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| U.S. Flag Day | |
|---|---|
 Poster commemorating the 140th Flag Day on June 14, 1917 | |
| Observed by | United States |
| Date | June 14 |
| Next time | June 14, 2026 (2026-06-14) |
| Frequency | annual |
Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of theflag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of theSecond Continental Congress.[1] The Flag Resolution stated "That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."[2][3]
Flag Day was first proposed in 1861 to rally support for the Union side of theAmerican Civil War. In 1916,President Woodrow Wilson issued apresidential proclamation that designated June 14 as Flag Day.[4] On August 3, 1949, National Flag Day was officially established by anAct of Congress.[5] On June 14, 1937,Pennsylvania became the first state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, beginning in the town ofRennerdale.[1]New York Consolidated Laws designate the second Sunday in June as Flag Day, a state holiday.[6]
Flag Day is not an officialfederal holiday. Federal law leaves it to the discretion of thepresident to officially proclaim the observance.Title 36 of the United States Code, Subtitle I, Part A, Chapter 1, Section 110[7] is the official statute on Flag Day. TheUnited States Army -- founded June 14, 1775 in the immediate lead-up to theBattle of Bunker Hill as theContinental Army a year-plus beforeU.S. independence wasdeclared and two years exactly before the flag's adoption by Congress -- also celebratesits birthday as June 14, 1775.[8][9]
Several people and organizations played instrumental roles in the establishment of a national Flag Day celebration. They are identified here in chronological order.
The holiday was first proposed shortly after the1861 attack on Fort Sumter that started theCivil War. The flag flying over the fort was saved by Union soldiers during the Confederate takeover. TheFort Sumter Flag became a symbol of opposition to the Confederate rebellion. Fame transformed the flag from a fairly obscure military symbol used to identify American ships and forts into a popular symbol used by ordinary Americans to support the Union cause.[10]
A day to celebrate the newly-popular flag was proposed byCharles Dudley Warner inHartford, Connecticut. This embrace of the flag coincided with new technology that allowed flags to be printed on a single piece of cloth, rather than stitched together by hand from multiple colors of cloth. This allowed flags to bemass produced for the public for the first time.[10]
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Working as a grade school teacher inWaubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885,Bernard J. Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at theStony Hill School. The school has been restored, and a bust of Cigrand also honors him at the National Flag Day Americanism Center in Waubeka.[11]
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 theContinental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes.[1][12]
He moved toChicago 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 ChicagoArgus 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.[13]
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.[12]
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.[14] After 30 years of advocacy, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 Flag Day.
Cigrand generally is credited with being the "Father of Flag Day," with theChicago Tribune noting that he "almost singlehandedly" established the holiday.[14]
William T. Kerr, a native ofPittsburgh and later a resident ofYeadon, Pennsylvania, founded the American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania in 1888, and became the national chairman of the American Flag Day Association one year later, serving as such for fifty years. He attended PresidentHarry S. Truman's 1949 signing of the Act of Congress that formally established the observance.[15]
In 1889, the principal of a free kindergarten, George Bolch, celebrated the Revolution and celebrated Flag Day, as well.[1][16]
Sarah Hinson, a school teacher in Buffalo, NY began Flag Day exercises, (teaching the children to salute the Flag and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance) to instill in her pupils proper respect for the nation's flag, holding the first ceremony in 1891. She chose June 14 because that was the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress accepted the design of the "American" Flag.[17]
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.[1] In 1937, Pennsylvania became the first state to make Flag Day a legal holiday.[16]
TheElizabeth Duane Gillespie Junior High School was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1989.[18]
Americanfraternal order andsocial club theBenevolent 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.[19] 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.[19]
The Elks prompted PresidentWoodrow Wilson to recognize the Order's observance of Flag Day for its patriotic expression.[19]
During the1913 Paterson silk strike,IWW leader"Big" Bill Haywood asserted that somedayall 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 17 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:[20]
WE WEAVE THE FLAG
WE LIVE UNDER THE FLAG
WE DIE UNDER THE FLAG
BUT NOT IF WE'LL STARVE UNDER THE FLAG.
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For Flag Day 1942, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt launched an international "United Flag Day" or "United Nations Day", celebrating solidarity among theWorld War II Allies, six months after theDeclaration by United Nations.[21][22] It was observed in New York City as the "New York at War" parade, and throughout the United States and internationally from 1942 to 1944.[23]
The week of June 14 (June 09–15, 2024; June 08–14, 2025; June 14–20, 2026) is designated as "National Flag Week." During National Flag Week, the president will issue a proclamation "urging the people to observe the day as the anniversary of the adoption on June 14, 1777, by the Continental Congress of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States of America." The flag should also be displayed on all government buildings. Some organizations, such as the towns ofQuincy, Massachusetts andDedham, Massachusetts, holdparades and events in celebration of America's national flag and everything it represents.[citation needed]
The National Flag Day Foundation observes Flag Day annually on the second Sunday in June. The next observances of the Foundation's annual observance (as opposed to the US federal government's observance) will be on June 08, 2025, and June 14, 2026. The program includes a ceremonial raising of the national flag, a recitation of thePledge of Allegiance, singing of thenational anthem, a parade, and other events.[1]
TheStar-Spangled Banner Flag House inBaltimore,Maryland, birthplace of the 1813 flag that inspiredFrancis Scott Key to pen his famous poem a year later, has celebrated Flag Day since 1927. That year, a museum was created in the home of flag-banner-pennant makerMary Pickersgill on the historic property.[citation needed]
The annual celebrations on Flag Day and alsoDefenders Day in Maryland (September 12, since 1814) commemorate theStar-Spangled Banner and Pickersgill for the huge emblem that flew overFort McHenry guardingBaltimore harbor during theBritishRoyal Navy's three-day attack in theBattle of Baltimore during theWar of 1812.[citation needed]
TheBetsy Ross House has long been the site ofPhiladelphia's observance of Flag Day.[1]
Coincidentally, June 14 is also the date for the annual anniversary of theBear Flag Revolt inCalifornia. On June 14, 1846, 33 American settlers and mountain men arrested theMexican general in command atSonoma, and declared the "Bear Flag Republic" on thePacific Ocean coast as an independent nation. A flag emblazoned with a bear, a red stripe, a star and the words "California Republic" was raised to symbolize independence fromMexico of the former province ofAlta California. TheBear Flag was adopted as California's state flag upon joining the Union as the 31st state in 1850, after being annexed by theUnited States following theMexican–American War of 1846–1849.[24] Prominently flying both the US and state flags on June 14 is a tradition for some Californians.[25]
Flag Day has been parodied in media, such asThe Simpsons season 13 episode "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love."
Perhaps the oldest continuing Flag Day parade is inFairfield, Washington.[26] Beginning in 1909 or 1910, Fairfield has held a parade every year since, with the possible exception of 1918 and 2020, and celebrated the centennial parade in 2010, along with other commemorative events.Appleton, Wisconsin, claims to be the oldest National Flag Day parade in the nation, held annually since 1950.[27]
Quincy, Massachusetts, has had an annual Flag Day parade since 1952 and claims that it "is the longest-running parade of its kind" in the U.S.[28] From 1967 to 2017, the largest Flag Day parade was held annually inTroy, New York, which based its parade on the Quincy parade and typically drew 50,000 spectators.[1][29][30] In addition, theThree Oaks, Michigan, Flag Day Parade is held annually on the weekend of Flag Day and is a three-day event. It claims to have the largest flag day parade in the nation as well as the oldest.[31]
