In case you weren’t aware, June 14th is Flag Day in the United States. This date in June was probably chosen because on June 14th in 1777, the Continental Congress approved a resolution that established the U. S. flag’s design (“thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field….”).
It was almost a century later when June 14th started being celebrated as flag day in some regions of the country. One of the people who promoted Flag Day was a school teacher from Waubeka, Wisconsin, by the name of Bernard J. Cigrand. He reportedly spent years trying to get Congress to declare Flag Day a national holiday. Waubeka, if you haven’t heard of it, is about 35 miles north of Milwaukee.
Want to learn more? Check out the book, Flag Day: Its History, Origin, and Celebration as Related in Song and Story in the library’s main collection on the 3rd floor, call #JK1761 .F6 1979.
The Library of Congress has some information and photos about this day at Today in History: June 14, and the Wisconsin State Legislative Reference Bureau Web page, Memorial Day and Flag Day, claims that Wisconsin is where the idea of celebrating Flag Day first originated. This is contradicted on the Origins of Flag Day page from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, but as a Wisconsinite myself, I think I’ll believe the Legislative Bureau’s claim.
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
Neat information. Thanks for sharing.