Gammage, Jeff (2008-06-14).
"Flag Day loses importance but lives on in Phila"
.
Philadelphia Inquirer
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-06-20
.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080620003742/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/19939034.html
. Retrieved 2008-06-14
.
- ^
Wright, Jr., Robert K. (1983).
THE CONTINENTAL ARMY
. WASHINGTON, D. C.: CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY, UNITED STATES ARMY.
ISBN
UA25.W84 1983 355.3'0973 82-16472
.
http://www.history.army.mil/books/revwar/contarmy/ca-fm.htm
.
- ^
"June 14th: The Birthday of the U.S. Army"
.
US Army History
. U.S. ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/faq/birth.html
. Retrieved 14 June 2011
.
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36 U.S.C.
§ 110
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http://www.quincyma.gov/
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troyny.org
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Fairfield Flag Day
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Brown, James.
The Real Bernard J. Cigrand: The Father of Flag Day.
Fredonia, Wisconsin.
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a
b
Web page titled
"Bernard J. CiGrand"
at the National Flag Day Foundation website, retrieved May 8, 2008
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Robinson, Marilyn, and Jeffery D. Schielke.
John Gustafson's Historic Batavia.
Batavia, Ill.: Batavia Historical Society, 1998, pp. 378?379.
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a
b
History of Flag Day.
http://www.united-states-flag.com/flag-day-history.html
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a
b
c
http://www.elks.org/about/flagday.htm
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americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/usa_flag_day_june_14
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Dray, Philip.
There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America
. New York: Doubleday, 2010, pp. 328-329.
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