79 Fun Facts About Patriotic

How many stripes are on the flag of the United States?

They stand for the thirteen British colonies that won independence; the stars stand for the states.

The 50-star US flag was adopted in 1960 after which state joined the Union?

Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959; the resulting 50-star flag became official in 1960 and has since flown longer than any earlier design.

Which president ordered the 50-star flag on August 21, 1959?

Dwight Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10834 on August 21, 1959, fixing the 50-star design in nine staggered rows of six and five; it became official the following year.

In 1795 the flag briefly grew to 15 stars and stripes for Kentucky and which other new state?

Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792) were the first states after the original thirteen; the 1795 flag added a star and a stripe for each, and that 15-stripe flag flew over Fort McHenry.

Which 19th-century sea captain coined the nickname 'Old Glory' for a flag his mother gave him in 1824?

William Driver, a Salem, Massachusetts shipmaster, first called the flag 'Old Glory' in 1831; he hid it from Confederates and flew it over the Tennessee capitol when Union troops took Nashville in 1862.

Who spread the story that Betsy Ross sewed the first Stars and Stripes from George Washington's sketch?

Her descendants spread the tale: grandson William Canby first told it to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870, nearly a century after the fact, and no contemporary record supports it.

Under the Flag Code, must a flag that touches the ground be destroyed?

No, that is a myth: the Flag Code says the flag should not touch the ground, but a soiled flag may be cleaned; only a flag too worn to display should be retired, preferably by burning.

The US Flag Code became public law in which year?

The Flag Code became Public Law 77-623 on June 22, 1942, codifying guidelines from the 1923 National Flag Conference; it discourages using the flag in advertising or on cushions and handkerchiefs.

Which president designated June 14 as Flag Day by proclamation in 1916?

Woodrow Wilson issued the proclamation on May 30, 1916, establishing June 14 as Flag Day nationwide; Congress did not make the observance official by statute until 1949.

Which state was the first to make Flag Day a state holiday, in 1937?

Pennsylvania was the first state to make June 14, Flag Day, a legal state holiday, doing so in 1937, two decades after the 1916 presidential proclamation.

The words of the national anthem were originally a poem with what title?

Key's poem was first printed in Baltimore as 'Defence of Fort M'Henry'; music publisher Thomas Carr soon issued words and tune together under the title 'The Star-Spangled Banner'.

Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry during which war?

The War of 1812: British warships bombarded Fort McHenry for about 25 hours on September 13-14, 1814, and Key, held on a truce ship in the harbor, saw the flag at dawn.

The tune of the national anthem was borrowed from a song written for a gentlemen's club in which city?

John Stafford Smith wrote 'The Anacreontic Song' in the 1770s for the Anacreontic Society, a London gentlemen's club of amateur musicians that met at the Crown and Anchor tavern.

How many stanzas does the full poem behind the US national anthem have?

Almost nobody sings past the first, but all four officially make up the anthem.

Which president signed the 1931 law making 'The Star-Spangled Banner' the official national anthem?

Herbert Hoover signed the act on March 3, 1931; until then 'Hail, Columbia' and 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee' had served as unofficial anthems.

In which year's World Series was the anthem famously played during Game One's seventh-inning stretch?

Game One of the 1918 World Series between the Red Sox and Cubs, played at Comiskey Park during World War I, had the anthem at the seventh-inning stretch; pregame playing only became routine in World War II.

Which singer performed the wrong lyrics to the anthem before Super Bowl XLV in 2011?

Christina Aguilera, singing at Super Bowl XLV in February 2011, replaced the 'O'er the ramparts we watched' line with a mangled repeat of the second line, 'What so proudly we hailed.'

Which museum has housed the huge Fort McHenry flag that inspired the anthem since 1964?

The National Museum of American History has displayed the 30-by-42-foot garrison flag since the building opened in 1964; Mary Pickersgill and her household sewed it in Baltimore in 1813.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of what?

It marked the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas; Francis Bellamy's pledge was recited by millions of schoolchildren at Columbus Day ceremonies on October 21, 1892, the date set by President Harrison's proclamation.

