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Day of the Flag of the United States is a party of honor and national pride, a day that figuratively "close ranks around the flag." Flag Day has its origins in the Second Continental Congress. On June 14, 1777, Congress adopted a flag design as specified "that the flag of the United States thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, that the union be thirteen stars white on a blue field, representing a new constellation. "

The original use of this design was to serve as the flag carried into battle (the War of Independence was in progress). The flag was first carried at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. In these early days of the American flag, which was shown on warships and was finally accepted and respected by the new U.S. citizens and foreigners as well. In 1778 Captain Paul Jones in command of the naval warship "Ranger" was placed on the flag. In arriving at a French port, the crew of the French naval ships saluted the flag.

The original design is attributed to Betsy Ross, and contains the matrix family circle of 13 stars - of the 13 original colonies. Eventually, when the country grew, the number of stars had to grow up too. The next version with 15 stars, like Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union. This new flag was created in 1795. The flag went through many repetitions, as the new states were added in the country. However, a problem was brewing on how the flag was being misused.

Before 1897 a number of opportunistic nationalist sentiments inculcated in the image of the flag as a way to market their products or political views. The flag became the backdrop for advertising or other purposes questionable. For example, a seller may publish a notice in a flag and wave around in a crowd.

An attempt was made to get federal legislation passed that would ban flag desecration. After failing at the federal level, Illinois, Pennsylvania and South Dakota went to the laws of the state in 1897 that outlawed all brands out in the flag, to use the flag in any marketing, or maim, trampling, defacing, or defiling the flag.

It was not until 1968 that flag desecration became federal law. A flag was burned at Central Park in New York to protest the Vietnam War. Then Congress passed a new law making it illegal to knowingly take, contempt for any flag of the United States "publicly maul, disfigure, pollute, burning or trampling upon it."

This law has been challenged many times since. At the heart of the matter is finding a balance between the desecration of the flag and the freedom of speech rights. In a decision of 1972, the Supreme Court held that Massachusetts could not prosecute a person wearing a flag on the seat of your pants. In 1974 the Supreme Court ruled that freedom of expression ignored desecration of the flag in a case of a person who sets a peace sign on the flag to protest the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.

Perhaps the thorniest issue in recent times is the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. In 2002, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of the line "one nation, under God." In 2004, however, the Supreme Court refused to hear a similar case, leaving the inclusion of "under God" intact in the Pledge of Allegiance to the majority of the country.

Ken Bluttman is politics, history, and fond of the economy. As the author of nine books and numerous articles, Ken has been honing his talent for writing more than a decade. Website of Ken is http://www.kenbluttman.com

Ken has the policy of Mathematics website at http://www.politicalmath.com

In mathematics there are many political articles and resources for those interested in politics, political history, economics, and more.