[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 99 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S5653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                FLAG DAY

 Mr. BYRD. Madam President, in the early history of our Nation, 
many flags flew over the land that became the United States of America. 
The British Union Jack, the Spanish flag, the French flag, the Dutch 
flag, and others identified territory and colonies under the control of 
those nations. Then, as the colonies and various fighting forces 
organized themselves to take up the call of the new nation-to-be, many 
new flags began to fly. Some had pine trees, some had rattlesnakes, and 
others were simpler designs or slogans, but all sought to establish a 
separate and many times defiant new identity for the new nation and its 
people.
  In the course of conducting the war, the Continental Congress had 
many important and pressing decisions to make. Among them was the 
choice of a flag under which the armies and colonies could unite, a 
fitting symbol for the new nation. Accordingly, on June 14, 1777, the 
Continental Congress adopted a resolution establishing a national flag 
for the United States. Following a still familiar pattern, a special 
committee had first been appointed to develop the design for the new 
flag, and the resolution implemented the committee's recommendation.
  The resolution itself was quite simple, and stated only that `` the 
flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red 
and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white upon a blue field, 
representing a new constellation.'' The 13 stripes and stars were 
symbolic of the 13 colonies that had fought for and won the liberty to 
establish the new nation, of course, but no formal symbolism was 
assigned to the color choices, which were the same as those found on 
the British Union Jack. Since 1777, however, many poets and speakers 
have embued the colors with symbolism, as did Joseph Rodman Drake, in 
his poem, ``The American Flag'':

     When Freedom, from her mountain height,
     Unfurled her standard to the air,
     She tore the azure robe of night,
     And set the stars of glory there!
     She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
     The milky baldric of the skies,
     And striped its pure, celestial white
     With streakings of the morning light;
     Then, from his mansion in the sun,
     She called her eagle-bearer down,
     And gave into his mighty hand
     The symbol of her chosen land!

  Over the years, the flag grew and changed as the United States grew, 
adding stripes as well as stars before it was recognized that the 
expansion of the States was greater than the flag's pattern could bear. 
When Francis Scott Key wrote ``The Star Spangled Banner'' after 
watching the battle of Fort McHenry during the war of 1812, the flag he 
wrote about had 15 stars and 15 stripes. By 1816, the United States 
consisted of 19 States, with more to come. So, once again, Congress 
established a special committee, this one directed by New York's Peter 
Wendover, to study the problem of the flag's design.
  Early in 1818, the congressional committee presented a report. The 
report recommended a solution proposed by Chester Reid, a naval captain 
and hero of the war of 1812. His suggestion was that the 13-stripe flag 
honored the original 13 colonies, and that new States could be honored 
by the simple addition of stars, to reflect the growth of the new 
constellation.
  On April 4, 1818, President James Monroe signed into law the Flag Act 
of 1818. Like the original Flag Resolution of 1777, the Flag Act of 
1818 was short, consisting of two sections. The first section noted 
that, as of July 1819, ``the flag of the United States be thirteen 
horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that the union have twenty 
stars, white in blue field.'' The second section provided the process 
for adding stars to the flag upon the entry of each new State to the 
Union. This elegant solution provided the flag that we hold so dear 
today.
  Our flag, the Stars and Stripes, or ``Old Glory,'' still serves to 
unite our Nation today. It is a symbol of our Nation that is instantly 
recognizable around the world. It is both commonplace, seen daily in 
front of post offices, government buildings and schools, and yet 
hallowed, placed with solemn care over the coffin of a veteran or 
flying at half mast to mark a tragedy. It can also be a symbol of 
patriotic pride, carried proudly by Olympic athletes as it will be in 
Beijing this August, or streaming in the wind behind a mighty warship. 
And who can forget the sudden, spontaneous, outbreak of U.S. flags that 
erupted across the Nation in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy? That act 
captured the essence of our Nation and our flag--a nation defiant, 
strong, and united in the face of adversity.
  On Saturday, many Americans braved the scorching heat and the violent 
weather and floods that have caused so much misery in recent days, and 
observed Flag Day by displaying the flag at their home or their 
workplace.
  Mr. President, I close with one of my favorite poems about the flag. 
It is titled ``Hats Off!'' by Henry Holcomb Bennett.

                               Hats Off!

     Hats off!
     Along the street there comes
     A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
     A flash of color beneath the sky:
     Hats off!
     The flag is passing by!

     Blue and crimson and white it shines,
     Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
     Hats off!
     The colors before us fly;
     But more than the flag is passing by.

     Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
     Fought to make and to save the State:
     Weary marches and sinking ships;
     Cheers of victory on dying lips;

     Days of plenty and years of peace;
     March of a strong land's swift increase;
     Equal justice, right and law,
     Stately honor and reverend awe;

     Sign of a nation, great and strong
     To ward her people from foreign wrong:
     Pride and glory and honor, all
     Live in the colors to stand or fall.

     Hats off!
     Along the street there comes
     A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
     And loyal hearts are beating high:
     Hats off!
     The flag is passing by!

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