History for the day: 1777: Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes

14 June 1777: Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes:

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternating red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the Stars and Stripes, was based on the Grand Union flag, carried by the Continental Army in 1776, that also consisted of thirteen red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of thirteen stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent new additions to the Union. In 1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the thirteen original stripes be restored, and that only stars be added to represent new states.On 14 June 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. As instructed by Congress, the flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and, in 1949, Congress officially designated 14 June as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

Rico says stand and salute, you sumbitch... (And, if Puerto Rico gets in, it'll be an awkward design with 51...