The stars and stripes are known the world over for liberty, justice and freedom for all. But how did the legendary Old Glory come into existence and become such an iconic symbol for democracy? Currently the flag of the United States of America consists of six white horizontal stripes and seven red horizontal stripes with a blue rectangle in the canton featuring fifty white five-pointed stars. The fifty stars represent the 50 US states and the thirteen stripes stand for the original thirteen colonies that stood up against the British Empire in the 1770's. But it's been a long and winding road for the American flag from its humble origins to the standard bearer it is today.

Interestingly enough when the Declaration of Independence was signed on July, 4, 1776 the United States had no official flag. During the Revolutionary War several standards were used by the Continental army and some naval ships that featured designs that would later be incorporated into the flag that you see today. The Grand Union flag is believed to be the first national flag as it was raised aboard the Continental Naval Commodore Alfred in 1775 and was also used by George Washington's troops in battle. This flag featured thirteen alternating red and white stripes but the canton was actually a miniature version of the British union jack. Others suggest that the coat of arms for the George Washington family had more to do with the design of the US flag as the coat featured red stars and stripes. Regardless of the source on June 14, 1777 the 2nd Continental Congress passed a resolution resolving that the US flag would consist of thirteen stars and stripes with the alternating red and white stripes and white stars arranged in a circle on the blue canton. This flag became known as the "Betsy Ross"€ flag in honor of the woman believed to be the first person to actually sew an American flag, though this theory is widely thought to be untrue.

In 1795 two more stars were added to represent the addition of Vermont and Kentucky into the Union. As more territories were gradually incorporated into the union it was agreed that a plan should be in place to keep the flag's original design but allow for individual state recognition. Therefore in 1818 at the suggestion of US Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid it was decided that the thirteen stripes would remain to honor the original thirteen colonies but that a new star would be added for each state. The act specified that every July 4th new stars would be added for states included in the previous year. The last stars added were for Alaska in 1959 and Hawaii in 1960. The current flag has plans to allow up to 56 stars as movements exist for adding Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia as future states.