American flag

Date1912-1958

Mediumcotton

Dimensions70 x 117 in. (177.8 x 297.2 cm)

Donor credit lineKendall Whaling Museum Collection Transfer

Object number2001.100.10273

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionIn the 1770s, military flags and ensigns were common, but the idea of a national flag did not exist. On June 14, the Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Initially, the thirteen stars and thirteen stripes represented the original thirteen colonies. The appearance and arrangement of elements was up to the maker. The American flag has been modified 26 times since 1777. In 1795, the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 (to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union). It stayed that way until 1818, when Congress reduced the number of stripes to 13 in honor of the original colonies and increased the stars to 20, agreeing to add a new one for every new state. Textiles quickly became a way to share national pride, especially by women, who stitched different versions of the American flag by hand and later by machine.

This American flag has forty-eight stars.Provenance"HWK" numbered objects are from Henry W. Kendall's personal collection, distinct from the larger Kendall Whaling Museum collection.

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