America has so many flags with so many different stars. There is the current flag with 50 stars, the Lone Star from Texas, flags with 48 stars and the Betsy Ross flag. Since the latter is sometimes mistaken for the Confederate flag in our shop when we show our woven Betsy blanket, perhaps we should tell its legendary story.
It is impossible to imagine the history of the USA without her: Betsy Ross. In May 1776, the leader of the Continental Army George Washington, the probably richest man in the colonies Robert Morris and her distant uncle George Ross met in her house in Philadelphia. Betsy Ross was asked to sew the first American flag. The War of Independence was raging outside. According to legend, the Americans, who had been disorientated in the battles until then, saw their first flag (and not the English one), gained new courage and of course they then won their battles. As I said - according to legend.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress, the citizen representation of the 13 states of North America (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island), adopted the Declaration of Independence, thereby proclaiming separation from England and the sovereignty of the "United States of America".
Almost a year later, on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress decided that the flag of the United States should have thirteen stripes alternating red and white and thirteen white stars on a blue background, representing the new states ("Betsy Ross flag"). Over the course of history, another star was added for each additional state. However, the number of stripes was already fixed in 1818, because one should always remember the first thirteen states. The current American flag with 50 stars has existed since Hawaii joined in 1959.
Betsy Ross' house, which she rented from 1773 to 1786, can still be visited today. In addition to her living quarters, her own sewing shop was located in the basement. For those who are not coming to historic Philadelphia in the foreseeable future, there is a guided tour on the Internet: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/house/intro.html
