How America chose the 50-Star flag

The American flag is very familiar, but did you know that the design might be something you don’t recognize?

In 1958, as rumors of the admission of two new states to the Union swept the country, the Eisenhower administration grappled with various designs for a new flag with 50 stars.

Supervisory Archive Specialist Dr. “People are starting to send in ideas for what the new flag should look like,” Jim Ginther said. Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum It has been in Abilene, Kansas, which has stored all the applications ever since.

“Suddenly there was renewed public interest in the design of the flag. Beginning in July 1958, the White House, like the Army’s Quartermaster Corps, began receiving designs from the public from all over the country and around the world.”

ERIC SHAWN REVEALS THE SURPRISE DESIGNER OF THE CURRENT AMERICAN FLAG

The story of the 50-star flag is told in episode one of “Crazy American History with Eric Shawn,” currently airing on Fox Nation.

A star was added to the flag in January 1959 when Alaska joined the union as the 49th state.

The 50th star was added upon Hawaii’s admission as a state, and this new flag was first officially raised on July 4, 1960, at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the site of the War of 1812 bombardment that inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

But in the two years before President Eisenhower decided on the new design of the Stars and Stripes, flag fever gripped the country.

The White House eventually received more than 1,900 designs; many of these were done by schoolchildren as part of lessons in the classroom publication “My Weekly Reader.”

Adults from all over the country and even abroad submitted their proposals.

The proposed 50-star U.S. flag with a starburst arrangement is on display at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. This was one of more than 1,900 designs submitted to the White House before the official 50-star flag was adopted. (Fox Nation)

“Some are as simple as charcoal drawings, some are as ornate as the artist’s drawings. Some are flags sewn from fabric. Some are pastel drawings,” Ginther said.

The Eisenhower administration used the opportunity to educate Americans about the flag, responding to each application with a letter from a senior White House official.

“A variety of publications are being produced by the government about the history of the flag, flag etiquette, various other aspects of the use of the flag that they have begun to send back to the public, along with these letters of appreciation that they offer to educate the public about the flag.”

The Continental Congress adopted the flag on June 14, 1777, which is now celebrated as Flag Day.

Betsy Ross is credited with designing the first flag with 13 stars in a circle for the original 13 colonies.

The guidelines call for a design with alternating red and white stripes, with a blue field for the stars.

American flag design with small stars forming a larger star. (Fox Nation)

However, Ginther noted that the way the stars were placed was never specified, meaning some designs might look intriguing and interesting.

But there would be no big change.

“The flag is symbolic,” Ginther said.

SURPRISE YOUR NEIGHBOR HOMEOWNER WITH A BRAND NEW AMERICAN FLAG

“A radical change in this will be difficult. People are used to this symbol. This is revealed in the discussions and documents on the flags,” he said. “It’s going to be expensive to radically change the flag, so we have to take that into account as well. And then you have to take into account that our military, in particular, has an emotional stake in having them fight and bleed under that flag.”

“There may be a reason why you don’t want a radical change, although many people in the country are interested in submitting their designs. There’s also an argument to be made for not being too radical in redesigning the flag as a symbol of the nation.”

In the end, President Eisenhower chose a design similar to historical tradition, adding two stars in alternating rows of six and five stars on a blue field that has become familiar ever since.

American flag design with a large star above small stars. (Fox Nation)

It is the flag that represents our freedoms and American ideals on our nation’s 250th birthday.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

For more on President Eisenhower and the flag, watch “The Fifty Star Flag,” the first episode of Fox Nation’s new series “Crazy American History.”

The website of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home provides more information about the flag and the president: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/