Introduction

How does the American flag make one out of many? Our ebook, “The Meaning of Flag Day,” explores the history and significance of the American flag with selections from American authors and statesmen, including Francis Scott Key, Walt Whitman, Stephen Crane, Abraham Lincoln, and John McCain. Each selection includes a brief introduction by the editors with guiding questions for discussion. This ebook also includes a lesson plan on the American flag and the First Amendment by teacher Anne Continetti.

Flag Day: An American Holiday
A Short History of the American Flag
The Origins and Traditions of Flag Day
Woodrow Wilson, Address at Flag Day Exercises
Woodrow Wilson, Proclamation 1335 – Flag Day
Woodrow Wilson, Address on Flag Day
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Proclamation 2614 – Flag Day
Ronald Reagan, Remarks at a Flag Day Ceremony
George W. Bush, Proclamation 7573 – Flag Day
Amy A. Kass and Leon R. Kass, “The Meaning of Flag Day”

The Flag as Symbol
Francis Scott Key, “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Henry Ward Beecher, Address to the 14th Brooklyn Regiment
Walt Whitman, “Song of the Banner at Daybreak”
John Greenleaf Whittier, “Barbara Frietchie”
Stephen Crane, From The Red Badge of Courage
Charles W. Harwood, “The Color Guard”
Willa Cather, “The Namesake”
   DISCUSSION GUIDE: Making One Out of Many and “The Namesake”
John Philip Sousa, “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
Henry Holcomb Bennett, “The Flag Goes By”
Elias Lieberman, “I Am an American”
George M. Cohan, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”
Johnny Cash, “Ragged Old Flag” 
Bill D. Ross, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” from The Men of Suribachi and Two Flags
Raising the Flag
   Abraham Lincoln, Ordering the Raising of the Flag and Other Commemorations at Fort Sumter
   Harry S. Truman, Remarks at the Raising of the Flag over the US Group Control Council Headquarters in Berlin 
   Edwin W. Aldrin Jr. Raising the American Flag on the Moon

Honoring the Flag
Francis Bellamy, The Pledge of Allegiance 
John M. Harlan, From Halter v. Nebraska
William Brennan, From Texas v. Johnson
William H. Rehnquist, Dissent from Texas v. Johnson
   LESSON PLAN: Anne Continetti, Is Flag-Burning Constitutional? A Lesson for Texas v. Johnson
John McCain, “The Pledge of Allegiance at the Hanoi Hilton”
Walter Berns, “From the Ashes Comes the Rebirth of Patriotism”
Walter Berns, From Making Patriots

APPENDIX: US Flag Code
Stars of the American Flag: A Timeline

ABOUT THE COVER: Frederic Edwin Church, Our Flag