American Flag Research Paper

What does the American Flag mean to me? It means freedom,respect,equal right, faith and hope. Soldiers help protect this country, they fight for us, they give up everything for us. People don’t know how important the flag is. The flag means our country’s freedom. When I look up at the flag, I see people, not just any people, the great Americans that have fought for this country.

The American flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, with seven red stripes alternating among six white. In the upper left corner there is a rectangular blue space that contains fifty white stars. The thirteen stripes symbolize the thirteen original colonies of the United states of America and the stars represent the fifty states of the Union. White is said to symbolize purity and innocence. Red symbolizes strength and courage, and blue symbolizes vigilance, perseverance and justice. The flag in simple words is a piece of cloth that has meaning. The flag stands for everything in our country’s past.

Finally, it Represents racism to a lot of people. William Thompson the designer of the original “stainless banner”part of the confederate flag said “we are fighting to maintain the supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race”. The south used three

“Symbol of a brave past or banner of treason?” Kevin Baker asks this in his article titled That Flag. This is the question that many people have tried to answer. The Confederate Battle Flag has been used to send many different messages to the public, and depending on who you talk to it holds different meanings. As explained in the article titled Political culture, religion, and the Confederate Battle Flag debate in Alabama written by Jonathan I. Leib and Gerald R. Webster. The article explains that, “Many traditional white southerners view the Confederate Battle Flag as emblematic of the sense of duty and sacrifice of their ancestors during the Civil War and Reconstruction. They argue that the Civil War was not about the institution of slavery

This flag has been said to symbolize hate or racism. As stated by one of our great presidents, "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." (Lincoln) Robert E. Lee is the first commander to use this flag and as said by one author, “nearly 95% of Lee’s army that fought at Gettysburg did not own a single slave” (McPherson). This image of the South where everyone owns slaves is not correct. In fact, two authors say that, “The average white Southern family in antebellum America lived on a small farm without slaves. Slave ownership was the exception, not the rule” (Williamson and Cain). As presented by Williamson and Cain, “Over 80 percent of the free adult males in the South did not own slaves” (Measuring Slaves). Many 19th century Southern Americans are not. Most white people work on plantations with slaves for

When you see the American flag, what is the first thing that pops into your head? Is it a war? A relative? A political leader? What? For me, I usually think of the Star Spangled Banner. I grew up on a military base in Germany. If the flag were being raised or lowered, you would see soldiers, and even civilians, standing at attention, saluting the flag. In a parade, as the flag was being carried in front by one of the brigades, everyone held his or her hand over his or her heart as the flag passed that person. Even in the theaters, before the movie would start, the Star Spangled Banner would be played while scenes of American flags in battles and peacetime were on the screen and everyone would stand, either at attention or with

The flag is a symbol of pride and patriotism. “The flag is not racist. It is a symbol of patriots who were willing to die to protect this country and make sure it remained as the founders intended,” (Is the confederate flag racist?, 1). This exemplifies that the flag is not a racist symbol, it is a symbol of patriotism. The Confederate flag is not a racist

The pattern of the flag as a symbol is not cut and dry. The flag that we know as the Confederate Flag today was actually never the Confederate Army’s official flag. It was the Confederate battle flag of Northern Virginia. It is now a part of the culture and history of the United States. The meaning of the flag is dynamic. It has changed over time. The meaning of the flag is not shared. Its meaning varies from a simple historical material creation to a

There are three different confederate flags and most people only know about the confederate battle flag. The new confederate battle flag was recognized as the confederated flag. The confederate flag was flown by white racial motived groups. This is how the flag got to become a symbol of racial

Is the Confederate flag a symbol of Southern Culture or a symbol of racial injustice? Dictionary.com defines symbol as “a material object representing something, often something immaterial.” When the Civil War first started, the flag became a representative of the Confederate side of the war. After the war, it was thought to be rebellion. Now, it is a symbol of the Southern culture.

The flag has been a symbol for the United States for decades. On June 14, 1777 the first flag was officially commissioned by the Continental Congress (U.S. Flag, 2005, para. 3). The flag is a trademark for the freedoms embraced by the citizens of the United States, and is a beacon of hope for those fighting to keep those freedoms. The flag is greatly respected by the citizens of the United States. There are multitudinous people who use the flag as a form of protest in ways such as ripping it, burning it, or trampling on it. These acts are forms of desecration of the flag. Desecration is the use of something considered sacred in a profane way. Every American is entitled to an opinion and has the freedom the express these opinions. The flag is a symbol of freedoms, stated and protected in the Constitution of the United States.

The American flag not only stands for pride, freedom, and strength but the colors on the flag have a meaning behind them that all Americans should understand. In a description of the flag on a website dedicated solely to the Flag of the United States of America is states "The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice" (US Flag 2005). The flag was not just thrown together to represent the country but also have a true meaning behind them. The stars and stripes on the flag have both an exact meaning but also have the meaning of

The American flag is one of the most recognizable symbols this country has today. As children, we learn in school to cross our heart with our right hand and recite the pledge of allegiance to the United States of America, while facing the flag, a beloved symbol. As a soldier in the United States Army, I proudly wear a flag as a part of my Army Combat Uniform (ACU). It is worn by soldiers like me to show the love of country, honor and commitment to this great nation. It is cherished by veterans who have fought for this country, and families of the fallen soldiers cherish it because it is

The use of the so called confederate flag isn't really a national flag at all. The commonly used symbol of the south and recently debated symbol has come under fire as racist and as a symbol of white supremecy. In true meaning the flags shown above are all different variations of flags flown by the confederate states during their four year succession from the united States. The battle flag is the one most commonly used as a symbol of southern pride. Many believe the flag portraits proslavery views which it does not. The flags colors stand the same meaning for those on old Glory but the thirteen stars represent the thirteen succeeded states. This flag never flew for slavery but only for the rights of the individuals from 13 states. This flag

The red also represents the confederate flag for the Civil War. Phoenix wearing the red flag shows how the south always had a hold on the slaves. When thinking of the words dark and striped, most are reminded of prisoners in a jail cell, which is just what the slaves were in the 1700’s and 1800s, prisoners to the white. The dark striped dress Phoenix was wearing represents a black and white jail cell uniform for prisoners. Welty used the main character, Phoenix, to be her representation of slaves and blacks. With a character like Phoenix, many get a grasp on what blacks really have gone through and what they still may be going through now.