The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that won independence from Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.
The national flag of Aruba was adopted on 18 March 1976, along with the official anthem "Aruba Dushi Tera". The flag was partially designed by vexillologist Whitney Smith. On 18 March Aruba celebrates National Anthem and Flag Day, marked by local events across the island. It is also a significant day as it represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands giving Aruba an autonomous status.
The state flag of Alaska displays eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field. The Big Dipper is an asterism in the constellation Ursa Major, which symbolizes a bear, indigenous to Alaska. As depicted on the flag, its stars can be used as a guide by the novice to locate Polaris and determine true north.
The flag of Oregon is a two-sided flag in navy blue and gold with an optional gold fringe. On the front is the escutcheon from the state seal and on the reverse is a gold figure of a beaver, the state animal. Oregon is the only U.S. State to feature different designs on both sides of its flag.
The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Missouri in the center. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Oliver, the red and white stripes represent valor and purity, respectively. The blue stripe represents the permanency, vigilance, and justice of the state. The three colors also highlight the French influence on the state in its early years. The Missouri flag was established on March 22, 1913, when governor Elliot Woolfolk Major signed the State flag act making it official.
The flag of Hawaii was first adopted in the early 19th century by the Hawaiian Kingdom and continued to be used after its overthrow in 1893. It is the only U.S. state flag to feature a foreign country's national flag—that of the Union Jack—which commemorates the British Royal Navy's historical relations with the Kingdom of Hawaii, and in particular the pro-British sentiment of its first ruler, King Kamehameha I.
The flag of the U.S. state of Georgia bears three horizontal stripes and features a blue canton containing a ring of 13 white stars that encircle the state's gold-colored coat of arms. The ring of stars that encompass the state's coat of arms represents Georgia as one of the original Thirteen Colonies. Its current iteration was adopted on February 19, 2003.
The national flag of the Philippines is a horizontal bicolor flag with equal bands of royal blue and crimson red, with a white, equilateral chevron at the hoist. In the center of the triangle is a golden-yellow sun with eight primary rays, to represent the original eight provinces that rebelled against the Spanish during the 1896 Philippine Revolution. At each vertex of the triangle is a five-pointed, golden-yellow star, each of which representing one of the country's three main island groups—Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The white triangle at the hoist represents liberty, equality, and fraternity. A unique feature of this flag is its usage to indicate a state of war if it is displayed with the red side on top, which is effectively achieved by flipping the flag upside-down.
The Lone Star Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of Texas. The flag, flown at homes and businesses statewide, is highly popular among Texans and is treated with a great degree of reverence and esteem within Texas. Along with the flag of Hawaii, it is one of two state flags to have previously served as a national flag of an independent country. In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the Texas flag second, behind New Mexico.
The Bear Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of California. The precursor of the flag was first flown during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt and was also known as the Bear Flag. A predecessor, called the Lone Star Flag, was used in an 1836 independence movement; the red star element from that flag appears in the Bear Flag of today.
The national flag of Tunisia is a rectangular panel of red color with an aspect ratio of 2:3. In the center of the cloth in a white circle is placed a red crescent, surrounding a red five-pointed star on three sides. The Tunisian Bey Hussein II decided to create a flag for Tunisia, close in appearance to the modern one, after the Battle of Navarino on 20 October 1827; in 1831 he was officially approved. In that form, the flag existed during the French protectorate, and on 1 June 1959, it was proclaimed the state flag of the Republic of Tunisia. On 30 June 1999, the proportions and design of the flag were clarified by a special law. The general appearance of the flag remained virtually unchanged.
The flag of Barbados was designed by Grantley W. Prescod and was officially adopted to represent the nation of Barbados at midnight on 30 November 1966, the day the country gained independence. The flag was chosen as part of a nationwide open contest held by the government, with Prescod's design being selected as the winner of a field of over one thousand entries. The flag is a triband design, with the outermost stripes coloured ultramarine, to represent the sea and the sky, and the middle stripe coloured gold, to represent the sand. Within the middle band is displayed the head of a trident. This trident is meant to represent the trident of Poseidon, visible in Barbados's colonial coat of arms, and the fact that it is broken is meant to represent the breaking of colonial rule in Barbados and independence from the British Empire.
The flags of the U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia exhibit a variety of regional influences and local histories, as well as different styles and design principles. Modern U.S. state flags date from the turn of the 20th century, when states considered distinctive symbols for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Most U.S. state flags were designed and adopted between 1893 and World War I.
The flag of Louisiana consists of a rectangular field of blue with the arms of Louisiana, a pelican vulning herself, in white in the center, with a ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the state motto: "Union Justice Confidence". The flag was officially adopted July 1, 1912, and is often referred to as the Pelican flag.
The flag of Mississippi consists of a white magnolia blossom surrounded by 21 stars and the words "In God We Trust" written below, all put over a blue Canadian pale with two vertical gold borders on a red field. The topmost star is composed of a pattern of five diamonds, an Indigenous symbol; the other 20 stars are white, as Mississippi was the 20th state to join the Union. The flag was adopted on January 11, 2021.
The Beehive Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a horizontal tricolor with irregular bands of blue, white, and red. The middle white band contains a blue hexagon outlined in gold. Within the hexagon lies a gold-colored beehive, and below it sits a five-pointed white star.
The Flag Acts are three laws that sought to define the design of the flag of the United States. All the submitted suggestions were remarkably short, the shortest being a sentence of 31 words, and the longest being a title and two sentences of 117 words.
The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the U.S. state of Illinois, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state. The present seal was designed and proposed in 1868 and officially adopted in 1869. It depicts in profile a bald eagle perched on a rock with wings spread and holding a shield, with a banner in its beak and sunrise over water in the background. It replaced an earlier seal that was almost the same as the Great Seal of the United States, adopted when Illinois became a state in 1818.
The flag of Puerto Rico, officially the flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, represents Puerto Rico and its people. It consists of five equal horizontal stripes, alternating from red to white, with a blue equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bearing a large, sharp, upright, five-pointed white star in the center. The white star stands for the island, the three sides of the triangle for the three branches of the government, the blue for the sky and coastal waters, the red for the blood shed by warriors, and the white for liberty, victory, and peace. The flag is popularly known as the Monoestrellada (Monostarred), meaning having one star, a single star, or a lone star. It is in the Stars and Stripes flag family.
Unofficial state flag, 1876–1907
DAR proposal design, 1910
Variant state flag, 1911–1964