The words 'under God' were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in which year?

President Eisenhower signed the change into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, after a Cold War campaign backed by the Knights of Columbus.

The straight-arm 'Bellamy' gesture for the Pledge was dropped in World War II because it resembled what?

Americans now place a hand over the heart instead.

Which magazine first published the Pledge of Allegiance in September 1892?

The Youth's Companion, a Boston family magazine, printed Francis Bellamy's pledge in its September 8, 1892 issue as part of its campaign to put a flag in every schoolhouse.

What does the Latin motto 'E pluribus unum' on the Great Seal mean?

'E pluribus unum' means 'Out of many, one', the union of separate states into a single nation; Pierre Eugene du Simitiere proposed it for the seal in 1776.

On the Great Seal, the bird holds an olive branch and a bundle of how many arrows?

Together they mean the country wants peace but is always ready for war.

Which secretary of the Continental Congress largely designed the Great Seal, first used in 1782?

Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, combined earlier committee ideas with William Barton's drawings into the final design Congress adopted on June 20, 1782.

'In God We Trust' became the official national motto in which year?

Congress adopted 'In God We Trust' as the national motto on July 30, 1956, with Eisenhower's signature; 'E pluribus unum' had served unofficially since 1782.

'In God We Trust' first appeared on US money in 1864 on which coin?

The two-cent piece, a bronze coin first struck in 1864, carried the motto on a ribbon above its shield; Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase had pushed for it after wartime petitions.

Which animal officially became the national bird of the United States by an act of Congress in 2024?

The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal since 1782 but only became the official national bird when President Biden signed the designation into law on December 24, 2024.

Franklin's supposed preference for the turkey over the eagle comes from a 1784 letter to whom?

Franklin's January 1784 letter to his daughter Sarah Bache called the eagle 'a bird of bad moral character' and the turkey 'a much more respectable bird'; he never proposed the turkey publicly.

Which animal became the national mammal of the United States in 2016?

The American bison became the national mammal when President Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act on May 9, 2016; 'buffalo' remains a common American name for the same animal.

What is the national floral emblem of the United States?

The rose became the national floral emblem when President Reagan signed a joint resolution of Congress on October 7, 1986; the oak was named national tree in 2004.

Who drew the 1917 'I Want You' Uncle Sam poster, using his own face as the model?

James Montgomery Flagg first drew the image for a July 1916 Leslie's Weekly cover, then turned it into the 1917 recruiting poster, modelling it on Alfred Leete's 1914 Lord Kitchener poster.

September 13 is 'Uncle Sam Day' because it is the birthday of which man said to have inspired the character?

Samuel Wilson, born September 13, 1766, supplied barrels of beef stamped 'U.S.' to the army from Troy, New York, during the War of 1812; Congress recognized him as Uncle Sam's namesake in 1961.

The Liberty Bell was cast with an inscription taken from which book of the Bible?

'Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof' comes from Leviticus 25:10.

Which movement first gave the Liberty Bell its name in the 1830s?

Abolitionists adopted the bell as a symbol, with the name 'Liberty Bell' appearing in anti-slavery publications from 1835; George Lippard's 1847 story invented its link to July 4, 1776.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from the people of which country?

The people of France gave the statue, designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi with an iron framework by Gustave Eiffel; it was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

What is written on the tablet the Statue of Liberty holds in her left hand?

It is July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals; her torch is in the right hand.

Which newspaper publisher ran a fundraising drive that paid for the Statue of Liberty's pedestal?

Joseph Pulitzer's New York World raised over $100,000 from about 120,000 donors in 1885 by promising to print every contributor's name, however small the gift.

Public access to the Statue of Liberty's torch has been barred since what year?

The torch balcony was closed in 1916 after the July 30 Black Tom munitions explosion in nearby New Jersey damaged the arm; the torch has been off limits to the public ever since.

Which four presidents are carved into Mount Rushmore?

Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, Lincoln were chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation, and were carved between 1927 and 1941.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum gave Mount Rushmore what nickname?

Gutzon Borglum called the carving the 'Shrine of Democracy'; he died in March 1941 and his son Lincoln completed the work that October.

