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Thirteen Things about The United States Flag, Flag Day (June 14), and Flag Week

1. Thursday, June 14th 2007 is Flag Day. Flag Day is established in U S Code Title 36, Subtitle I, Part A, Chapter 1, Section 110.
   1. Designation.— June 14 is Flag Day.
   2. Proclamation.— The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation—
      1. calling on United States Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on Flag Day; and
      2. urging the people of the United States to observe Flag Day as the anniversary of the adoption on June 14, 1777, by the Continental Congress of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States

2. The week in which June 14th falls is National Flag Week. National Flag Week is established in U S Code Title 35, Subtitle I, Part A, Chapter 1, Section 122.

   The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation -
   (1) designating the week in which June 14 falls as National Flag Week; and (2) calling on citizens to display the flag of the United States during National Flag Week.

3. The flag is the symbol of our country, and when we pledge allegiance to the flag, we are pledging our allegiance to our country. The Pledge of Allegiance is defined in U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 4.

   I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to The Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

   The Exact language of the pledge is given above. This was re-affirmed by Congress in Public Law 107-293 section 2(b). Part of the findings of congress in that law are reproduced here (emphasis added):

   On April 28, 1952, in the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952), in which school children were allowed to be excused from public schools for religious observances and education, Justice William O. Douglas, in writing for the Court stated: 'The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State. Rather, it studiously defines the manner, the specific ways, in which there shall be no concern or union or dependency one on the other. That is the common sense of the matter. Otherwise the State and religion would be aliens to each other - hostile, suspicious, and even unfriendly. Churches could not be required to pay even property taxes. Municipalities would not be permitted to render police or fire protection to religious groups. Policemen who helped parishioners into their places of worship would violate the Constitution. Prayers in our legislative halls; the appeals to the Almighty in the messages of the Chief Executive; the proclamations making Thanksgiving Day a holiday; "so help me God" in our courtroom oaths - these and all other references to the Almighty that run through our laws, our public rituals, our ceremonies would be flouting the First Amendment. A fastidious atheist or agnostic could even object to the supplication with which the Court opens each session: "God save the United States and this Honorable Court." '

   Also...

   On June 17, 1963, in the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963), in which compulsory school prayer was held unconstitutional, Justices Goldberg and Harlan, concurring in the decision, stated: 'But untutored devotion to the concept of neutrality can lead to invocation or approval of results which partake not simply of that noninterference and noninvolvement with the religious which the Constitution commands, but of a brooding and pervasive devotion to the secular and a passive, or even active, hostility to the religious. Such results are not only not compelled by the Constitution, but, it seems to me, are prohibited by it. Neither government nor this Court can or should ignore the significance of the fact that a vast portion of our people believe in and worship God and that many of our legal, political, and personal values derive historically from religious teachings. Government must inevitably take cognizance of the existence of religion and, indeed, under certain circumstances the First Amendment may require that it do so.'

4. U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 1 specifies the design of the flag.

   The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.

   Section 2 adds an additional star for each additional state beyond 48.

   On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission.

5. It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. (U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 6 (a))
6. No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.
7. The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
8. The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free.
9. The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. (items 6 through 9 are from U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8)
10. During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing in a parade or in review, all persons present except those in uniform should face the flag and stand at attention with the right hand over the heart. Those present in uniform should render the military salute. When not in uniform, men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens should stand at attention. The salute to the flag in a moving column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes. (U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 9)
11. US Law considers the flag to be a living thing.

    No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart. (U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8 (j))

12. The flag of the United States of America, flying throughout the night during the attack on Fort McHenry by the British Navy during the war of 1812 was the inspiration for our National Anthem.

    The song of our nation was penned by Washington attorney Francis Scott Key at a dramatic moment during the War of 1812. On the night of September 13, 1814, Key watched as our country was attacked by the British navy at Fort McHenry. After watching the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air throughout the night, dawn broke. Key was expecting to find Baltimore firmly under British control, but was stunned to see a battered but still flying American flag waving in the sunrise. So inspired was Key that he wrote the poem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Set to a tune attributed to John Stafford Smith, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” it became America's national anthem in 1931.

    (From The National Anthem Project).
13. Congress has granted the President of the United States the power to alter the flag code by proclamation.

    Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States of America, set forth herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed, or additional rules with respect thereto may be prescribed, by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable; and any such alteration or additional rule shall be set forth in a proclamation. (U S Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 10)

Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (My trackback filter won't let you trackback unless you link to this post, so you can leave a comment I will add you as I get time today.):

1. Callie Ann
2. Michelle M Pillow
3. Raven Paranormal Blog
4. Lori
5. Kai
6. Dana
7. Dixie
8. mitchypoo
9. David
10. Stella Price
11. spyscribbler
12. Mymsie
13. Joanne
14. Debbie Mumford
15. Your name here...

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