 The flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the American flag or US flag, is the national flag of the United States. It consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small, white, 5 pointed stars arranged in 9 offset horizontal rows, where rows of 6 stars alternate with rows of 5 stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America, and the 13 stripes represent the 13 British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became the first states in the US nicknames for the flag include the stars and stripes, Old Glory, and the Star Spangled Banner. The current design of the US flag is its 27th, the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48 star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49 star version became official on July 4th 1959. The 50 star flag was ordered by then President Eisenhower on August 21st 1959, and was adopted in July 1960. It is the longest used version of the US flag and has been in use for over 59 years. At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the Continental Congress would not legally adopt flags with stars, white in a blue field, for another year. The flag contemporaneously known as the Continental Colors has historically been referred to as the first national flag. The Continental Navy raised the colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence, likely with the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensigns by adding white stripes, and would use this flag until 1777 when it would form the basis for the subsequent De Jure designs. The name Grand Union was first applied to the Continental Colors by George Preble in his 1872 history of the US flag. The flag closely resembles the British East India Company flag of the era, and Sir Charles Fawcett argued in 1937 that the company flag inspired the design. Both flags could have been easily constructed by adding white stripes to a British red ensign, one of the three maritime flags used throughout the British Empire at the time. However, an East India Company flag could have from 9 to 13 stripes, and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean. Benjamin Franklin once gave a speech endorsing the adoption of the company's flag by the United States as their national flag. He said to George Washington, while the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company. This was a way of symbolizing American loyalty to the crown as well as the United States aspirations to be self-governing, as was the East India Company. Some colonists also felt that the company could be a powerful ally in the American War of Independence as they shared similar aims and grievances against the British government tax policies. Colonists therefore flew the company's flag to endorse the company. However, the theory that the Grand Union flag was a direct descendant of the flag of the East India Company has been criticized as lacking written evidence. On the other hand, the resemblance is obvious, and a number of the founding fathers of the United States were aware of the East India Company's activities and of their free administration of India under company rule. In any case, both the stripes and the stars have precedence in classical heraldry. Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry, but an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the US flag are those in the coat of arms of the valet of 1618, where seven mullets stood for seven districts. Another widely repeated theory is that the design was inspired by the coat of arms of George Washington's family, which includes three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field. Despite the similar visual elements, there is little evidence or no evidence whatsoever to support the claimed connection with the flag design. The digital encyclopedia of George Washington, published by the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, calls it an enduring myth backed by no discernible evidence. The story seems to have originated with the 1876 Play Washington, a drama in five acts by the English poet Martin Farqua-Tapa, and was further popularized through repetition in the children's magazine St. Nicholas. If a new US state were to be admitted, it would require a new design of the flag to accommodate an additional star for a 51st state. Potential stateward candidates include US territories, the national capital, or a state created from the partition of an existing state. According to the US Army Institute of Heraldry, the United States flag never becomes obsolete. Any approved American flag may continue to be used and displayed until no longer serviceable. The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely recognized symbols. Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows and on clothing ornamentation such as badges and lapel pins. Throughout the world, the flag has been used in public discourse to refer to the United States. The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism and is flown on many occasions with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Reverence for the flag has at times reached religion like fervor. In 1919 William Norman Guthrie's book The Religion of Old Glory discussed the cult of the flag and formally proposed vexellolatory. Despite a number of attempts to ban the practice, desecration of the flag remains protected as free speech. Scholars have noted the irony that T he flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest. Comparing practice worldwide, Testy noted in 2010 that the United States was not unique in adoring its banner for the flags of Scandinavian countries are also beloved, domesticated, commercialized and sacralized objects. This nationalist attitude around the flag is a shift from earlier sentiments. The U.S. flag was largely a military ensign or a convenient marking of American territory that rarely appeared outside of forts, embassies and the like until the opening of the American Civil War in April 1861 when Major Robert Anderson was forced to surrender Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor to Confederates. Anderson was celebrated in the north as a hero and U.S. citizens throughout northern states co-opted the national flag to symbolize U.S. nationalism and rejection of secessionism. For the first time American flags were mass produced rather than individually stitched and even so, manufacturers could not keep up with demand. As the long winter of 1861 turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing, strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for. The supposed symbolism of the colors red, white and blue is drawn from heraldry and was not originally intended to apply to the flag. Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, discussing the proposed U.S. seal, gave symbolic meanings for the colors in the seal, drawn from heraldry, with white signifying purity and innocence, red, hardiness and valor, and blue signifying vigilance, perseverance and justice. Over time, that explanation came to be associated with the flag. Over the years, other interpretations have included that red is for the blood of patriots, spilled in the fight to protect the country. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan gave his own interpretation, saying, the colors of our flags signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish. Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice, white for pure intentions and high ideals, and blue for vigilance and justice. The exact red, white and blue colors to be used in the flag are specified with reference to the chaos standard color reference of America, 10th edition. Specifically, the colors are white, old glory red, and old glory blue. The CIE coordinates for the colors of the ninth edition of the standard color card were formally specified in JOSA in 1946. These colors form the standard for cloth, and there is no perfect way to convert them to RGB for display on screen or CMYK for printing. As with the design, the official colors are only officially required for flags produced for the US federal government, and other colors are often used for mass market flags, printed reproductions, and other products intended to evoke flag colors. The practice of using more saturated colors than the official cloth is not new. As Taylor, Noche, and Granville wrote in 1950, the color of the official wool bunting is a very dark blue, but printed reproductions of the flag, as well as merchandise supposed to match the flag, present the color as a deep blue much brighter than the official wool. Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag as long as it does not deface the flag proper. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often use fringe to enhance the appearance of the flag. Traditionally, the Army and Air Force use a fringe flag for parade, color guard and indoor display, while the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard use a fringeless flag for all occasions. The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835, and the Army used it officially in 1895. No specific law governs the legality of fringe, but a 1925 opinion of the Attorney General addresses the use of fringe, is at the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. United States Code Law books. This opinion is a source for claims that a flag with fringe is a military ensign rather than civilian. However, according to the Army Institute of Heraldry, which has official custody of the flag designs and makes any change ordered, there are no implications of symbolism in the use of fringe. Individuals associated with the sovereign citizen movement and tax protester conspiracy arguments have claimed, based on the military usage, that the presence of a fringe flag in a civilian courtroom changes the nature or jurisdiction of the court. Federal and state courts have rejected this contention.