The History of Every Former US Flag

The 13-star flag officially became the U.S. flag on June 14, 1777, and the date is celebrated every year in the United States as Flag Day. Though there is no conclusive proof, Francis Hopkinson, a congressman from New Jersey and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, is credited with designing the flag. Each star and stripe represented a former British colony.

Two stripes and two stars were added to the flag when Vermont and Kentucky became the 14th and 15th states in 1791 and 1792, respectively. The 15-star flag would last for 23 years and five presidents would serve under it. This flag inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner,” our national anthem, after Key saw the flag continue to fly over Fort McHenry following a British bombardment during the War of 1812.

With the westward expansion of the United States and the addition of more states, Congress realized that adding stripes to the flag would be impractical. So Congress passed the Flag Act in 1818, restoring the original 13-stripe design and unveiling the flag with additional stars on July 4. Five stars were added to represent five new states: Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803), Louisiana (1812), Indiana (1816), and Mississippi (1817). The 20-star flag became the official flag on April 13, 1818, and it was the first of nine flags to only last about a year.

Just over a year after the twenty-star flag was introduced, the United States added Illinois to the Union, boosting the number of states to 21. Illinois, where future president Abraham Lincoln began his political career, was admitted on Dec. 3, 1818.

The number of U.S. states rose to 23 with the admission of Alabama in 1819 and Maine in 1820. The flag became the official U.S. flag on July 4, 1820, and would last two years. President James Monroe was the only president to serve under this flag as well as the previous two flags.

The flag expanded to 24 stars with the addition of Missouri in 1821. Missouri, a slave state, was admitted as part of the Missouri Compromise, which sought to achieve a balance of free and slave states during the antebellum period. The compromise included the admission of Maine, a free state, which had separated from Massachusetts and become a state the previous year.

Arkansas joined the Union as a slave state on June 15, 1836. Less than a month later, its star was included in the U.S. flag, pushing the state total to 25. Arkansas was part of the Louisiana Purchase and carved out of what became the Missouri Territory to become its own territory.

Michigan was admitted to the Union in 1837 as a free state to help maintain the balance between slave and free states. Michigan’s admission had been thwarted because of a border dispute with Ohio — which had been admitted as a state in 1803 — but President Andrew Jackson helped Michigan save face by awarding it land from the Upper Peninsula, and then it was granted statehood, boosting the number of states to 26.

Florida, a former possession of the Spanish empire, was admitted to the Union in 1845, raising the total number of U.S. states to 27. It would not remain in the Union for long: Florida would secede in 1861.

In 1846, the flag would undergo another change, this time because of the admission of Texas. Before becoming the 28th state, the Lone Star state had broken away from Mexico in 1836. It was an independent republic before joining the Union and becoming the biggest state in land mass in the contiguous 48 states.

Iowa was admitted to the Union on Dec. 28, 1846, as a free state to maintain the balance between free and slave states during the antebellum period. Its star was added to the U.S. flag the following July 4. Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, Iowa grew dramatically because of its rich farmland. Iowa had been established as a U.S. territory in 1838.

Wisconsin became a state on May 29, 1848, adding the 30th star to the U.S. flag less than two months later. Not all residents of Wisconsin were enthusiastic about statehood. They had rejected it four times previously because they were concerned statehood would mean higher taxes.

The Gold Rush that began with the discovery of the precious metal in 1848 helped fast-track California to statehood in 1850. California became the 31st star on the American flag the following July 4. The admission of California fulfilled America’s manifest destiny of a nation extending from sea to sea.

On the eve of the Civil War, Minnesota was admitted to the Union on May 11, 1858, and represented as the 32nd state on the flag less than two months later. Minnesota was admitted as a free state.

America’s expansion surged to the Northwest with the admission of Oregon on Feb. 14, 1859, adding a 33rd star to the flag the following July. Oregon, which had become a U.S. territory in 1848, was admitted as a free state, though its first two senators, Joseph Lane and Delazon Smith, were proslavery Democrats.

Kansas became the 34th state to join the Union. Voter fraud over whether the state would be admitted as a slave state or a free state delayed its admission. Kansas joined the Union on Jan. 29, 1861 as a free state, just as the southern states were seceding, and its star was represented on the flag six months later.

The onset of the Civil War did not halt the admission of states to the Union. The western part of Virginia was pro-Union and contained many abolitionists. It split from the rest of the state, which had seceded. President Abraham Lincoln was unsure about dividing Virginia and admitting the western portion as a separate state. He agreed to its admission on the grounds that West Virginia’s action was an act of secession in favor of the Constitution. West Virginia joined the Union on June 20, 1863, and a new flag on July 4 included the 35th state.

The Civil War was engulfing the nation when Nevada was admitted as the 36th state on Oct. 31, 1864, and the 36th star on the U.S. flag the following July. Nevada was pro-Union and President Abraham Lincoln saw Nevada’s admission as a way to buttress support for the war. To speed up statehood, Nevada sent its entire state constitution to Washington, D.C. — 175 pages — by telegram.

Nebraska was the first state to be admitted to the Union after the Civil War. After the Civil War, rapid economic development accelerated by the growth of railroads helped speed Nebraska’s admission to the Union on March 1, 1867, becoming the nation’s 37th state and the 37th star on the flag.

Colorado, a territory that partially came with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, became the 38th state to join the Union on Aug. 1, 1876. Colorado’s admission had been vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, but President Ulysses S. Grant approved it. The 38-star flag would fly for 13 years.

A flurry of state admissions boosted the star total on the flag to 43 by July 4, 1890, as statehood filled out the United States in the high plains and the far west. Five states were admitted to the Union and five stars added to the flag: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington all in 1889, and Idaho in 1890.

Six states were admitted to the Union when President Benjamin Harrison was president, more than any other president. Wyoming was the last of the six, boosting the number of stars on the flag to 44. Wyoming was admitted on July 10, 1890, even though it was 5,000-people short of the 60,000-person requirement to become a state.

Utah became a state on Jan. 4, 1896, and the 45th star on the flag later that year. However, the area that would become Utah had been part of the United States since the nation received the territory as part of a treaty that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848. Mormons settled in the area, and their practice of polygamy prevented Utah from becoming a state until Mormons renounced polygamy in the state constitution.

Oklahoma became the first state to be admitted to the Union in the 20th century, on Nov. 16, 1907, taking its place on the U.S. flag as the 46th star the following year. The United States had used the Oklahoma territory to resettle Native American people, but by the late 19th century, Texas ranchers began moving northward and the federal government decided to open up the territory for homesteaders.

The southwestern territories of New Mexico and Arizona were the last to join the 48 contiguous states. New Mexico became the 47th state on Jan. 6, 1912, and Arizona attained statehood on Feb. 14, 1912. The 48-star flag flew longer than any other flag before it, 47 years, and eight presidents served under it.

Alaska became the first non-contiguous territory to become a state on Jan. 3, 1959, and the 49th star on the U.S. flag. Alaska, which was purchased from Russia in 1867, is 2.5 times the size of Texas, the second-largest U.S. state. The 49-star flag was the last of the nine flags to fly for just one year.

Hawaii is the 50th state, and joined the Union on Aug. 21, 1959. The 50-star flag has flown the longest of any U.S. flag, and in July it will have flown for 59 years. Twelve presidents have served under this flag.