Origin of Flag Day
May 21, 2005 18:29:47 GMT -6
Post by Moderator on May 21, 2005 18:29:47 GMT -6
ORIGIN OF FLAG DAY
There are many claims to the first official observance of Flag Day following the flag's adoption in 1777. An event that included a celebration of the United States flag was held in Hartford, Connecticut in the summer of 1861. In the late 1800s, schools all over the United States held Flag Day programs to contribute to the Americanization of immigrant children. The observance gradually spread into communities across the country.
In 1885, Bernard Cigrand, a 19-year-old teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin asked his students to write essays about the flag. Cigrand devoted the rest of his life attempting to gain national recognition and observance of Flag Day. William T. Kerr, a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is credited with founding the American Flag Day Association in 1888. He is often referred to as the "Father of Flag Day".
On June 14, 1889, George Bolch, the principal of a free kindergarten for the poor in New York City, had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day resolution. This initiative attracted attention from the State Department of Education, which arranged to have the day observed in all public schools thereafter. The state legislature passed a law making it the responsibility of the state superintendent of public schools to ensure that schools hold observances for Lincoln's birthday, Washington's birthday, Memorial Day and Flag Day.
The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration on June 14, 1891. The New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution celebrated Flag Day in 1892. In 1893, the Society of Colonial Dames succeeded in getting a resolution passed to have the flag displayed on all public buildings in Philadelphia. More than 300,000 public school children celebrated Flag Day in Chicago on June 14, 1894.
In 1897, the governor of New York ordered the displaying of the flag over all public buildings in the state, an observance considered by some to be the first official recognition of the anniversary of the adoption of the flag outside of schools.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring June 14 be observed as National Flag Day. President Calvin Coolidge did the same in 1927. Pennsylvania became the first state to establish June 14 as Flag Day and a legal holiday in May, 1937. Flag Day is a nationwide observance today, but Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday. The United States Congress approved the national observance on August 3, 1949 and President Harry Truman signed it into law.
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This information is copied from Page 32 of the United States Flag Manual, a publication distributed by the Military Salute Project. Click the following link to view or download the complete manual ...
militarysalute.proboards.com/thread/737/united-states-flag-manual
There are many claims to the first official observance of Flag Day following the flag's adoption in 1777. An event that included a celebration of the United States flag was held in Hartford, Connecticut in the summer of 1861. In the late 1800s, schools all over the United States held Flag Day programs to contribute to the Americanization of immigrant children. The observance gradually spread into communities across the country.
In 1885, Bernard Cigrand, a 19-year-old teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin asked his students to write essays about the flag. Cigrand devoted the rest of his life attempting to gain national recognition and observance of Flag Day. William T. Kerr, a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is credited with founding the American Flag Day Association in 1888. He is often referred to as the "Father of Flag Day".
On June 14, 1889, George Bolch, the principal of a free kindergarten for the poor in New York City, had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day resolution. This initiative attracted attention from the State Department of Education, which arranged to have the day observed in all public schools thereafter. The state legislature passed a law making it the responsibility of the state superintendent of public schools to ensure that schools hold observances for Lincoln's birthday, Washington's birthday, Memorial Day and Flag Day.
The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration on June 14, 1891. The New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution celebrated Flag Day in 1892. In 1893, the Society of Colonial Dames succeeded in getting a resolution passed to have the flag displayed on all public buildings in Philadelphia. More than 300,000 public school children celebrated Flag Day in Chicago on June 14, 1894.
In 1897, the governor of New York ordered the displaying of the flag over all public buildings in the state, an observance considered by some to be the first official recognition of the anniversary of the adoption of the flag outside of schools.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring June 14 be observed as National Flag Day. President Calvin Coolidge did the same in 1927. Pennsylvania became the first state to establish June 14 as Flag Day and a legal holiday in May, 1937. Flag Day is a nationwide observance today, but Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday. The United States Congress approved the national observance on August 3, 1949 and President Harry Truman signed it into law.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This information is copied from Page 32 of the United States Flag Manual, a publication distributed by the Military Salute Project. Click the following link to view or download the complete manual ...
militarysalute.proboards.com/thread/737/united-states-flag-manual