The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (2025)

Table of Contents
Composition Iconography Colors Construction Previous iterations Sources References

The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (1)

Established July 4, 1776

With much of the evidence lost to history, historians disagree on which individuals designed and constructed early versions of the United States flag.

Notably, Francis Hopkinson claimed he designed the first flag and Betsy Ross, because of her grandson, has been credited with constructing it. Historians remain skeptical.

The flag has seen 27 different versions (and countless variations) since its official adoption June 14, 1777.

As new states joined, corresponding stars were added to the flag. With few specifications in place, a variety of creative star arrangements were produced. The orderly pattern of offset rows wasn’t standardized until 1959.

The current 50-star flag was adopted July 4, 1960.

Composition

The U.S. flag features thirteen horizontal stripes of alternating red and white, seven red and six white.

In the upper hoist canton is a union of blue with fifty white five-pointed stars arranged in nine horizontal offset rows.

The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (2)

Iconography

  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (3)

    50 stars

    the fifty states of the Union

  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (4)

    13 stripes

    the original thirteen colonies

Colors

The official colors of the flag are white, “Old Glory Red” and “Old Glory Blue.”

There are a lot of varying color values in use due to the difficulty of interpreting Cable colors for digital screens.

The values here are provided by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in the U.K.

Red represents valor and bravery, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and the blue stands for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

Red

#bb133e

Cable No. 70180 Old Glory Red

PMS 193C

White

#ffffff

Cable No. 70001 White

Pantone White

Blue

#002147

Cable No. 70075 Old Glory Blue

PMS 282c

Construction

U.S. Executive Order 10834 specifies proportions for the flag, as recreated here.

The U.S. flag has a proportion of 1:1.9.

Each stripe is 1/13 the width of the hoist and each star is 4/5 the width of a stripe.

The union is the width of seven stripes and 2/5 the length of the fly.

The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (5)

Previous iterations

For years every flag was constructed by hand. Because there were no specifications for dimension, color, or star arrangement, the flag saw a plethora of one-off variations. Shown here is a timeline of each official iteration (including notable variations).

  • Pre–1777

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (6)

    Continential Colors

  • 1777–1795

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (7)

    13 stars

    The original 13 colonies: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (8)

    Francis Hopkinson flag

    13-star variant
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (9)

    Betsy Ross flag

    13-star variant
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (10)

    Cowpens flag

    13-star variant

  • 1795–1818

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (11)

    15 stars, 15 stripes

    Vermont, Kentucky
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (12)

    Star-Spangled Banner

    15-star variant that inspired Francis Scott Key’s “Defence of Fort M'Henry”

  • 1818–1819

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (13)

    20 stars, 13 stripes

    Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (14)

    Great Star flag

    20-star variant

  • 1819–1820

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (15)

    21 stars

    Illinois

  • 1820–1822

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (16)

    23 stars

    Alabama, Maine

  • 1822–1836

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (17)

    24 stars

    Missouri

  • 1836–1837

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (18)

    25 stars

    Arkansas

  • 1837–1845

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (19)

    26 stars

    Michigan
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (20)

    Great Star flag

    26-star variant

  • 1845–1846

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (21)

    27 stars

    Florida

  • 1846–1847

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (22)

    28 stars

    Texas

  • 1847–1848

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (23)

    29 stars

    Iowa
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (24)

    Diamond flag

    29-star variant

  • 1848–1851

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (25)

    30 stars

    Wisconsin

  • 1851–1858

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (26)

    31 stars

    California

  • 1858–1859

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (27)

    32 stars

    Minnesota

  • 1859–1861

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (28)

    33 stars

    Oregon
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (29)

    Fort Sumter flag

    33-star variant
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (30)

    Great Star flag

    33-star variant
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (31)

    Variation

    33-star variant

  • 1861–1863

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (32)

    34 stars

    Kansas
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (33)

    Star flag

    34-star variant

  • 1863–1865

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (34)

    35 stars

    West Virginia
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (35)

    Medallion flag

    35-star variant

  • 1865–1867

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (36)

    36 stars

    Nevada
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (37)

    Wagon Wheel flag

    36-star variant

  • 1867–1877

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (38)

    37 stars

    Nebraska
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (39)

    Variation

    37-star variant
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (40)

    Medallion Centennial flag

    37-star variant

  • 1877–1890

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (41)

    38 stars

    Colorado
  • The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (42)

    Concentric circles

    38-star variant

  • 1890–1891

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (43)

    43 stars

    North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho

  • 1891–1896

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (44)

    44 stars

    Wyoming

  • 1896–1908

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (45)

    45 stars

    Utah

  • 1908–1912

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (46)

    46 stars

    Oklahoma

  • 1912–1959

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (47)

    48 stars

    New Mexico, Arizona

  • 1959–1960

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (48)

    49 stars

    Alaska

  • 1960–Present

    The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (49)

    50 stars

    Hawaii
The United States - US Flags [dot] Design (2025)

References

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