June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress issued a resolution making the Stars and Stripes the nation's flag. Enjoy a little red, white, and blue from across the Smithsonian. Visit the O Say Can You See ...

Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the proportions of the flag was prescribed. Consequently, flags dating before this period sometimes show unusual ...

There's nothing quite like the vibrancy of that red, white, and blue color palette ... On a standard American flag, there are 50 stars—white in color, all containing 5 points.