The Washington Monument was the world's tallest structure from 1884 until 1889, when it was overtaken by what?

The Eiffel Tower, completed in 1889 at about 300 metres, overtook the 169-metre Washington Monument; the monument's lower third is a different shade because work stopped for over 20 years.

Which two Lincoln speeches are inscribed inside the Lincoln Memorial?

The Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address are carved on the south and north walls flanking the statue; Martin Luther King Jr. gave 'I Have a Dream' on the steps in 1963.

Roughly how many words long is the Gettysburg Address?

The Gettysburg Address runs about 270 words in ten sentences and took under two minutes to deliver; Edward Everett's oration that day ran two hours.

Which building was set ablaze by British forces in 1814, charring much of its exterior?

The White House was burned on August 24, 1814, after Dolley Madison fled with the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington; the Capitol was torched the same day.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote 'America the Beautiful' after a trip up which mountain?

Bates rode a wagon to the summit of Pikes Peak in July 1893 while teaching in Colorado Springs; her poem first appeared in The Congregationalist on July 4, 1895.

Which songwriter revived a shelved 1918 song as a 'peace song' for Kate Smith's 1938 Armistice Day broadcast?

Irving Berlin had cut the song from his 1918 army revue Yip Yip Yaphank; he revised it for Kate Smith's November 1938 broadcast and assigned its royalties to the Boy and Girl Scouts.

Woody Guthrie wrote 'This Land Is Your Land' in 1940 as a sarcastic response to which Kate Smith radio staple?

Guthrie, tired of hearing Kate Smith sing 'God Bless America' on the radio, wrote his answer in February 1940 and first titled it 'God Blessed America for Me'.

Which John Philip Sousa march became the official National March of the United States in 1987?

'The Stars and Stripes Forever', which Sousa said he composed in his head on Christmas Day 1896 aboard a ship home from Europe, was designated the National March by Congress in 1987.

'My Country, 'Tis of Thee' borrows its melody from which other country's anthem?

The tune is the United Kingdom's 'God Save the King'; Samuel Francis Smith wrote the words in 1831, and children first sang it at a Boston Independence Day celebration that July 4.

Julia Ward Howe set the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' to the tune of which song?

Howe wrote new words to the camp-meeting tune already used for 'John Brown's Body' after hearing soldiers sing it near Washington in November 1861; The Atlantic Monthly printed her poem in February 1862.

'Yankee Doodle' is the official state song of which state?

Connecticut adopted 'Yankee Doodle' as its state song in 1978; British troops had first sung it to mock the ragged colonials, who then claimed it as their own.

In 'Yankee Doodle', what did 1770s slang mean by a 'macaroni'?

A 'macaroni' was 1770s slang for a fashionable fop who aped extravagant continental style, so the joke is that Yankee Doodle thinks a feather in his cap makes him stylish.

Memorial Day was originally known by what name?

Decoration Day was proclaimed by General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic for May 30, 1868, a date chosen because flowers would be in bloom to decorate soldiers' graves.

Veterans Day falls on November 11 because that date in 1918 marked what?

The armistice ending World War I fighting took effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918; the holiday was Armistice Day until 1954, when Congress renamed it Veterans Day.

What is Presidents' Day's official name at the federal level?

Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) names the holiday Washington's Birthday; the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 moved it to the third Monday in February beginning in 1971.

In what year did Congress first make Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees?

Congress first recognized Independence Day as a holiday for federal employees in an act of June 28, 1870, initially unpaid; it became a paid federal holiday in 1938.

How many men are raising the flag in the photograph 'Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'?

Six men raised the second flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945; three of them were killed later in the battle, and the image became the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial.

Who took the Pulitzer-winning photograph of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima in February 1945?

Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press shot it on February 23, 1945; it ran in Sunday papers two days later and won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography that year.

The Purple Heart descends from the Badge of Military Merit, created in 1782 by whom?

The original was a heart of purple cloth, and Washington personally awarded only three of them.

Over 40 per cent of all Medals of Honor have been awarded for actions in which war?

