美国国旗的由来

For more than 200 years, the American flag has been the symbol of our nation's strength and unity. It's been a source of pride and inspiration for millions of citizens. And the American Flag has been a prominent icon in our national history. Here are the highlights of its unique past.

On January 1, 1776, the Continental Army was reorganized in accordance with a Congressional resolution which placed American forces under George Washington's control. On that New Year's Day the Continental Army was laying siege to Boston which had been taken over by the British Army. Washington ordered the Grand Union flag hoisted above his base at Prospect Hill. It had 13 alternate red and white stripes and the British Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner (the canton).

In May of 1776, Betsy Ross reported that she sewed the first American flag.

On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."

Between 1777 and 1960, Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed for additional stars and stripes to be added to reflect the admission of each new state.

Act of January 13, 1794 - provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.

Act of April 4, 1818 - provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state, signed by President Monroe.

Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912 - established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.

Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.

Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with 6 white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence and Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.

美国的国旗又叫“星条旗”(the Star --spangled Banner)。其主要部分是7道红色和6道白色相间的彩条，旗左上方是一个底色为蓝色的矩形图案，上面有50颗白色五角星。如今的这面美国国旗，在历史上前前后后已经被更改变动了26次。

1775年12月，华盛顿大陆军的一名海军军官曾经在“艾尔弗雷德号”舰艇上升起一面旗帜，旗帜的左上角是缩小了的英国“米字旗”，其余部分排列着13条横条。它反映了英属北美殖民地温和派代表要求取得英帝国范围内自治的主张。1776年6月，华盛顿、罗斯上校和银行家莫里斯来到费城一位女裁缝一一罗斯上校的侄媳罗斯夫人的小店铺，请她按照画家威廉?巴雷特设计的图案缝制一面旗帜。图案的左上角是蓝色长方形，上面无规则地排列着13颗白色六角星，其余部分是13条红白相间的横条。罗斯夫人建议把六角星改为五角星，排成一个圆圈，以更好地体现13个殖民地在争取独立斗争中的团结。华盛顿采纳了她的意见。不久，罗斯夫人精心缝制的第一面星条旗诞生了。1777年6月14日，大陆会议批准这一样式的星条旗为美国国旗，国旗上的每一道彩条和每一颗五角星代表刚刚宣布独立的13 个原殖民地州中的一个。1795年，当佛蒙特和肯塔基两个州加人联邦时，美国国会通过一项决议：将原来国旗上的13道彩条和13颗星分别改为15道彩条和15颗星。到1817年，新的联邦内已有20个州。显然，如果仍按每增加一个新的州就增加一道彩条和一颗星的办法去做，就会破坏原来国旗的整体布局。于是，国会于1818年又通过一项新的法案，规定：国旗上五角星的数目与合众国州的数目相等，凡1个新州加人联邦，国旗上就增加一颗白星；但国旗仍恢复为13条红白相间的横条，不再随州数增加而改变，以纪念赢得美国独立的最早的13个州的历史功绩，同时保持原国旗整体布局的稳定。到1959年，国会批准夏威夷为美国第50个州，于是，美国国旗左上角蓝色矩形内就有了50颗白色五角星，它们分成9排平行排列。其中，单序数行6颗星，双序数行5颗星，旗上仍为13条红白相间的横条。1983年6月，美国总统里根宣布6月14日为“美国国旗日”。