Flag Day
June 14, 2024
History
No country has changed its flag as frequently as the United States.
The current flag law was enacted in 1817 and permanently limited the number of stripes to 13. The stars were to correspond to the number of states, with new stars added to the flag the following Fourth of July. Star arrangement is not specified.
Throughout the 19th century a variety of exuberant star designs—“great luminaries,” rings, ovals, and diamonds—were actually used. Finally, in 1912, President Taft set forth exact regulations for all flag details.
The original, sometimes dubbed “The Betsy Ross”—though few researchers express confidence that Ross created the first flag—displayed 13 stars and 13 stripes, with the stars arranged in a circle.
High School Junior
In the late 1950s, as Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood, then-president Dwight Eisenhower asked for design proposals for a new flag.
Young Bob Heft was a junior in Lancaster (Ohio) High School when his American History teacher gave the class the assignment to create a project that illustrated their interest in history. The 17 year-old Heft knew the new states would join the union, so he planned to design an American flag with 50 stars.
Bob took an old flag stored in a closet in his grandparents’ home and cut out its star-covered blue field and replaced it with $2 worth of blue cotton fabric. Using a cardboard pattern as a guide, he traced the stars on white iron-on tape and arranged them on the flag – five rows of six stars with four alternation rows of five stars.
Despite Bob’s hardwork on the project, his teacher gave him a B-minus for his effort. When Bob protested the teacher said he would change the grade if Congress accepted the flag design. Not easily daunted, Bob hopped on his bike and rode to the nearby home of Congressman Walter Moeller, who promised to take the flag to Washington.
Among the hundreds of submissions received, there were reportedly at least three for the current flag. Most famously, one of those had been sent by then-high school junior Bob Heft of Ohio, who had designed the 50-star flag for a class assignment. Heft, who died in 2009, received a B- from an unimpressed teacher, who reportedly called the design unoriginal.
Alaska and Hawaii joined the nation in 1959, and Bob received a phone call from President Dwight Eisenhower who told him his design had been accepted to replace the 49-star flag. It is estimated that more than 1500 people offered designs, and several produced the same star pattern. Yet, he was given credit for the design, which became our nation’s official banner on July 4, 1960.
Bob’s high school history teacher made good on his promise. Bob returned to Lancaster High School shortly after his design was accepted and his former teacher symbolically changed his B-minus grade to an A in honor of his accomplishment.
Heft’s design had earned its rightful “A” from his teacher—and he earned himself a visit to the White House.