The Civil War accounts for roughly 1,520 of about 3,500 Medals of Honor ever awarded; the Navy medal was created in December 1861 and the Army's in July 1862.

The US Constitution was signed at Independence Hall on September 17 of which year?

Thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, at the close of the Philadelphia convention; that date has been observed as Constitution Day since 2004.

What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution collectively called?

The Bill of Rights was proposed by Congress in September 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791; North Carolina withheld its ratification of the Constitution until the amendments had been proposed.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia was added to which international list in 1979?

Independence Hall joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979, cited for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both adopted within its walls.

In which year did the Continental Congress adopt the Stars and Stripes?

The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777, nearly a year after independence was declared; no starred flag existed in July 1776.

June 14 is also the official birthday of which branch of the US armed forces?

The Army's birthday is June 14, 1775, the day the Continental Congress voted to raise the Continental Army; the Marine Corps dates to November 10, 1775.

In which state did 'Father of Flag Day' Bernard J. Cigrand hold the first formal observance in Waubeka in 1885?

Wisconsin: the young schoolteacher Cigrand had his pupils at Stony Hill School in Waubeka mark the flag's birthday on June 14, 1885; he later claimed 2,188 speeches on the flag.

Cigrand moved to Chicago to train for which profession while campaigning for the holiday?

Cigrand moved to Chicago to study dentistry, practised as a dentist there and taught at its dental schools, while his 1886 Chicago Argus article 'The Fourteenth of June' launched his campaign.

Which president signed the 1949 Act of Congress that officially established National Flag Day?

Harry Truman signed the act on August 3, 1949; William T. Kerr, who had founded the American Flag Day Association in Pittsburgh in 1888, was invited to the signing.

The Flag Resolution said the thirteen stars in a blue field represented a new what?

The resolution called the thirteen stars 'a new constellation' but said nothing about their arrangement, so early flag makers used circles, rows and even one big star.

The white stripes of the improvised flag flown at Fort Schuyler in August 1777 came from what?

The white stripes came from soldiers' shirts; the red was cut from flannel petticoats and the blue from Captain Abraham Swartwout's cloak, for which Congress later reimbursed him.

Which Declaration signer claimed in his lifetime to have designed the Stars and Stripes, even billing Congress?

Francis Hopkinson billed Congress in 1780, first asking a quarter cask of public wine; the Treasury Board refused, noting he already held a salaried public office and others had consulted on the design.

Under the 1818 Flag Act, a new star becomes official on which date after a state is admitted?

The Flag Act of April 4, 1818 provided that a star for each new state be added on the first July 4 after admission, and fixed the stripes at thirteen after the 15-stripe years.

How were the stars arranged on the 48-star flag of 1912, the first officially specified pattern?

President Taft's Executive Order 1556 of June 24, 1912 set the stars in six rows of eight, the first time the arrangement was specified; earlier civilian flags used whatever patterns makers chose.

When the Empress of China reached Canton in 1784, the Chinese gave the American ensign what nickname?

The Chinese called the Stars and Stripes the 'Flower Flag' (fa kei), and the term came to mean the United States itself in Cantonese; the Empress of China carried a cargo of ginseng.

The 50-star flag adopted in 1960 is which official design of the US flag?

The 50-star flag is the 27th official version of the Stars and Stripes; it became official in 1960 and has served far longer than any of its 26 predecessors.

Which state's laws designate the second Sunday in June, rather than June 14, as its Flag Day holiday?

New York's General Construction Law makes the second Sunday in June its Flag Day; Buffalo schoolteacher Sarah Hinson had led classroom flag exercises in the state from 1891.

Which Rhode Island town has held the oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration, since 1785?

Bristol, Rhode Island has celebrated the Fourth of July every year since 1785, when Rev. Henry Wight led the first 'Patriotic Exercises'; its parade is the nation's oldest continuous Independence Day celebration.

Which country's Rebild National Park is said to host the largest July 4 celebrations outside the US?

Denmark's Rebild National Park, near Aalborg, has hosted the Rebild Festival since 1912, organized by the Danish-American Rebild Society as a homecoming for emigrants and their descendants.